SOLAR: The U.S. installed 4.1 gigawatts of solar in the third quarter of the year, breaking all previous quarterly records. (Greentech Media)
WIND: The country’s first offshore wind farm is up and running off the coast of Rhode Island. (Washington Post)
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RENEWABLE ENERGY:
• Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates spoke to Donald Trump about “the opportunity for innovation” in clean energy. (Bloomberg)
• Connecticut’s Green Bank could be a useful model for funding clean energy projects under a Donald Trump presidency. (InsideClimate News)
• Experts say the country’s energy future will be decided largely at the state level and by markets, not by the federal government. (Midwest Energy News)
CLIMATE:
• Donald Trump is considering whether the U.S. should withdraw from the Paris climate agreement, saying that “nobody really knows” if climate change is real. (Washington Post)
• Experts say California’s aggressive goals to combat climate change could slow job and income growth. (Los Angeles Times)
• A judge approves an appeal from Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey to block a deposition by ExxonMobil lawyers over her investigation into what the company knew about climate change. (The Hill)
PIPELINES:
• Law enforcement officials in North Dakota ask President Obama to send federal officers to help control ongoing protests against the Dakota Access Pipeline. (Associated Press)
• It may prove difficult for Donald Trump to speed up pipeline approvals thanks to a five-person board at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission that’s dominated by Democrats. (Bloomberg)
POLLUTION: State officials say a broken pipeline in North Dakota spilled over 130,000 gallons of oil into a creek, while the company behind the pipeline says their monitoring equipment failed to detect the leak. (Huffington Post/Associated Press)
COAL: With the third highest rate of coal plant retirements in the U.S., Indiana is continuing to move away from coal despite uncertainty over federal energy policy. (Midwest Energy News)
REGULATION: The EPA wants to impose new pollution control requirements on 14 coal-fired power plants in Texas. (Greenwire)
POLITICS:
• A source within the Trump transition team says former Texas governor Rick Perry is a leading candidate to head the U.S. Energy Department. (Reuters)
• Donald Trump announces his choice of ExxonMobil CEO Rex Tillerson for Secretary of State. (New York Times)
• A former EPA chief under George W. Bush denounces Donald Trump’s pick of Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt to serve as EPA administrator, saying “he obviously doesn’t care much for the agency.” (The Hill)
POLICY: A sweeping energy bill in Illinois could set a precedent for other states. (Utility Dive)
UTILITIES:
• An interactive map shows what types of power plants are cheapest to build in different parts of the country. (Vox)
• Charlotte-based Duke Energy denies claims that it violated utility laws by delaying connections for three solar projects in North Carolina. (Triad Business Journal)
• Hawaii’s main electric utility says it’s looking for land to expand its renewable energy portfolio with more large-scale projects. (Pacific Business News)
NUCLEAR:
• Pennsylvania’s five nuclear plants account for 15,900 full-time jobs and reduce residents’ power bills by about $788 million annually, according to a new report. (Daily Caller)
• An Arizona utility regulator wants to change the state’s renewable energy rules by including nuclear energy as a renewable power source. (Arizona Republic)
COMMENTARY:
• Donald Trump has assembled a team of climate change deniers to help carry out his pro-fossil fuels agenda. (The Guardian)
• The best way to fight climate change in an era of science denial is to make the conversation about clean energy. (ThinkProgress)