SOLAR: Marking a “potential cease-fire” between utilities and solar developers, a coalition in New York is developing a plan that would replace net metering and resolve cost-shifting concerns. (RTO Insider)

ALSO:
 Chicago-based ComEd proposes a series of new solar incentives as well as a demand charge as part of a larger Exelon-backed energy bill package before Illinois lawmakers. (Utility Dive)
• However, Chicago officials say the utility has been actively thwarting solar development in the city for years. (Crain’s Chicago Business)

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PIPELINES:
• New York regulators reject a permit for a planned 124-mile natural gas pipeline from Pennsylvania to New York because it would interfere with water resources in its path. (Christian Science Monitor)
Developers vow to challenge the decision, saying it was driven by politics rather than science. (Associated Press)
• Canadian regulators approve Enbridge’s plans to upgrade a massive oil pipeline from Alberta to Wisconsin that will also double its capacity. (Associated Press)
• The Sierra Club is suing to block a New Jersey natural gas pipeline. (Burlington County Times)

OIL AND GAS:
• President Obama’s decision to expand offshore drilling in the Gulf of Mexico and Alaska was based on industry-funded research. (International Business Times)
• Wyoming coal companies fight plans to drill for oil in the Powder River Basin. (Casper Star-Tribune)
• A Pennsylvania bill would shift $12 million from the state’s alternative energy fund to natural gas development. (NPR)

WASTE-TO-ENERGY: A debate over waste-to-energy generating systems is firing up once again in Minnesota as local officials look to expand opportunities in the sector while some advocates contend it is a dirty, non-renewable source of electricity. (Midwest Energy News)

FINANCE: Property Assessed Clean Energy financing can help unlock the potential of solar development on commercial properties. (Greentech Media)

POLITICS:
• Clean energy advocacy group NextGen will spend $25 million on a nationwide campus voter-registration initiative to drive young voters to the polls in November. (The Hill)
Activists pressure Warren Buffett on climate change. (InsideClimate News)

WIND: Lighter winds mean slower increases in production for Western wind farms. (Denver Post)

SOLAR:
Legislative barriers stand in the way of solar garden development in western states. (High Country News)
• A Texas co-op plans to install 15 MW of solar power across its service territory. (KVUE)
• A New York farmer wins a net-metering dispute with his utility, which had argued his home and farm were different customers. (Poughkeepsie Journal)

GRID: Tesla documents foretell a surge in the energy storage market, according to a new report. (Greenwire)

CONGRESS: The U.S. Senate looks to finish work this week on an energy appropriations bill. (The Hill)

UTILITIES: Southern Co. and Duke Energy top the latest tally of utilities and affiliated PACs contributing the most money to politicians. (Electric Light & Power)

MEDIA: An analysis finds CNN airs more advertisements for fossil fuels than climate change coverage. (Media Matters)

COMMENTARY:
• Why states and cities should lead the way on climate change. (Wall Street Journal)
• For clean energy development, the delay of the Clean Power Plan makes an “erratic environment even more unpredictable.” (Forbes)

Andy compiles the Midwest Energy News digest and was a journalism fellow for Midwest Energy News from 2014-2020. He is managing editor of MiBiz in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and was formerly a reporter and editor at City Pulse, Lansing’s alternative newsweekly.

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