POLICY: Wary of a shift in plans for offshore drilling, environmental groups slam President-elect Trump’s pick of Washington state Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, to be Interior secretary. (The Hill)

ALSO:
• Conservatives expected to be active in rolling back federal environmental regulations signal efforts to ramp up the spread of misinformation on climate science, including using the EPA itself as a vehicle. (ClimateWire)
• A meeting between Sen. Joe Manchin and President-elect Trump is rescheduled for today. (West Virginia Public Broadcasting)

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SOLAR:
• A Virginia utility wants to offer 100% renewable energy but critics say the cost is set higher than it should be. (Southeast Energy News)
• Reducing net metering credits to Florida solar owners may be the next target for investor-owned utilities after the defeat of Amendment 1. (SunSentinel)
• A West Virginia Catholic diocese buys a rooftop system to supply about one-fourth of its power needs. (Charleston Gazette-Mail)
• Virginia’s Dept. of Environmental Quality receives a notice of intent to build a 51 megawatt solar farm in Halifax County. (Virginia Regulatory Town Hall)

COAL:
• Led in part by Sen. Joe Manchin, Senate Democrats back down on a threat to shut down the government over a long-term extension of miners’ benefits accepting, for now, a short term extension on health insurance only. (Associated Press)
• A small city in southern West Virginia tells residents not to drink tap water due to possible contamination by coal refuse. (Associated Press)
• Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-WV, joins the call for President-elect Trump to extend both health and pension benefits long-term for miners after he takes office. (The Hill)

COAL ASH:
• Dominion agrees to pay for public water hook-ups for residents near its Prince William County ash disposal site. (Richmond Times-Dispatch)
• Environmental groups urge regulators in North Carolina to require Duke Energy to stop the seepage of ash water into a Lee County swamp. (Fayetteville Observer)

EFFICIENCY:
• Mississippi regulators vote to require Entergy to more than double spending on efficiency programs in 2017. (Associated Press)
• An economic development program in eastern Kentucky is helping turn former coal mine workers into efficiency professionals. (Co.Exist)

NUCLEAR: A team advising President-elect Trump asks for ways to boost nuclear power. (Bloomberg)

NATURAL GAS: The first-ever shipment of liquefied natural gas is headed for Japan from a Louisiana terminal. (Bloomberg News)

PIPELINES:
• About 50 protest a pipeline planned for moving oil to a Valero refinery in Memphis from Oklahoma. (Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette)
• Chesapeake, Virginia is the next stop tomorrow for an expo touting the benefits of the Atlantic Coast Pipeline and for contractors to help built it. (Daily Press)

TRANSPORTATION: Without more power capacity, the transit system serving Northern Virginia and metropolitan Washington will not be able to handle a new fleet of eight-car trains. (Washington Post)

CLIMATE: The CEO of Charlotte-based Bank of America calls climate change a real threat and says it will continue working to mitigate it. (Charlotte Observer)

OIL & GAS: President-elect Trump uses a speech in Louisiana to tout his plan to roll back rules he says are hindering oil production and refining. (New York Times)

COMMENTARY:
• The mayor of Tallahassee invites President-elect Trump to see the front lines of global warming in Florida. (Tampa Bay Times)
• Cost and reliability are declining as hurdles to more renewable energy in Virginia. (Bacon’s Rebellion)
• An officer of Florida Power & Light defends its motives in how it’s managing the supply of electricity to ratepayers. (Palm Beach Post)

CORRECTION: An Associated Press story listed in our December 8 Digest has been corrected here to report that Duke Energy is offering, not negotiating, compensation for homeowners living near its coal ash ponds in North Carolina.