SUPREME COURT: As a Senate committee plans to advance Amy Coney Barrett’s nomination to the Supreme Court, she continues to elude questions on climate change. (The Hill)

ALSO:
• While some Democratic senators plan to boycott today’s committee vote, it won’t prevent Republicans from moving ahead with a Senate confirmation vote expected Monday. (Los Angeles Times)
• The impact that Barrett will have on environmental cases isn’t entirely clear, but it is likely the court will be more skeptical of regulatory powers, creating a potentially significant obstacle to climate policy. (Vox)

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CLEAN ENERGY:
• A new report says corporate power purchase agreements will drive as much as 72 GW in new U.S. wind and solar over the next decade. (Utility Dive)
• A report from an organization pushing for electrification says an aggressive shift to renewable energy would save Americans billions of dollars on energy costs. (The Guardian)
• Cities are seeing mixed results in meeting their pledges to cut emissions, according to a new analysis. (Greentech Media)
• Data shows that clean energy jobs tend to pay more than fossil fuel industries, and are less susceptible to boom-and-bust cycles. (NPR)
• Experts say an acquisition agreement between New Mexico’s largest electricity utility and a renewable energy development company could help it build a renewable energy economy. (Albuquerque Journal, Albuquerque Business First)

OVERSIGHT:
• A former EPA official files a lawsuit claiming he was retaliated against for raising concerns about former administrator Scott Pruitt’s financial mismanagement. (E&E News)
• The Interior Department says a former official committed an ethics violation by meeting with an organization he had once volunteered for. (The Hill)

TRANSPORTATION:
• The International Code Council decides not to include a provision in its building code update that would require new buildings to be able to accommodate electric vehicle charging. (E&E News, subscription)
• Echoing a California plan, House Democrats introduce a bill that would require all new cars sold by 2035 to be zero-emissions. (E&E News, subscription)

UTILITIES:
• If passed by voters next month, a ballot initiative in Columbus, Ohio, would create the state’s largest community aggregation program and significantly boost renewable energy purchases. (Energy News Network)
• Connecticut regulators begin three day of hearings to examine utility response to outages from Tropical Storm Isaias that lasted more than a week in some areas. (Hartford Courant)
• Gulf Power seeks to recoup $200 million that it spent to restore power after Hurricane Sally from ratepayers. (Pensacola News Journal)

NATURAL GAS: A coalition of Minnesota clean energy and environmental advocates launches a campaign to shift public opinion on natural gas, arguing that it is neither a clean or cheap alternative to coal. (Energy News Network)

COAL: A Kentucky community is still waiting for promised jobs to materialize from a proposed tourism center funded by a federal program designed to redevelop former coal mining sites. (Kentucky Center for Investigative Reporting)

SOLAR: An Indiana utility plans three large-scale solar and battery storage projects totaling 900 MW in the coming years. (Times of Northwest Indiana)

COMMENTARY:
• A Vox journalist says geothermal energy has strong potential in Western states and could provide a lifeline for oil and gas workers.
• Efforts to discredit climate science underscore the need for “sound, science-based, interdisciplinary climate-change education and training of teachers,” says the executive director of a Minnesota climate advocacy organization. (Duluth News Tribune)