Chicago mayor to sign order committing to Paris accord

GRID: Advocates say regulators in many states aren’t moving fast enough on grid modernization. (Midwest Energy News)

ALSO: Duke Energy seeks a rider to pay for grid modernization in Ohio, and plans a 10 MW battery storage project. (Utility Dive / Energy Choice Matters)

CLIMATE: Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel is expected to sign an executive order committing the city to the Paris climate accord. (WBBM)

NATURAL GAS: Utilities in Minnesota and Wisconsin plan a 700 MW natural gas plant. (Minneapolis Star Tribune)

OHIO: An Ohio Republican seeks a compromise on a legislation to weaken the state’s renewable energy standards to gain Gov. John Kasich’s support. (Columbus Dispatch)

NUCLEAR: An oil and gas industry group release a poll showing most respondents do not support plans to subsidize FirstEnergy’s Ohio nuclear plants; the plan also draws opposition from a regional chamber of commerce. (Columbus Business First, Youngstown Vindicator)

ELECTRIC CARS:
• Kansas City is leading the U.S. in electric vehicle growth, boasting a 95 percent increase after a local utility rolled out the country’s largest car charging network in 2015. (Kansas City Business Journal)
• Tesla seeks documents from Michigan lawmakers in a complaint over legislation that blocked direct sales in the state. (MLive)

COAL:
• Experts reject claims by EPA administrator Scott Pruitt that retiring coal plants makes the grid vulnerable. (E&E News)
• Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds praises the University of Iowa’s plan to phase out coal by 2025. (Daily Iowan)

UTILITIES: A report finds a majority of utility executives still see distributed generation as a threat to their companies’ viability. (Greentech Media)

PIPELINES: Nebraska regulators hold a public hearing on Keystone XL that focuses largely on water quality concerns. (Omaha World-Herald)

TECHNOLOGY:
• Illinois representatives oppose President Trump’s plan to cut funding for energy labs. (WBBM)
• A group of retired military officers warns that the U.S. has fallen behind China and the European Union in developing clean energy technology, posing a major risk to long-term security. (Huffington Post)

COMMENTARY: Minnesota’s climate and clean energy initiatives ​“came out of bipartisan compromise. And they’ve worked.” (Minneapolis Star Tribune)