Enbridge plans $6.3 billion expansion of pipeline network

OIL: Enbridge announces plans for a $6.3 billion expansion of its pipeline network in the U.S. and Canada, and oil industry officials say some North Dakota growing pains are subsiding. (Reuters, Fargo Forum)

CLIMATE: The Doha talks are likely to conclude without any meaningful agreement, and Al Gore tells President Obama ​“we cannot have four more years of mentioning this occasionally.” (BBC, The Hill)

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FRACKING: A $1 billion natural gas processing plant is on track to open in May in Ohio, and the University of Texas withdraws a study favorable to fracking after finding the lead investigator has ties to the industry. (Cleveland Plain Dealer, Bloomberg)

EFFICIENCY: As energy-saving light bulbs become ubiquitous, utilities are seeking new ways of helping customers save electricity -- and meet state efficiency mandates, and a top GOP aide predicts a bipartisan energy efficiency bill in the next Congress. (Midwest Energy News, The Hill)

COAL: As Chicago officials review bids for the city’s electricity, eliminating coal from the mix is a key priority. (Crain’s Chicago Business)

WIND: Minnesota regulators approve two wind farms in Stearns County. (St. Cloud Times)

TRANSPORTATION: Ray LaHood tells a gathering in Chicago that 80 percent of Americans will be using high-speed rail in 25 years, Chevy Volt owners collectively travel 100 million electric-only miles, and a chart from a Michigan researchers shows Americans are driving less and emitting fewer emissions. (Chicago Sun-Times, PlugInCars.com, Washington Post)

SMART METERS: Illinois regulators allow ComEd to delay installation of smart meters until 2015. (Chicago Tribune)

NUCLEAR: The Fermi 2 nuclear plant in Michigan could be offline for several months due to an equipment failure. (CBS Detroit)

SOLAR: Officials in Saginaw, Michigan unveil a new solar array atop the city’s public works building. (MLive.com)

COMMENTARY: Why rail trumps pipelines for moving North Dakota oil, and how Wisconsin regulators are ​“taxing” renewable energy. (Bismarck Tribune, Midwest Energy News)