In North Dakota, oil field workers may be key voting bloc

POLITICS: The conservative policy group ALEC plans to make repealing state renewable energy standards a ​“high priority” in the coming year, and has revealed the model legislation it will use. (Midwest Energy News)

ALSO: Oil field workers, who can vote in North Dakota as long as they’ve lived there for 30 days, may become a key voting bloc in this year’s election. (Associated Press)

CLIMATE: A new report warns that current emissions are on a track consistent with projections of 6°C warming by the end of the century, and a poll finds most Americans are unwilling to pay significantly higher energy costs to prevent climate change. (Reuters, Huffington Post)

FRACKING: Frac sand mining takes off in Missouri, and officials investigating reports of water contamination in Pennsylvania omitted toxic chemicals from their report. (St. Louis Post-Dispatch, New York Times)

SPLITSVILLE: American Electric Power takes steps to divide its Ohio operations into two entities -- one that sells power and another that operates power plants. (Columbus Dispatch)

EFFICIENCY: Millions of dollars in energy-saving federal grants targeted for three Wisconsin cities remain unspent, and Topeka considers a $3 million energy conservation project. (Wisconsin State Journal, Topeka Capital Journal)

WIND: A report finds the cost of operating wind farms has fallen 38 percent over the past four years. (Bloomberg)

OIL: Landowners along pipeline routes in North Dakota are ​“experiencing exhaustion” as operators scramble to keep up with the boom. (Grand Forks Herald)

TRANSPORTATION: Sales surge for the Chevy Volt and Nissan Leaf, Consumer Reports says the Toyota Prius C is the most reliable car of 2012, and Automobile Magazine names the Tesla Model S its Car of the Year. (AutoBlog Green, CNN)

COMMENTARY: Why China’s demand may not be enough to save the American coal industry, and did Hurricane Sandy make the case for clean energy? (Grist, Christian Science Monitor)