Oil-rich area of North Dakota to get its first wind project

SOLAR:
• One Minnesota town embraces community solar primarily as a way to save money on electricity. (Midwest Energy News)
• A company is opening a new headquarters in southeast Michigan where it will manufacture solar packages for rooftop installations. (MLive)
• Minnesota’s largest solar array started generating power this week at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport. (Minneapolis Star Tribune)

WIND: State regulators approve a 150-megawatt project in northwest North Dakota, the first in the oil-rich portion of the state. (Oil Patch Dispatch)

***SPONSORED LINK: Know an innovative project at the forefront of electricity transformation? Consider applying for Rocky Mountain Institute’s eLab Accelerator April 24-27 — an invitation-only bootcamp for electricity innovation. Apply today.***

CLIMATE CHANGE:
• Local officials in St. Paul, Minnesota commit to reducing the city’s greenhouse gas emissions. (Pioneer Press)
• Officials abroad say Congress’ vote to undermine a domestic carbon-reduction plan isn’t gaining traction in Paris. (Greenwire)
• Michigan State University joins a long list of schools committing to a White House climate pledge that includes reducing emissions 45 percent by 2020. (MSU Today)

CLEAN POWER PLAN:
• President Obama says in Paris that he favors a carbon tax over regulations like the Clean Power Plan to reduce emissions. (ClimateWire)
• While partisan politics cloud the direction of the Clean Power Plan, engineers see the rules as an opportunity to reinvent the power grid. (EnergyWire)
• A White House official says Michigan has an opportunity to comply with the Clean Power Plan by expanding wind generation in rural areas. (WNEM-TV)

OIL AND GAS:
• Officials consider turning a vacant ​“man camp” for oil patch workers in North Dakota into a new mixed-use residential community. (Bismarck Tribune)
• A bill that would lift the crude oil export ban and speed up pipeline permitting moves forward in Congress. (E&E Daily)

MICHIGAN: As an energy policy overhaul is pushed into next year, major utilities are still stressing the urgency of a new plan. (MLive)

***SPONSORED LINK: Join the nation’s most successful women leaders in energy as they share their industry knowledge, strategies and experiences at the Leadership Conference for Women in Energy, December 7-8 in Newport Beach, California.***

ELECTRIC VEHICLES: One reason electric-car ownership hasn’t taken off is because car dealers are reluctant to sell them. (New York Times)

COMMENTARY:
• ALEC-inspired legislation in Ohio could undermine the state’s ability to draft a carbon reduction plan. (NRDC Switchboard)
• How to convene multiple organizations onto a path toward clean energy and promote broader change within the sector. (Midwest Energy News)
• The EPA’s new biofuel targets will have negative consequences for the renewable fuels industry. (Sioux City Journal)
• The Toledo Blade says FirstEnergy’s income-guarantee proposal is a ​“sweetheart deal” for the utility and a ​“raw deal” for ratepayers and the environment.