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TRUMP WILL IGNORE CLIMATE CHANGE IN NEW NATIONAL SECURITY STRATEGY: President Trump will call for greater border security and better trade deals, but ignore climate change, in a national security strategy document to be released Monday.

Unlike Obama: The strategy document, which administrations must send to Congress, drops former President Barack Obama's description of climate change as a national security threat. Limited climate references: Instead of describing climate change as a national security threat, the document will discuss “environmental stewardship.” Trump also will mention climate change in a section on embracing U.S. "energy dominance,” according to the New York Times. Mixed signals: The release of the strategy comes after Trump last week signed into law the National Defense Authorization Act, which called climate change a "direct threat" and requires the Pentagon to create a list of the top 10 most at-risk bases.

WHAT’S AT STAKE FOR CLEAN ENERGY IN THE TAX BILL: Congress is expected to approve the final version of a major GOP-back tax reform bill Tuesday or Wednesday. The text of the bill released Friday would keep intact subsidies for electric cars, wind farms and solar panels.

Up in the air: Still not clear is the fate of the added charges the bill would extend to banks that finance renewable projects, which renewable energy groups oppose. “We are grateful for the elimination of provisions that would have decimated future renewable energy growth and even penalized past investment in wind and solar power, but we remain concerned about the potential impacts of the new Base Erosion Anti-Abuse Tax on renewable energy finance," said Gregory Wetstone, president and CEO for the large umbrella group American Council on Renewable Energy. Beat the BEAT: The BEAT provision was included in the Senate’s tax bill, inserted to discourage large multinational companies from keeping money offshore. It would reduce the tax deductibility enjoyed by financial institutions that help finance offshore renewable energy projects. "Even as we recognize that important progress was made in the effort to repair those provisions, we also note that the applicability of the new tax was expanded by conferees," Wetstone said. Still, Wetstone cannot say for sure how the BEAT provision would affect companies invested in wind and solar and how the financial institutions that invest in wind and solar power would respond. Banks that control the tax equity market allow wind and solar firms to use the guaranteed subsidy from the government to back loans to build projects. Electric cars credits saved: “This credit supports innovation and job creation while helping drivers access advanced vehicle technology," said Genevieve Cullen, president of the Electric Drive Transportation Association. The group represents automakers such as Toyota, battery companies, and others on electric vehicle policy. Arctic drilling open for business: The bill also would open a small part of the Arctic National Wildlife Reserve to drilling, which has been a long-time goal of the Republican Party. Drilling will be used to increase revenue while pursuing President Trump’s goal on energy dominance. Democrats are urging Republicans to oppose the bill because of the drilling measure.

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GROUPS SUE EPA’S PRUITT OVER DELAY OF COAL POLLUTION RULES: Conservation groups and national park advocates joined with environmentalists in suing Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt over his delay in enforcing the Obama administration rules to reduce regional haze that place coal plants in the crosshairs.

“In 2016, EPA proposed a strong plan to clean up dangerous pollutants from more than a dozen Texas coal plants and other polluting facilities,” the National Parks Conservation Association said Friday. “Administrator Pruitt’s EPA abandoned the proposal by October 2017, instead putting forward a plan that grants polluters a license to emit even more pollution into the air despite vocal opposition.”

Detailing their legal claims: The parks group will hold a call with reporters Monday to discuss its legal strategy in opposing Pruitt, as well as pushing back against Texas’ coal plans that they argue avoid pollution standards. Green lawyers level suit: The national park group is represented by environmental lawyers with Earthjustice and the Sierra Club’s Environmental Law Program in filing their challenge in the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals. Texas is ‘unlawful:’ They also filed a petition for reconsideration to the EPA that asserts that the agency’s Texas Regional Haze plan “is unlawful and will do little to actually clean up pollution from Texas’ coal plants as it was originally intended to do.”.

FERC’S CHATTERJEE SIGNED OFF ON REPORT STRESSING NATURAL GAS, RENEWABLES, BUT NO COAL: The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s financial management report, sent to Congress last week, does not mention Energy Secretary Rick Perry’s plan, which the grid watchdog is considering.

Signed off before stepping down: Neil Chatterjee, FERC’s former chairman, signed off on the report before stepping down as chairman and allowing another Trump appointee, Kevin McIntyre, to move into the spot. That swich resulted in a request for a 30-day extension for reviewing Perry’s plan to have FERC provide market-based incentives for coal and nuclear plants. The financial report stressed none of that in laying out the goals of the grid regulator’s agenda in fiscal 2018. Instead, FERC’s goals are all about promoting cleaner fossil fuels such as natural gas and renewables like hydropower. FERC’s list of objectives: “Objective 2.1: Foster economic and environmental benefits for the nation through approval of natural gas and hydropower projects,” the agency wrote.

Natural gas demand dominates focus: “Demand for natural gas in the United States is at its highest levels on record,” the report added. “Among its many uses, natural gas is a substantial and growing resource for electric power generation, in part due to the current low price of natural gas.” Pipeline development on rise: The commission sees interest in pipeline development increasing as well as increased development of natural gas export terminals. Low natural gas prices harming coal: The administration’s proposed rule for coal and nuclear incentives cites natural gas as a key reason for incentives, because of the economic strain it is placing on the conventional power generators. Big push for hydropower: “Interest in developing hydropower projects also has increased, in part because hydropower offers the benefits of a renewable, domestic energy source that supports efficient, competitive electric markets,” the FERC report added under its objectives. “Hydropower projects may also provide other benefits to the public, such as environmental protection and enhancement, water supply, irrigation, recreation and flood control.”

POWER OUTAGE AT ATLANTA AIRPORT CAUSES CANCELLATION OF 1,150 FLIGHTS: A power outage halted operation Sunday at Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, the busiest in the world, forcing the cancellation of more than 1,150 flights. Shortly after midnight, power to all concourses had been restored, the Associated Press reported.

More cancellations Monday: But more than 400 flights were canceled Monday as of 7 a.m., according to flight-tracking service FlightAware. The cause: Georgia Power, the utility provider for the airport, said the failure may have been caused by a fire that damaged an underground electrical facility and cut power to a substation serving the airport. Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed said authorities are still investigating.

FATE OF ONLY NUCLEAR PLANT UNDER CONSTRUCTION TO BE DECIDED: The Georgia Public Service Commission on Thursday is set to decide the fate of Plant Vogtle, the only nuclear reactor under construction in the U.S., which is years behind schedule and billions of dollars over budget.

At Thursday’s hearing, a commission made of five elected officials, all Republicans, will vote on whether to permit Georgia Power’s new plan for the project, which includes an updated cost projection and construction timeline, or to cancel it.

Rising costs, expanding timeline: Georgia Power is estimating $12.2 billion in costs for its 45.7 percent share of the project, and for the reactors to be producing electricity by 2021 or 2022. The cost estimate is nearly double the company’s original projection, and the timeline is five years behind schedule. The cost of the project for Georgia Power and its co-owners exceeds $20 billion. Losing key tax credit: The commission's decision will come days after the embattled nuclear industry learned that House and Senate Republicans as part of a tax reform package would not grant the extension of a key tax credit for new nuclear production that could have benefited the Southern Co. plant. Pitching potential: Georgia Power, a subsidiary of Southern Co., has pitched Plant Vogtle since 2009 as a way to revive the U.S. nuclear industry to supplement an aging fleet, promising that two reactors planned for the site would give the state emission-free electricity for as long as 80 years. The new plan: The public power companies building the plant have asked the Public Service Commission to allow Georgia Power to recoup Vogtle's new costs from customers.

BISHOP INVITES PATAGONIA OWNER TO TESTIFY ABOUT MONUMENT ROLLBACK: House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Rob Bishop has invited the founder and owner of outdoor clothing retailer Patagonia to testify before his panel to talk about the company’s opposition to President Trump’s rollback of two national monuments in Utah.

Fighting words: Patagonia sued the Trump administration this month for shrinking the size of the Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante national monuments, and the company’s CEO, Yvon Chouinard, has publicly feuded with the president and the Utah Republican's committee. Shortly after Trump visited Utah Dec. 4 to announce the shrinking of the monuments, Patagonia replaced its homepage on its website with a black slate reading: "The President Stole Your Land." Bishop’s committee challenged Patagonia on Twitter, calling the company a “corporate giant hijacking our public lands debate to sell more products to wealthy elitist urban dwellers from New York to San Francisco.”

RUNDOWN

New York Times EPA employees spoke out. Then came scrutiny of their email.

Politico Trump setting stage for solar trade war with China

Bloomberg How coal Is fueling bitcoin’s meteoric rise

Axios The clumsy way Congress picks energy winners

Reuters Toyota to market over 10 battery electric vehicle models in early 2020s

Vox Meet the microgrid, the technology poised to transform electricity

Bloomberg Solar companies go door-to-door in battle with Tesla

Calendar

MONDAY, DEC. 18

3 p.m., 1616 Rhode Island Ave. NW. The Center for Strategic and International Studies’ Energy & National Security Program is hosting Peter Fraser, head of Gas, Coal, and Power Markets at the International Energy Agency, for the U.S. launch of the IEA's Coal 2017: Analysis and Forecasts to 2022.

csis.org/events/ieas-coal-2017-analysis-and-forecasts-2022

TUESDAY, DEC. 19

1 p.m., 562 Dirksen. The Environmental and Energy Study Institute holds a briefing on "What Came Out of the Latest Global Climate Talks," focusing on the implementation of the Paris Climate Agreement.

eesi.org/livecast

Congress takes up final tax reform bill on Tuesday or Wednesday with implications for energy incentives, oil drilling.

WEDNESDAY, DEC. 20

11 a.m.,1000 Independence Ave. SW. The Energy Department, the Homeland Security Department, the Patent and Trademark Office, the State Department, the Environmental Protection Agency, and the Veterans Affairs Department hold the Fourth Annual Interagency Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) Volunteer Fair.

eventbrite.com/e/4th-annual-interagency-stem-volunteer-fair-tickets-38970023389?aff=es