CLEAN ENERGY:
• As the country transitions away from coal to more wind, solar and natural gas, experts say new grid regulations are needed to ensure reliability. (EnergyWire)
Advocates call on Illinois lawmakers to pass a Clean Jobs Bill which calls for 35 percent clean energy by 2030. (Peoria Public Radio)

ADVOCACY: The head of Michigan’s state-sanctioned ratepayer advocacy group seeks more funding to balance the interests of industrial users and large utilities. (Midwest Energy News)

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PIPELINES: A Texas company wants to use a 98-year-old pipeline to move crude oil across a river from Michigan to Canada without public comment or an environmental review. (Detroit Free Press)

WIND: More than 31 percent of the electricity generated in Iowa last year came from wind, the first time a state has broken the 30 percent threshold. (The Gazette)

SOLAR:
• In a new survey of utility professionals, 91 percent of respondents said they expect utility-scale solar to “increase significantly or moderately in their fuel mixes over the next five years.” (Utility Dive)
A utility operating in parts of the Dakotas reaches an agreement with solar advocates to reduce residential demand charges. (Utility Dive)
A South Dakota cooperative looks to develop more solar. (Mitchell Daily Republic)
Residents in southern Illinois see the economic benefits of going solar. (Southern Illinoisan)

NATURAL GAS:
• Advocates say the natural gas boom is creating a wave of new petrochemical plants that would emit a massive amount of greenhouse gases. (Associated Press)
A new industry report says natural gas pipelines don’t hurt property values. (Toledo Blade)

DEMAND: Iowa’s energy demand grew 27 percent between 2000 and 2013 even though demand nationally fell during that time. (Business Record)

CONGRESS: A sweeping federal energy bill may return to the Senate floor for a vote this week. (E&E Daily)

WASTE-TO-ENERGY: Major cities are leading the charge to turn food waste from homes into energy. (Governing)

COAL:
• The Illinois attorney general files a lawsuit against a coal company over a slurry discharge last month. (Southern Illinoisan)
Self-bonding raises questions over mine reclamation in states across the country. (National Public Radio)

OIL AND GAS: Despite the industry downturn, some Kansas companies are still drilling for oil and gas on properties due to agreements with landowners. (Wichita Eagle)

COMMENTARY: The head of Illinois’ coal industry trade group says the Obama administration’s “war on coal is bigger than its war on terror — and arguably more effective.” (Southern Business Journal)

Andy compiles the Midwest Energy News digest and was a journalism fellow for Midwest Energy News from 2014-2020. He is managing editor of MiBiz in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and was formerly a reporter and editor at City Pulse, Lansing’s alternative newsweekly.

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