NOTE TO READERS: Midwest Energy News is taking a break for Thanksgiving. The email digest will return on Monday, December 1.

EFFICIENCY: Ohio regulators approve FirstEnergy’s request to suspend the utility’s efficiency programs by the end of the year. Utilities in Florida also contend that conservation goals cost ratepayers. (Cleveland Plain Dealer, Tampa Bay Business Journal)

FRACKING: An Illinois judge denies a request to prevent new fracking rules from taking effect. In Ohio, environmental advocates are worried about proposed fracking rules moving through the Statehouse. (Chicago Tribune, Columbus Dispatch)

COAL: Clean-energy advocates join legal battle between North Dakota and Minnesota over law banning new coal-fired generation. In Illinois, developers are trying to build an alternative to the FutureGen clean-coal project. (Minneapolis Star Tribune, EnergyWire)

OHIO: The first meeting of Ohio’s energy standards committee gets off to shaky start. (Columbus Business First)

TRANSMISSION: As landowners in Iowa prepare to fight major transmission line, the wind-energy company behind the plan attempts to build support in Illinois. Farther north, line crews encounter bad weather and wildlife in transmission project connecting Minnesota and Wisconsin. (Herald-Review, Madison.com)

DIVESTMENT: The ‘carbon bubble’ has activists and cities heading down path of fossil-fuel divestment. (ClimateWire)

INVESTMENT: The University of Cincinnati becomes the first public university in U.S. to fund energy projects with ‘green bonds’; a Wisconsin-based startup raises $1.4 million for energy efficiency technology for large electricity users. (Cincinnati Business Courier, Milwaukee Business Journal)

WIND: The Department of Veterans Affairs cancels a contract with private firm after the company fails to bring an operational wind turbine to a Minnesota medical center. (Associated Press)

STORM: Tens of thousands lose power as strong winds cause damage in southern Michigan and Metro Detroit. (MLive, CBS Detroit)

BIOFUELS: Illinois researchers identify biofuel alternatives to corn in the Midwest. (Biofuels Digest)

SPILL: HAZMAT crews respond to a chemical spill at a Duke Energy plant in Ohio, the same site where thousands of gallons of fuel emptied into the Ohio River this summer. (WXIX TV)

HOLIDAY: Consumers Energy breaks down the electricity costs for cooking a Thanksgiving dinner. (MLive)

COMMENTARY: EPA needs to recognize role of nuclear in energy future. (The Hill)

Ken is the director of the Energy News Network at Fresh Energy and is a founding editor of both Midwest Energy News and Southeast Energy News. Prior to joining Fresh Energy, he was the managing editor for online news at Minnesota Public Radio. He started his journalism career in 2002 as a copy editor for the Duluth News Tribune before spending five years at the Spokesman-Review in Spokane, Washington, where he worked as a copy editor, online producer, features editor and night city editor. A Nebraska native, Ken has a bachelor's degree from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and a master's degree from the University of Oregon. He is a member of the Society of Professional Journalists and Investigative Reporters and Editors.

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