WIND: A Minnesota appeals court rejects a challenge from opponents of the Goodhue Wind project that sought to require developers to abide by a restrictive county ordinance. (Rochester Post-Bulletin)

OIL: InsideClimate News publishes the first installment of a three-part investigative series on the 2010 Kalamazoo River oil spill. The report is also available as an e-book. (KMOX)

MEANWHILE: Landowners in Michigan and Indiana get a firsthand look at Enbridge’s plans to expand the Line 6B pipeline – the source of the 2010 spill. (Kalamazoo Gazette)

FRACKING: As the public increasingly demands disclosure of the chemicals used in fracking operations, drilling companies remain determined to keep their formulas from competitors; and Obama officials say federal fracking regulations are on track to be completed by the end of the year despite extension of a public comment period. (EnergyWire, The Hill)

ALSO: A Michigan man says newly released emails show two major drilling companies colluded to drive down the price of his land, costing him as much as $54 million. (Reuters)

COAL: Chicago-based Exelon could take as much as a 40 percent discount in the sale of a Maryland coal plant, the first such sale in four years, indicating a steep devaluation for much of the nation’s coal fleet. (Bloomberg)

CLIMATE: Facing millions of dollars in upgrades and repairs to the city’s stormwater system, Duluth officials consider how to plan for stronger storms in a warming climate. (Minneapolis Star Tribune)

SOLAR: A St. Louis bar owner prevails in his effort to install solar panels atop his historic building, as a city preservation board grants him a variance and votes to further study how to accommodate renewable energy projects in historic districts. (KMOX)

TRANSPORTATION: Six months after a post-crash-test fire in a Chevy Volt fueled nationwide media hysteria over electric cars, General Motors announced it is recalling half a million gasoline-powered Chevy Cruzes because of an engine fire risk. (Detroit Free Press)

NORTH DAKOTA: At a renewable energy summit in Bismarck, North Dakota officials say the state’s energy policy should provide a model for the rest of the nation to follow. (Associated Press)

TECHNOLOGY: A California company announces a $29, 60W-equivalent LED bulb that you can control with your smartphone. (Treehugger)

COMMENTARY: David Roberts says it’s time to stop giving coal companies a sweetheart deal on public lands, and Tina Casey says programs like the USDA’s REAP grants are a more effective job creator that the Keystone XL pipeline. (Grist, CleanTechnica)

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.

Leave a comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.