COAL: As natural gas is now the top fuel source for U.S. power plants, the bond market foretells further decline for the coal industry. (Associated Press, Bloomberg)

ALSO:
• A bill to promote Illinois coal may not hold up legally. (Carbondale Southern Illinoisan)
• A Rapid City power plant, decommissioned in 2012, will be dismantled. (Rapid City Journal)

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EFFICIENCY:
• A new agency aims to break the logjam for PACE financing in Missouri. (Midwest Energy News)
• The Columbus, Ohio Habitat for Humanity chapter will continue using tough efficiency standards that had been required under federal funding. (Columbus Dispatch)

CLIMATE: A new report ranks a Minnesota cooperative as the second-most carbon intensive utility in the country. (Mother Jones)

PIPELINES: A state task force is expected to release a report on safety of the Straits of Mackinac pipelines later today. (MLive)

POLLUTION: State officials say air pollution contributes to 2,000 deaths annually in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area. (Minneapolis Star Tribune)

FRACKING: A former steel mill in Ohio is being used to process drilling waste. (WTRF)

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SOLAR: A Missouri co-op executive and a solar industry leader discuss the rural energy future. (Houston Herald)

POLITICS: The Wisconsin League of Conservation Voters says Gov. Scott Walker has a record of “supporting polluters over people” and “would be a disaster for our nation” as president. (Wisconsin Gazette)

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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