OIL: An accident at BP’s Whiting refinery just outside Chicago spills oil into Lake Michigan, affecting about a half-mile of shoreline. (Chicago Tribune, Associated Press)
ALSO: Cleanup of an oil spill at an Ohio nature preserve is expected to take another week; the fire chief of Casselton, North Dakota testifies before Congress on oil train safety; and Exxon withholds key information as it prepares to restart an Arkansas pipeline. (Columbus Dispatch, Fargo Forum, InsideClimate News)
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WIND: An appeals court upholds Wisconsin’s wind siting rules, rejecting a challenge from realtors and other groups calling for a study on housing impacts; and debate continues over an Illinois bill that would place wind siting authority with the state. (Associated Press, Rock River Times)
KANSAS: The state Senate approves a bill to repeal the state’s renewable energy standard. (Topeka Capital-Journal)
OHIO: Renewable energy advocates say a think-tank’s grade of C+ for Ohio doesn’t tell the whole story. (Midwest Energy News)
SOLAR: Minnesota regulators hear arguments pitting a proposed solar project against natural gas to meet a utility’s peak generating needs. (Minneapolis Star Tribune)
TESLA: Ohio auto dealers reach a compromise that will allow Tesla to open three stores in the state. (Columbus Dispatch)
EFFICIENCY: LED bulb prices are expected to rival incandescents by 2020, and an Indiana utility says it will continue investing in efficiency even if a state standard is repealed. (Greentech Media, Fort Wayne News-Sentinel)
COAL: Black Hills power closes a unit at a Wyoming coal plant, a worker is killed on the job at an Indiana coal mine, and the House votes to halt new coal-mining rules. (Casper Star-Tribune, Associated Press, The Hill)
NUCLEAR: Engineers examine concrete at the Davis-Besse nuclear plant in Ohio to determine whether it is safe. (Toledo Blade)
WASTE TO ENERGY: A court rules Green Bay officials acted improperly when they revoked a tribe’s permit to build a waste-to-energy plant, and Wisconsin-based InSinkErator develops a system to convert food waste into energy. (Green Bay Press-Gazette, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)
STORAGE: A project in Nevada uses rail cars rolling up and down a hill to store energy. (ClimateWire)
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MEDIA: An Iowa political operative plans a new news and commentary site focused on energy and technology issues. (Des Moines Register)
COMMENTARY: An update on utilities’ progress on energy efficiency, and how Illinois can continue to grow its electric vehicle infrastructure. (NRDC Switchboard, Crain’s Chicago Business)