GASOLINE: Cheaper Canadian oil is mostly benefiting Midwest refiners, not drivers, a fact that undermines one of the main arguments in favor of building the Keystone XL pipeline. (InsideClimate)
BIOFUELS: An aviation biofuels industry is trying to get off the ground in the Midwest and could someday help power planes with corn stalks, woody debris or even municipal garbage. (Midwest Energy News)
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NORTH DAKOTA: Large banks have been hesitant to invest in North Dakota oil boom communities. Also: North Dakota crude is displacing Alaskan oil at refineries in Washington state, and new tax breaks take effect today for drillers that reduce natural gas flaring. (Reuters, The Associated Press)
SOLAR: An Ohio solar firm that was unable to perfect its manufacturing process is shutting down, and a Michigan solar farm continues to fight with a township over property taxes. (Toledo Blade, Mlive.com)
WIND: An Indiana consumer rights group says wind farm opponents are spreading misinformation about wind energy. (Kokomo Tribune)
SMART METERS: Michigan regulators will allow Consumers Energy to charge a fee to customers who refuse smart meter installations. (Detroit Free Press)
UTILITIES: The Minneapolis City Council voted Friday to set public hearings on forming a municipal energy utility. (Star Tribune)
COAL: Coal-dependent utilities in North Dakota have “grave concerns” about President Obama’s plan to reduce carbon emissions, and U.S. Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz says the federal government is not waging a “war on coal.” (Fargo Forum, Reuters)
FRACKING: Ohio is importing more fracking waste, raising environmental concerns about disposal wells in the state. (The Columbus Dispatch)
COMMENTARY: A frac-sand mining company is flouting Minnesota environmental-review procedures, writes the founder of Friends of the Mississippi River. (MinnPost.com)