SOLAR:
• Chicago-based ComEd proposes a series of new solar incentives as well as a demand charge as part of a larger Exelon-backed energy bill package before Illinois lawmakers. (Utility Dive/Solar Industry)
• However, Chicago officials say the utility has been actively thwarting solar development in the city for years. (Crain’s Chicago Business)

ALSO:
• Advocates in a community outside Detroit are looking to replace all of the town’s streetlights “in one fell swoop” with solar-powered systems. (Model D Media)
• Three Wisconsin schools will receive solar panels this summer as part of an electric co-op’s program to reduce energy bills and promote the technology. (LaCrosse Tribune)

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OHIO: State Sen. Bill Seitz formally introduces a bill to extend the state’s “freeze” on its clean energy and efficiency standards; background on the bill here. (Cleveland Plain Dealer, Midwest Energy News)

WASTE-TO-ENERGY: A debate over waste-to-energy generating systems is firing up once again in Minnesota as local officials look to expand opportunities in the sector while some advocates contend it is a dirty, non-renewable source of electricity. (Midwest Energy News)

COAL:
• North Dakota’s coal industry plans to seek billions in public assistance from the state over the coming years. (Bismarck Tribune)
• About half of the coal plants in Indiana are opting to spend money on retrofits that will decrease pollutants to comply with new federal regulations. (Indiana Public Media)
• Columbus, Ohio-based Batelle is working with federal agencies on a plan to convert coal to jet fuel using biomass-derived solvents. (Pittsburgh Business Times)
• Video footage of wildlife in a forest near a reclaimed coal mine in southeastern Ohio suggest environmental rehabilitation efforts are working there. (Associated Press)

EFFICIENCY: The mayor of Bloomington, Indiana calls for requiring building owners to report energy usage to allow for benchmarking and efficiency awareness. (WBIW)

FRAC SAND: A new report says it’s difficult to track how much frac sand is being mined in the Midwest and where it is going. (Interlochen Public Radio)

OIL AND GAS: The industry decline in the Bakken oil patch means the gradual end of temporary housing in one oil town. (EnergyWire)

PIPELINES: Canadian regulators approve Enbridge’s plans to upgrade a massive oil pipeline from Alberta to Wisconsin that will also double its capacity. (Associated Press)

POLITICS: Clean energy advocacy group NextGen will spend $25 million on a nationwide campus voter-registration drive, including in Iowa, to drive young voters to the polls in November. (The Gazette)

GASOLINE: Iowa lawmakers appear poised to end a penny-per-gallon fee on wholesale gasoline that had been used to fund the cleanup of underground oil and gas storage tanks. (Radio Iowa)

COMMENTARY:
• Minnesota’s factoring in the “social cost of carbon” when accounting for energy-related pollution demonstrates “great leadership.” (MinnPost)
• A labor leader in Illinois says nuclear power is key to the state’s economic future. (Moline Dispatch-Argus)