COAL: Midwest Generation’s four Illinois coal plants will continue operating as it files for bankruptcy, but observers say it’s only a matter of time before the company’s financial difficulties force the plants to shut down. (Midwest Energy News)
CLIMATE: Ann Arbor, Michigan, sets a goal of reducing its carbon emissions 90 percent by 2050. (AnnArbor.com)
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FRACKING: Republican governors urge the Obama administration to abandon chemical disclosure rules for fracking, saying such regulation should be left to states. (The Hill)
KEYSTONE XL: While TransCanada has declared Keystone XL will be the “safest, most advanced pipeline ever built in North America,” it will actually have fewer safety features than other pipelines. (InsideClimate News)
FRAC SAND: A Minnesota town, facing legal pressure from developers, decides to forgo an environmental impact study on a proposed frac sand shipping facility. (Minneapolis Star Tribune)
AGGREGATION: Voters in Bloomington, Illinois will get another chance to adopt municipal aggregation after rejecting a similar proposal in a primary election earlier this year. (Bloomington Pantagraph)
OIL SANDS: Canada decides to put the brakes on Chinese buyouts of oil sands firms. (EnergyWire)
EFFICIENCY: An Illinois town hopes a cooling system called the “Ice Bear,” which takes advantage of low off-peak energy prices to freeze water for cooling later in the day, will help cut energy costs at its public works building. (Chicago Tribune)
COMMENTARY: A roundtable on whether Congress should extend the wind tax credit, and why a report gushing with optimism over fracking jobs in Illinois should be met with skepticism. (National Journal, Midwest Energy News)