TRANSMISSION: American Transmission Co. plans to spend up to $3.6 billion upgrading power lines in Wisconsin, Michigan, Iowa and Illinois over the next 10 years. (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)
ALSO: A new 48-mile transmission line in Ohio will improve reliability following the shutdown of three coal plants. (Toledo Blade)
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EFFICIENCY: Wal-Mart joins the LED bulb pricing war, offering a 60-watt equivalent bulb for less than $9; and in addition to saving money, new LED lighting at a Michigan hockey arena will improve the game: “goalies say they can see the puck a lot better.” (Greentech Media, MLive)
CLIMATE: Business leaders in Cleveland get a first look at a plan to cut the city’s emissions 80 percent by 2050. (Cleveland Plain Dealer)
FRACKING: A report released by an Ohio environmental group calls fracking “an environmental nightmare,” and truck traffic from drilling prompts closure of a historic Ohio bridge. (Youngstown Vindicator, Columbus Dispatch)
GRID: A surge in renewable energy is driving renewed interest in large-scale energy storage. (New York Times)
ELECTRIC CARS: Tesla’s battery fire revives a safety debate over electric cars, though still a tiny fraction of the nearly 200,000 car fires in the U.S. each year. (Associated Press)
FROM THE ARCHIVE: In 2011, when a fire in a crash-tested Chevy Volt made headlines, we took a closer look at safety issues surrounding lithium-ion batteries. (Midwest Energy News)
SOLAR: A new solar panel factory opens in northern Michigan. (UpNorthLive)
NATURAL GAS: A T. Boone Pickens-backed venture will announce today that it will begin selling motor fuel derived from landfill gas at filling stations in California. (New York Times)
MICHIGAN: Consumers Energy releases its first-ever accountability report, highlighting how it plans to continue meeting energy needs and cut emissions. (CBS Detroit)
COMMENTARY: Five charts that show why nuclear energy is going nowhere. (Business Insider)