PETCOKE: Illinois and Chicago officials will announce today an agreement to remove petroleum coke piles from the city’s southeast side, and to provide detailed information about where it winds up. (CBS Chicago)

POLICY: A proposal in the U.S. Senate would radically overhaul federal energy incentives, creating a system that is “more predictable, rational and technology-neutral.” (Greenwire)

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WIND: The Ohio Supreme Court upholds a permit for a 24,000 acre wind farm, and the industry expects another slowdown in 2014 if the production tax credit isn’t renewed. (Columbus Dispatch, Des Moines Register)

SMART GRID: The latest round of USDA utility grants includes small but significant investments in rural smart grid infrastructure. (Greentech Media)

MICHIGAN: Gov. Rick Snyder is expected to outline long-term energy goals for the state at an appearance in Detroit today. (Detroit Free Press)

EFFICIENCY: Madison officials consider an ordinance requiring owners of large commercial buildings to disclose their energy use. (Wisconsin State Journal)

FRAC SAND: Officials in a Wisconsin town narrowly prevail in a recall election over their support for frac sand mining. (Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism)

NATURAL GAS: An Oklahoma company won’t be fined for operating a natural gas pipeline in North Dakota without proper permits, a Wisconsin utility selects a site for a possible new power plant, and a study finds Wyoming could economically convert some natural gas into gasoline. (Fargo Forum, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Casper Star-Tribune)

BIOFUELS: The EPA will invalidate more than 30 million renewable fuel credits sold by an Indiana company for biofuel it didn’t produce. (Bloomberg)

ELECTRIC CARS: Ohio car dealers sue to block Tesla from setting up shop in the state, and the strange story of the battery firm that promised GM a 200-mile electric car. (Columbus Dispatch, Quartz)

COMMENTARY: The right to power our own homes, how biomass combined heat-and-power plants can be a climate solution, and can the wind industry survive without the production tax credit? (Midwest Energy News, Ensia, The Energy Collective)

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Ken Paulman

Ken is the director of the Energy News Network at Fresh Energy and is a founding editor of both Midwest Energy News and Southeast Energy News. Prior to joining Fresh Energy, he was the managing editor for online news at Minnesota Public Radio. He started his journalism career in 2002 as a copy editor for the Duluth News Tribune before spending five years at the Spokesman-Review in Spokane, Washington, where he worked as a copy editor, online producer, features editor and night city editor. A Nebraska native, Ken has a bachelor's degree from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and a master's degree from the University of Oregon. He is a member of the Society of Professional Journalists and Investigative Reporters and Editors.

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