OHIO: Critics say Ohio’s Energy Mandates Study Committee has so far been overly focused on the drawbacks of clean energy, without considering benefits. (Midwest Energy News)
CLIMATE: Advocates say Wisconsin and Florida may be just the beginning of a broader effort to chill climate change discussion at state agencies. (InsideClimate News)
***SPONSORED LINK: EPA’s section 111(D) is driving generation and transmission in MISO. Infocast’s MISO Market Summit 2015 will bring policy-makers together with utility, IPP and DR executives to explore the opportunities to solve reliability and power market problems. ***
PIPELINES: A Minnesota judge issues a favorable ruling for a proposed Bakken oil pipeline, but state regulators will have the final say. (Minneapolis Star Tribune)
ALSO: Tribes continue to push back against Keystone XL. (The Hill)
MICHIGAN: In a debate over Michigan’s electric choice law, schools and other customers say utilities are conjuring up a “doomsday scenario” to justify eliminating competition. (Detroit News)
COAL: A coal-dependent Ohio co-op calls on members to help with “battling on the legislative front” against EPA carbon rules and other policies. (Paulding Progress)
EPA: Federal judges will hear arguments this week from states trying to block the Clean Power Plan. (Greenwire)
OIL AND GAS:
• Developers consider a new pipeline to move natural gas products out of Ohio. (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)
• North Dakota will study using oilfield waste in road construction. (Associated Press)
***SPONSORED LINK: What is the media’s role in addressing environmental challenges? Join Ensia magazine for a conversation with journalist Marc Gunther May 20 at the University of Minnesota. Free and open to the public.***
TRANSMISSION: Developers of the Grain Belt Express line submit plans to Illinois regulators. (St. Louis Post-Dispatch)
COMMENTARY:
• Why expanding renewable energy will require investing in the grid. (Forbes)
• How energy efficiency is disrupting utility business models. (The Energy Collective)