EPA: How last week’s court decision striking down the Cross-State pollution rule could lead to even stronger public health protections. (Greenwire)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES: A pilot project in Indianapolis will test new technology that enables electric cars to communicate directly with utilities to find the cheapest time to charge. (Midwest Energy News)

OIL: A small Minnesota town becomes the gateway for much of America’s oil supply, Hyperion seeks indefinite extensions on land options as its proposed $10 billion refinery makes its way through the court system, the Bakken now consumes up to three times as much water as Fargo, and why an “old-school roughneck” wants to leave North Dakota. (Minneapolis Star Tribune, Sioux Falls Argus Leader, Forum Communications)

ALSO: An industry-backed group claims the U.S. and Canada could supply 90 percent of their own oil if regulatory obstacles are removed. (Columbus Dispatch)

ETHANOL: The GOP is divided on the ethanol mandate, and a small Minnesota company helps biofuel firms assess where they stand in the industry. (Des Moines Register, Minneapolis Star Tribune)

MICHIGAN: Amway and other Michigan manufacturers announce their opposition to a ballot measure expanding the state’s renwable energy standard. (MLive.com)

EFFICIENCY: A recent federal court ruling boosts the prospects for residential PACE financing. (Forbes)

CLIMATE: A scientist’s threatened defamation suit against the National Journal could turn into a Scopes Monkey Trial for climate science. (New York Times)

TRANSPORTATION: The group planning a high-speed rail link between Minneapolis and Duluth remains optimistic the project will be funded. (Finance & Commerce)

GRID: Some utilities are warming up to distributed generation. (Forbes)

WIND: An Iowa company gives the public an up-close look at wind turbine manufacturing. (Iowa City Press-Citizen)

COMMENTARY: Why Minnesota is the “Get it done, make it happen state” for biofuels, and the Toledo Blade says the losers in last week’s court decision on the EPA cross-state rule are “Americans who suffer the health consequences of dirty air.” (Biofuels Digest, Toledo Blade)

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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