NUCLEAR: In what critics dub a “sweetheart deal,” documents show the Obama administration waived millions of dollars in loan fees for two new nuclear reactors. (Greenwire)
SOLAR: Minnesota lawmakers are expected to vote today on legislation that would prevent homeowners associations from banning solar panels, and a convent in Green Bay begins work on what will be one of the state’s largest solar arrays. (Midwest Energy News, Green Bay Press-Gazette)
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COAL: An Ohio utility says it needs more time to find a buyer for its coal plants, and coal mining company with operations in Indiana declares bankruptcy. (Platts, Indiana Public Media)
CLIMATE: How Keystone XL stacks up to EPA carbon rules in terms of impact on emissions. (New York Times)
FRACKING: Oil companies in North Dakota make deals to use water from flooded farmland for drilling, and why drilling companies are learning that smaller is better when it comes to land leasing. (Bismarck Tribune, Wall Street Journal)
FRAC SAND: An Iowa county approves new restrictions on frac sand mining. (KCRG)
OIL: Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx will visit the site of a December oil train explosion in North Dakota. (Associated Press)
GRID: Why batteries may not be the key to energy storage. (New York Times)
TRANSPORTATION: Some star athletes are shunning luxury SUVs for more fuel-efficient rides. (New York Times)
TECHNOLOGY: Ohio State students win a $100,000 prize for developing a battery that runs on potassium and air. (Columbus Business First)
MEDIA: EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy talks about the Obama administrations climate efforts on the Daily Show. (Comedy Central)
COMMENTARY: How wind turbines compare to other bird killers, how Wisconsin would benefit from a carbon tax, and why Michigan should “follow the military’s lead to advance a 21st century energy sector.” (Bloomberg, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Detroit News)