KEYSTONE XL: A State Department environmental impact statement released Friday says Keystone XL will have little impact on climate change, but also says the U.S. can meet its energy needs without it; environmental groups say they’ll continue to fight the project. (Washington Post, NPR)
MEANWHILE: Canadian oil finds its way to market via railroads. (Minneapolis Star Tribune)
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BAKKEN: North Dakota’s largest drilling companies want to put an end to natural gas flaring, drilling costs in the state are dropping, and companies pool resources to protect Lake Sakakawea from oil spills. (EnergyWire, Minneapolis Star Tribune, Grand Forks Herald)
MICHIGAN: Enbridge is refusing to pay $800,000 to complete two studies assessing the damage from the 2010 Kalamazoo River oil spill. (Detroit Free Press)
SOLAR: Wal-Mart installs solar panels at 12 Ohio stores, increasing the state’s solar capacity by 10 percent and making the retailer the state’s largest consumer of solar energy. (Dayton Daily News)
WIND: Wisconsin regulators refuse to reconsider their earlier rejection of a permit for a proposed wind farm in the western part of the state, and a Minnesota utility releases a resource plan calling for more wind power. (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Duluth News Tribune)
NATURAL GAS: Natural gas challenges the coal industry in Ohio, and the climate impact of methane leaks comes under scrutiny. (Los Angeles Times, Washington Post)
NUCLEAR: A Nebraska congressman questions the NRC over delays restarting the Fort Calhoun nuclear plant, and rising costs diminish political support for new nuclear plants in the South. (Omaha World-Herald, Associated Press)
EPA: Enforcement of environmental laws “has really taken it on the chin” thanks to congressional budget cuts. (National Journal)
COMMENTARY: Wisconsin lawmakers go nuclear on renewable energy. (Midwest Energy News)