OHIO: The EPA says a state law that shields details of fracking chemicals from public disclosure violates a federal statute. (Columbus Dispatch)
RENEWABLES: Renewable energy will surpass natural gas as the world’s second largest source of electricity (after coal) by 2016, according to IEA projections, and a new Department of Energy facility will be devoted solely to improving methods of integrating renewable power into the grid. (Associated Press, The Energy Collective)
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CLIMATE: Energy experts project how President Obama’s climate plan will play out for utilities, Republicans plan to focus on jobs instead of science, and scientists hope Obama “will be courageous” in continuing to discuss climate change. (ClimateWire, Politico, EnergyWire)
MINNEAPOLIS: Mayoral candidates debate the merits of breaking with Xcel to form a municipal utility, as the city council considers hiring an energy nonprofit to study the details. (Midwest Energy News, Minneapolis Star Tribune)
POLLUTION: SunCoke Energy will pay more than $100 million to settle alleged pollution violations at facilities in Ohio and Illinois. (St. Louis Post-Dispatch)
ETHANOL: An EPA official says the U.S. ethanol industry will hit the “blend wall” — where production exceeds the amount of ethanol allowed in gasoline — by next year. (Bloomberg)
OIL: Activists from the Red Lake Nation continue to protest a proposed Enbridge pipeline expansion in northern Minnesota. (Bemidji Pioneer)
KEYSTONE XL: Opponents and backers of Keystone XL are “still a little perplexed” by President Obama’s comments on the pipeline in his climate address. (The Hill)
WIND: A UK study examines what to do with decommissioned wind turbines, and a judge rules a Minnesota man must take down a 29-foot wind turbine he erected in his backyard. (BBC, Minneapolis Star Tribune)
NUCLEAR: Neighbors of the Kewaunee nuclear plant in Wisconsin object to storing fuel rods onsite, saying it will discourage redevelopment; and operators of a Nebraska nuclear plant seek to reassure regulators that they are responding to safety concerns. (Green Bay Press-Gazette, Omaha World-Herald)
FRACKING: Halliburton uses spy technology to listen to “frac music” underground. (Bloomberg)
COMMENTARY: Why fighting climate change will still largely be up to the states. (Greentech Media)