CARBON: EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy says the agency will “provide significant flexibility to the states” in enforcing carbon regulations, and Bloomberg launches a tool to help investors calculate the risk of “stranded” fossil fuel reserves. (The Hill, InsideClimate News)

WIND: A new transmission line will provide a key link as a Minnesota utility seeks its “holy grail” of wind energy backed by Canadian hydropower, and neighbors in a Wisconsin county are divided over a proposed wind farm plan. (Midwest Energy News, Eau Claire Leader-Telegram)

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GRID: Why our current electrical infrastructure “was not built for renewables.” (Los Angeles Times)

ELECTRIC CARS: As Tesla seeks to open its first sales outlet in Ohio, a proposal in the legislature, backed by auto dealers, would ban its business model of selling directly to consumers. (Columbus Dispatch)

OIL: The EPA denies a request by Enbridge to extend its deadline for dredging the Kalamazoo River, North Dakota plans to launch a website this week to report pipeline spills, and drillers may have struck oil on land seized by a Michigan county from an anti-government activist who refused to pay taxes. (Associated Press, MLive)

‘PETKOCH’: Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel launches a campaign calling on residents to report pollution from petroleum coke dust. (Chicago Tribune)

COAL: Dynegy closes a deal to take over five Illinois coal plants from Ameren after state regulators grant an extension for installing pollution controls. (Associated Press)

MISSOURI: The state seeks dismissal of a lawsuit contending it isn’t meeting its obligations under a voter-approved renewable energy law. (Springfield News-Leader)

FRACKING: A report finds the oil and gas industry has added nearly 2,000 jobs in Ohio since 2011. (Columbus Business First)

FRAC SAND: A Wisconsin frac sand mine is moving forward despite a county moratorium; Winona, Minnesota approves a plan to install air pollution monitors; and a University of Iowa team will study air quality around frac sand mines in Wisconsin. (Madison Capital Times, Winona Daily News, Radio Iowa)

EFFICIENCY: Iowa regulators approve a plan by Alliant Energy to lower its energy-efficiency goals. (Associated Press)

ETHANOL: How the biofuel boom is encroaching on prime hunting ground in the Great Plains. (Associated Press)

COMMENTARY: Why climate denial is becoming a political liability, how Minnesota can regain leadership on climate issues, and why the “utility death spiral” is a myth. (Grist, Minneapolis Star Tribune, Forbes)

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Ken Paulman

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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