OHIO: Advocates say FirstEnergy’s efficiency cuts are part of a larger pattern of being overly focused on short-term financial gain. (Midwest Energy News)

ALSO: An Ohio lawmaker says the state’s energy law study committee is “nothing more than a sham,” and state regulators miss a deadline for a decision on an American Electric Power proposal that would in part guarantee income from one of its coal plants. (Columbus Dispatch)

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CLIMATE: EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy says “you may see adjustments” in proposed carbon rules before they are finalized next year, and big businesses raise their profile in the push for action on climate change. (SNL, InsideClimate News)

SOLAR: Minnesota regulators delay a decision on a major solar project, a Wisconsin homebuilder will make all of its new homes solar-compatible, and a Wisconsin county considers a landfill cap that would generate solar energy, (Rochester Post-Bulletin, BizTimes, Wisconsin State Journal)

FRACKING: An Ohio lawmaker says revenue from a fracking tax could be used to fight algae blooms on Lake Erie, and drillers in Pennsylvania are using less water. (Columbus Business First, Associated Press)

OIL: More than 80,000 people attend a rural Nebraska concert headlined by Neil Young and Willie Nelson to protest the Keystone XL pipeline, the oil boom brings prosperity and problems to a North Dakota reservation. (Omaha World-Herald, Washington Post)

CARBON CAPTURE: The EPA approves a second carbon capture site at an Illinois ethanol plant. (Decatur Herald-Review)

UTILITIES: A Michigan co-op challenges a FERC ruling requiring it to pay more to keep an Upper Peninsula coal plant operating. (Electric Co-op Today)

POLITICS: Farmers raise concerns about climate change in Iowa’s Senate race, and energy issues play a prominent role in a Michigan Senate race. (Cedar Rapids Gazette, Detroit News)

EFFICIENCY: Advocates say Wisconsin officials are violating state law by not updating energy efficiency codes for buildings. (Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism)

COAL: A new memorial honors a fallen miner in southern Illinois, schools struggle as families leave coal country, and songwriter Jimmy Rose will open this year’s Lignite Energy Council meeting in North Dakota with his song “Coal Keeps the Lights On.” (Carbondale Southern Illinoisan, Associated Press, Bismarck Tribune)

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MISSOURI: Gov. Jay Nixon announces a group of more than 50 business and energy leaders that will help develop the state’s energy policy. (Associated Press)

COMMENTARY: On climate, “the real momentum is coming from local political leaders.” (Minneapolis Star Tribune)

 

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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