ELECTRIC VEHICLES: While hybrid and electric vehicles aren’t typically renowned for their performance, competitors in some of the world’s most prestigious motorsports events are turning that perception on its head. (Midwest Energy News)

EPA: The EPA’s top air pollution regulator will go before a House panel today to defend the agency’s greenhouse gas regulations. (The Hill)

SOLAR: Falling prices claim another solar firm, providing fresh ammunition for critics of the Department of Energy’s loan guarantee program, from which the Colorado company, Abound Solar, received nearly $70 million. (Greenwire)

ALSO: Officials in Marietta, Ohio, plan to install solar panels at four municipal buildings to offset expected rate increases from AEP. (Marietta Times)

NATURAL GAS: Wisconsin officials approve a $30 million natural gas pipeline project that could enable a Milwaukee power plant to switch from coal to gas. (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)

FRACKING: An Ohio professor says a silca-based substance he’s developing could provide a way to filter fracking wastewater without relying on injection wells. (New York Times)

WIND: Opponents of a Michigan wind farm hope to unseat members of a county board who supported the project, and rewrite a local wind ordinance, and a bird advocacy group is installing a 100 meter wind turbine at its headquarters in England. (Muskegon Chronicle, Treehugger)

CLEANTECH: South Korean conglomerate LG has invested $45 million in a North Canton-based fuel cell manufacturer. (Cleveland Plain Dealer)

OIL: In Lima, Ohio, a representative from a Canadian oil industry group touts the benefits of the oil sands as a nearby refinery considers converting to process the heavy crude; North Dakota officials award another $25 million for public safety and infrastructure projects in Oil Patch counties; and Michigan lifts its fish consumption advisory for part of the Kalamazoo River. (Lima News, Grand Forks Herald, Associated Press)

COMMENTARY: Geoffrey Styles says an “all of the above” energy approach needs to include research funding for long-shot technologies like nuclear fusion. (The Energy Collective)

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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