COAL: Minnesota regulators are expected to decide today whether to adopt the EPA’s carbon-cost estimate for utility planning, replacing much-lower state figures. (Midwest Energy News)
ALSO: Dynegy proposes changing downstate Illinois’ grid operator to make its power plants more lucrative, and Ohio’s Supreme Court rejects a utility’s argument in a dispute over how much to charge ratepayers for fuel costs (More background on the case here). (Crain’s Chicago Business, Columbus Dispatch)
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EFFICIENCY: A study finds the upper Midwest is among the top regions in the U.S. for energy efficiency. (Midwest Energy News)
ETHANOL: Iowa’s first cellulosic ethanol plant opens, and the EPA says the renewable fuel mandate may rise as gasoline sales increase. (Des Moines Register, Bloomberg)
WIND: North Dakota regulators will require developers of a wind farm to provide financial assurance they’ll be able to eventually decommission the site, and a community-funded South Dakota wind farm is halfway to its goal. (Forum News Service, Associated Press)
TRANSMISSION: In South Dakota and elsewhere, development of new renewable energy resources depends on expanding transmission capacity. (Recharge)
NUCLEAR: Officials in a Minnesota city near a nuclear plant say a decision allowing waste to be stored on-site is “disappointing.” (Rochester Post-Bulletin)
SOLAR: Missouri regulators will investigate complaints of delays in the state’s solar rebate program. (St. Louis Post-Dispatch)
S.S. BADGER: Owners of the S.S. Badger, a coal-fired ferry long criticized for dumping ash into Lake Michigan, say they’ll meet a deadline for installing an ash-retention system. (Chicago Sun-Times)
UTILITIES: More than half of the industrial customer’s in American Electric Power’s Ohio service area have switched to other providers, and Wisconsin regulators will hold a public hearing in October on a proposed Xcel Energy rate increase. (Columbus Business First, La Crosse Tribune)
FRACKING: Drilling is completed at a Michigan well site amid protests. (MLive)
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PROPANE: In Wisconsin, propane industry officials say they don’t expect a repeat of last winter’s shortages. (Associated Press)
COMMENTARY: Why Iowa is ahead of the game on EPA carbon rules. (NRDC Switchboard)