FRACKING: Highly anticipated rules governing fracking will be submitted to the Illinois legislature on Friday. (Chicago Tribune)
GRID: Illinois is on track to be the first state to formalize who owns consumers’ utility data and how it should be released. (Midwest Energy News)
***SPONSORED LINK: Support Solar in Illinois – Purchase a raffle ticket to win a Tesla Model S and Bosch Home Charger from the Illinois Solar Energy Association! Only 2,000 tickets will be sold.***
OIL: An explosion at BP’s Whiting refinery alarms neighbors and injures one worker, but the impact on production is expected to be minimal; and an ethanol group opposes a proposed pipeline through Iowa. (Times of Northwest Indiana, Reuters, Des Moines Register)
POLITICS: A Michigan Democrat is making climate change a central issue in his run for U.S. Senate. (Politico)
POLLUTION: The EPA says minority communities will benefit most from carbon rules, researchers say more study is needed on whether fracking is connected to birth defects, and a new report says breathing chemicals from the 2010 Kalamazoo River oil spill is not expected to cause long-term harm. (Bloomberg, MLive)
COAL: Despite the coal industry’s decline, miners are reluctant to pursue other options. (Washington Post)
NUCLEAR: A Michigan congressman will announce a plan to oppose a Canadian nuclear waste facility while aboard a schooner on Lake Huron. (MLive)
TRANSPORTATION: Why natural gas-powered trucks aren’t catching on as fast as backers had hoped. (Wall Street Journal)
ILLINOIS: A Chicago suburb begins reopening its city hall after it was closed because of alleged threats over a proposed power plant. (CBS Chicago)
TRANSMISSION: Ohio regulators approve a new route for a transmission line that bypasses a historic conservation site. (Toledo Blade)
***SPONSORED LINK: The Illinois Renewable Energy Association will host the 13th annual Illinois Renewable Energy and Sustainable Lifestyle Fair on August 23 and 24 at the Ogle County Fairgrounds, Oregon, Illinois.***
MEDIA: A closer look reveals the AP’s story about bird deaths at solar plants may have been overhyped. (Breaking Energy)
COMMENTARY: Why “energy freedom” will be good for Michigan consumers. (Detroit News)