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)

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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