KEYSTONE XL: The State Department’s final environmental impact statement on Keystone XL is expected to be released today. (Politico)

WIND: Advocates push for revival of the production tax credit, and opinions vary on whether 30-year “take” permits will impact eagle conservation. (Washington Post, Midwest Energy News)

***SPONSORED LINK: The 2014 Clean Energy Challenge business plan competition awards over $500,000 in prizes to the Midwest’s best clean tech researchers, entrepreneurs and students! Early bird tickets available. Presented by Clean Energy Trust. #StartUpNow***

SOLAR: A new report says Iowa’s solar potential is 150 times greater than its actual energy consumption. (Des Moines Register)

REGULATION: A coalition of business and industry groups launches a campaign opposing EPA carbon rules, and Indiana lawmakers advance a bill barring state regulators from adopting rules tougher than federal standards. (The Hill, Associated Press)

ALSO: President Obama will nominate former federal prosecutor Norman Bay to chair the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, and four finalists are named to head the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio. (Bloomberg, Columbus Dispatch)

FRACKING: Ohio Gov. John Kasich says he will veto any “puny” drilling tax legislation, and some Nebraska landowners are wary of plans to drill for oil in the western part of the state. (Columbus Dispatch, Scottsbluff Star-Herald)

NATURAL GAS: Why the gas-boom state of Ohio is facing shortages this winter. (Cleveland Plain Dealer)

OIL BY RAIL: Documents show federal railroad authorities collect relatively small fines for safety violations. (McClatchy)

COAL ASH: The EPA says it will establish rules regulating coal ash by the end of this year. (Center for Public Integrity)

COAL: Wisconsin regulators approve a plan to convert a Milwaukee coal plant to natural gas, and Ball State University will stop burning coal at its steam plant. (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Associated Press)

UTILITIES: Investor-owned utilities struggle with declining demand, extreme weather boosts Xcel Energy’s profits, and a California regulator says the “utility death spiral” is “last year’s hype.” (EnergyWire, Minneapolis Star Tribune, Greentech Media)

OHIO: An Ohio bill would place limits on currently unregulated “submeter” companies that resell electricity in multi-unit buildings. (Columbus Dispatch)

MICHIGAN: Consumers Energy says it will save more than $500 million by purchasing a power plant in Jackson instead of building a new one. (MLive)

TRANSMISSION: Developers of a wind energy transmission line tout new job creation from partnerships with Missouri suppliers. (St. Louis Post-Dispatch)

CLIMATE: Michigan Rep. Fred Upton is among 24 House Republicans who recently rejected an amendment acknowledging climate change. (ClimateProgress)

CORRECTION: A teaser in yesterday’s digest erroneously included “ethanol production” as a possible factor in the current propane shortage. The story discussed propane use in drying a record corn harvest, but made no direct mention of ethanol.

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.

Leave a comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.