SOLAR: In addition to wind and biofuels, the solar energy market is “exploding” in Iowa. (Midwest Energy News)

POLITICS: Republicans in Michigan launch a group to promote renewable energy: “For too long, we have allowed the energy discourse to be dominated by the left.” (MLive.com)

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COAL: A Michigan co-op abandons plans for a new coal plant, and an Indiana Supreme Court revives a controversial coal-to-gas project. (Detroit News, Indianapolis Star)

WIND: MidAmerican Energy’s massive Iowa wind project will also mean big business for an Illinois-based tower manufacturer, and a group of eight U.S. senators calls for an end to the production tax credit. (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, The Hill)

NUCLEAR: Federal regulators authorize a Nebraska nuclear plant to restart after being idled for three years, and a pair of Ohio lawmakers plan a resolution to promote research into thorium reactors. (Omaha World-Herald, Columbus Business First)

FRACKING: A study finds high levels of hormone-disrupting chemicals in fracking wastewater, and opponents dominate a public hearing on fracking in southern Illinois. (The Guardian, Carbondale Southern)

OIL:
An Illinois company begins drilling for oil on the Indiana State University campus. (Terre Haute Tribune-Star)
A report finds taxpayers are being shorted on royalties from drilling on public lands. (Houston Chronicle)
Companies “think outside the box” to recover waste natural gas in North Dakota oilfields. (New York Times)
Workers at a Minnesota refinery threaten to strike over safety concerns. (Minneapolis-St. Paul Business Journal)

PETCOKE: Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin says companies storing petroleum coke in southeast Chicago are “in for a fight.” (ABC 7 Chicago)

CLIMATE: As Iowa scientists repeatedly warn of the threat of climate change, not all of the state’s lawmakers are listening. (Cedar Rapids Gazette)

COMMENTARY: Why the need for “baseload” power is a myth. (Climate Spectator)