COAL: In an EPA settlement, Wisconsin utilities will retire 590 MW of coal power and spend $1.2 billion on pollution upgrades, and a Michigan town prepares for the impending closure of a nearby coal plant. (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, MLive.com)
SOLAR: Indianapolis is seeing a boom in solar development, but the expiration of a utility feed-in tariff means the expansion could be short-lived. (Midwest Energy News)
OIL: The EPA says the State Department’s environmental review of Keystone XL fails to adequately assess climate impact; and the federal agency in charge of pipeline oversight is a no-show at the Arkansas oil spill, because “we just don’t have the resources to investigate everything.” (Washington Post, InsideClimate News)
CONGRESS: The Senate will discuss efficiency and hydropower, a bipartisan group of senators will introduce a bill allowing renewable energy projects to take advantage of a key fossil fuel financing mechanism, and Republicans warn the Obama administration against “backdoor” efforts to mitigate climate change. (E&E Daily, The Hill)
WIND: How the ebbs and flows of the wind industry impact an Illinois manufacturer, and developers of a proposed Lake Erie offshore wind project offer Ohio communities a way to support the project. (Chicago Grid, The News-Herald)
NATURAL GAS: Natural gas may become the fuel of choice for long-haul trucking, and low gas prices help fuel an industry effort to weaken state renewable energy standards. (New York Times, Bloomberg)
FRAC SAND: Tougher frac sand mining rules — but not a statewide moratorium — advance in the Minnesota legislature. (Rochester Post-Bulletin)
BIOFUELS: A recently reopened Minnesota ethanol plant shuts down again amid a “nasty fight” over finances, and two Iowa firms will receive more than $10 million from the Department of Energy to develop advanced biofuels for the military. (Minneapolis Star Tribune, Des Moines Register)
EFFICIENCY: Missouri offers a sales tax holiday for buyers of energy-efficient appliances. (Kansas City Star)
COMMENTARY: David Suzuki warns we must “be wary of false arguments” against wind power, and why the future for renewable energy is still bright. (EcoWatch, Mother Jones)