FRACKING: A consortium of industry and environmental groups has developed a set of voluntary standards to cover drilling in the Northeast, as well as in Ohio’s Utica Shale. (Associated Press)

ALSO: An anti-fracking group criticizes energy secretary nominee Ernest Moniz for failing to disclose his ties to the natural gas industry in a report touting the future of the fuel; other environmental groups have raised concerns about Moniz’s business interests. (New York Times, ProPublica)

***SPONSORED LINK: The best Midwest clean energy startups vie for $250,000 in prizes at the 2013 Clean Energy Challenge April 4 in Chicago.***

FRAC SAND: Minnesota’s governor says he doesn’t support a state moratorium on frac sand mining, and a South Dakota company secures claims for sand mining in three Black Hills counties. (Rochester Post-Bulletin, Associated Press)

COAL: Wisconsin regulators approve a new type of pollution control technology for a Wausau power plant, and federal election officials investigate Murray Energy’s donations to Mitt Romney’s presidential campaign. (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Cleveland Plain Dealer)

EFFICIENCY: FirstEnergy’s three-year energy conservation plan is unveiled as the utility fights to repeal state efficiency requirements, and an environmental group showcases a century-old Columbus church as an example of the efficiency law’s effectiveness. (Cleveland Plain Dealer, Columbus Dispatch)

POLITICS: Senate and House leaders say Congress might pass some energy legislation this session, with measures on efficiency, hydropower and nuclear waste management enjoying broad support. (The Hill)

WIND: An overflow crowd packs an Indiana high school auditorium as local officials debate the fate of a proposed wind farm. (Kokomo Tribune)

BIOFUELS: Iowa City proceeds with plans to develop a project that would convert landfill waste into biofuel. (Cedar Rapids Gazette)

TECHNOLOGY: A New York Times tech writer reviews six LED light bulbs.

COMMENTARY: How the press contributes to the spread of “wind turbine syndrome,” and how Iowa’s wind feed-in tariff bill offers hope for bipartisan progress on energy. (Slate, Grist)

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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