EFFICIENCY: U.S. mayors want a revival of a stimulus-backed efficiency grant program, and the House passes a bipartisan efficiency bill. (Midwest Energy News, The Hill)
COAL: Illinois towns are having buyer’s remorse over the Prairie State coal plant, and a coal mining company will pay more than $200 million to settle pollution violations in five states. (Chicago Tribune, New York Times)
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WIND: A new report finds Iowa is getting 27 percent of its electricity from wind, followed closely by South Dakota. (Des Moines Register)
CLIMATE: President Obama’s proposed budget provides a “road map” to meeting climate and energy goals, a new study examines the think tanks that fight climate policy, and Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse is hoping to make climate change a 2016 campaign issue in Iowa. (Greenwire, ClimateWire, The Hill)
OIL AND GAS:
• Michigan’s attorney general files a lawsuit accusing two drilling companies of rigging bids on leases. (MLive)
• ‘Cheating’ at well sites may be a factor in oil train explosions. (InsideClimate News)
• Refiners call for a delay in safety testing of oil in rail cars. (Houston Chronicle)
• Minnesota lawmakers warn the state is “at the geographic epicenter” of risk from oil trains. (Forum News Service)
• Alberta regulators quietly suspends “in situ” oil sands production. (The Tyee)
GRID: A Wisconsin company sees its stock soar amid growing investor interest in energy storage technology. (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)
SOLAR: A report finds the residential solar market grew by 60 percent last year. (Forbes)
COAL ASH: Advocates say a North Carolina coal ash pond may have been leaking for years before a major spill into a nearby river. (Al Jazeera)
TRANSMISSION: In a two-part series, SNL looks at efforts to speed up federal review for transmission projects: Part 1 | Part 2
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BIXBY: A Minnesota businessman is found guilty of defrauding investors out of $57 million in a coal-to-gas scheme. (Minneapolis Star Tribune)
COMMENTARY: Will federal resistance to renewable energy incentives trickle down to the state level? (Forbes)