PIPELINES: A Minnesota judge’s decision this week is expected to resolve some of the issues surrounding a controversial Bakken pipeline plan. (EnergyWire)
ALSO: A consultant recommends a Wisconsin county require $25 million in insurance for a proposed Enbridge oil sands pipeline expansion. (Wisconsin State Journal)
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FRACKING: Michigan drilling opponents will try again to get a statewide fracking ban on the ballot. (Detroit News)
BAKKEN:
• North Dakota may increase the limits for radioactive oil field waste that will be allowed in landfills. (Midwest Energy News)
• BNSF Railway says federal law may shield it from a lawsuit filed by the engineer in a 2013 oil train explosion. (Forum News Service)
UTILITIES: Opponents increase pressure on Wisconsin regulators as they near a decision on Wisconsin Energy’s proposed merger with Integrys Energy Systems. (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)
ETHANOL:
• Iowa’s Supreme Court rejects an ethanol industry challenge to the state’s system for taxing natural gas. (Associated Press)
• The EPA settles a lawsuit with the oil industry and will set ethanol mandates for this year and last year by Nov. 30. (The Hill)
COAL:
• The end of coal-burning at a Minnesota power plant reflects the broader transition toward cleaner energy. (Minneapolis Star Tribune)
• A coal barge sank in the Ohio river over the weekend. (WOWK)
NUCLEAR:
• A Gallup poll finds 51 percent of Americans still support nuclear power, but the percentage has been declining in recent years. (Greentech Media)
• A Michigan congressman will push for a resolution opposing a Canadian nuclear waste storage facility on Lake Huron. (Associated Press)
MICHIGAN: Graduate students from the University of Michigan will present their findings this week on a small town’s effort to get 100 percent of its electricity from renewables. (Traverse City Record-Eagle, Midwest Energy News archive)
POLITICS: Advocates launch an advertising campaign targeting Ohio Sen. Rob Portman. (Toledo Blade)
EFFICIENCY:
• Passive solar heaters help a Minnesota tribe save thousands on energy costs. (Bemidji Pioneer)
• Students at a Wisconsin college build a passive house, but construction costs soar above initial estimates. (La Crosse Tribune)
COMMENTARY: “Sometimes Ohio energy policy contains so many imperfections and inconsistencies that it seems to be almost a miracle when anyone in a position of institutional leadership and authority makes sense of it.” (Crain’s Cleveland Business)