SOLAR: The White House will announce a plan today to help lower-income Americans get access to solar power. (New York Times)

ALSO: A Cleveland-area auto dealer offsets cars’ emissions with a solar canopy — believed to be the largest of its kind in the U.S. (Midwest Energy News)

***SPONSORED LINK: Ready your nominations, the Midwest Energy News “40 under 40″ will open on July 15. We are looking for leaders and innovators from all sectors — industry, government, business, and advocacy. Download the sample nomination form now.***

MICHIGAN: A proposal in the state Senate would let customers decide how much renewable energy they want to purchase. (MLive)

IOWA: Iowa officials seek proposals to help craft a statewide energy plan. (Cedar Rapids Gazette)

FRACKING:
• “Refracking” could extend the the lifespan of some oil and gas reserves up to 50 years. (Bloomberg)
• Kansas environmentalists plan legal action over wastewater disposal practices linked to earthquakes. (Topeka Capital-Journal)
• North Dakota officials see progress in their crackdown on illegal water sales. (Forum News Service)
• An opposition group forms to fight an anti-fracking amendment in Youngstown, Ohio. (Youngstown Vindicator)

COAL:
• Ohio University will stop burning coal by the end of the year, converting campus facilities to natural gas. (Columbus Dispatch)
• Peabody Energy seeks to strike lyrics from a John Prine song from a lawsuit over a protest at its shareholders meeting. (Associated Press)

POLITICS: A Sierra Club ad targets an Illinois senator for opposing the Clean Power Plan. (The Hill)

BIOENERGY: A cellulosic ethanol plant provides a “second harvest” for Kansas wheat farmers. (Hutchinson News)

TRANSMISSION: Work is stopped on a power line near the Minnesota-Wisconsin border amid concerns over a protected bird species. (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)

WIND: Chicago-based Invenergy sells seven wind farms for a sum of $2 billion. (Crain’s Chicago Business)

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EFFICIENCY: Iowa City will convert all of its streetlights to LEDs over the next four years. (Cedar Rapids Gazette)

COMMENTARY: Gov. Mike Pence’s opposition to the Clean Power Plan “traps Indiana in the past.” (Times of Northwest Indiana)

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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