NUCLEAR: A proposal in the U.S. Senate has advocates concerned that Illinois could become a leading contender for storing nuclear waste from around the nation. (Midwest Energy News)

ALSO: Wisconsin’s Kewaunee plant shuts down, and Michigan Rep. Fred Upton says a leaking storage tank at the Palisades plant is “unacceptable” and that the facility should remain shut down until it is permanently fixed. (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, MLive.com)

SOLAR: The Minnesota House approves an energy bill that includes a 4 percent solar standard, a similar bill in the state Senate has a lower requirement. (Minneapolis Star Tribune)

FRACKING: Voters in Youngstown, Ohio reject a measure to ban fracking; a northeast Ohio business group credits the gas boom for a significant boost in economic growth; and a new natural gas processing facility opens in North Dakota. (Youngstown Vindicator, Associated Press)

FRAC SAND: Opponents of frac sand mining confront a southeast Minnesota legislator for his vote against a bill preventing mining facilities from within a mile of trout streams. (Rochester Post-Bulletin)

WIND: A South Dakota wind farm succeeds in invoking a 1978 federal law to force a utility to buy its electricity. (Rapid City Journal)

EPA: In a federal court proceeding, judges show skepticism over states’ arguments against the EPA’s authority to regulate greenhouse gases; and the agency is criticized for refusing to regulate methane emissions from coal mines. (Greenwire, The Hill)

OIL: Enbridge is found to be in violation of safety rules at 117 of its 125 Canadian pumping stations. (CBC News)

TRANSPORTATION: GM says it can cut the cost of the Chevy Volt by as much as $10,000; and a Michigan-based EV manufacturer of compressed natural gas vehicles shuts down, still owing $50 million to the Department of Energy. (Flint Journal, USA Today)

COMMENTARY: How transmission-line NIMBYs threaten electric reliability, and a report finds news organizations ignored the climate connection in coverage of Midwest flooding. (EnergyBiz, Media Matters)

 

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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