PETCOKE: Feeling that elected officials have betrayed them in the battle over piles of petroleum coke on the Southeast Side of Chicago, residents have vowed to take the fight to the streets and into their own hands. (Midwest Energy News)

CLIMATE: Minnesota regulators are expected to update their figure for the cost of carbon emissions today, and North Dakota Gov. Jack Dalrymple says “it simply is not possible” to meet proposed new carbon restrictions “overnight.” (EnergyWire, Bismarck Tribune)

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OHIO: A new poll shows a large majority of Ohio voters favor renewable energy and efficiency programs; and Gov. John Kasich questions deregulation: “I’m not so sure it’s the smartest thing we’ve done in the state of Ohio.” (Cleveland Plain Dealer, Columbus Dispatch)

NUCLEAR: The IPCC says nuclear power will be needed to fight climate change, and Michigan’s Fermi 2 plant will be offline indefinitely for repairs. (ClimateWire, Toledo Blade)

COAL: This year’s cold winter pushed greater reliance on coal plants that are slated for retirement. (SNL)

ALSO: Chicago deals with the radioactive legacy of the gaslight era, and how coal drove a major energy disruption in the early 1800s. (Chicago Tribune, The Atlantic)

TRANSMISSION: A Minnesota utility files for permission to build a 350-mile transmission line to connect with Canadian hydropower, developers of a wind transmission line defend the project amid growing opposition, and the Center for Rural Affairs publishes a series of fact sheets on regional transmission projects. (Minneapolis Star Tribune, St. Joseph News-Press, Transmission & Distribution World)

SMART GRID: ComEd seeks a rate increase to pay for smart grid upgrades in Illinois. (Chicago Tribune)

RENEWABLES: Global clean energy investment has increased 9 percent this year, led primarily by solar, and labor and environmental groups discuss growing the clean energy economy in Illinois. (Bloomberg, Peoria Public Radio)

OIL: North Dakota struggles to control radioactive oil field waste, why approving Keystone XL could lead to political consequences for President Obama, and a Canadian oil sands producer is given four months to halt emissions. (Wall Street Journal, Politico, CBC)

UTILITIES: A consumer group sues a Wisconsin utility over cost allocation for a coal-to-gas conversion, a Wisconsin co-op is recognized as a “champion of change” by the White House, and Xcel Energy continues to lead the nation in wind power. (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, WXOW, Denver Business Journal)

FRAC SAND: Officials in a Wisconsin county reject a proposed sand mining facility. (Winona Daily News)

COMMENTARY: A guide to the misinformation being used by industry groups in their effort to freeze Ohio’s energy laws. (Huffington Post)