COAL: At a congressional hearing on climate policy, Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz and EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy say upcoming emissions rules will “provide certainty” to the coal industry. (Reuters)

ALSO: A new study finds that if social costs are accounted for, coal is a less economical energy source than wind or solar; and analysts say global coal markets are entering a long-term decline. (ClimateWire, Associated Press)

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COAL, CTD: Dynegy, which is acquiring Ameren’s five Illinois coal plants, rejects a mining company’s offer to help pay for pollution upgrades, a judge says an Indiana mine failed to adequately study how much pollution it was releasing into state waterways, and activists press a Nebraska utility to shut down a coal plant in Omaha. (St. Louis Business Journal, Indianapolis Star, Omaha World-Herald)

CLIMATE: At the aforementioned climate hearing, activists donned tin-foil hats to protest some Congress members’ rejection of climate science, conservative groups aggressively work to discredit a forthcoming IPCC report, and Sen. Mitch McConnell proposes a new bill to block EPA carbon rules for power plants. (Mining.com, InsideClimate News, The Hill)

UTILITIES: As more private companies generate their own power, it’s creating a revenue problem for utilities; and the Minnesota Supreme Court rules that regulators can consider “rate shock” when evaluating utility rate cases. (Wall Street Journal, Minnesota Public Radio)

BIOFUELS: Federal officials say an Indiana biofuel company was at the center of a $100 million tax and securities fraud scheme, perhaps the largest such case in state history. (Indianapolis Star)

FRACKING: An Ohio town repeals its fracking ban amid concerns from labor unions that the law would discourage business investment. (Youngstown Vindicator)

EFFICIENCY: The Sierra Club launches a campaign against FirstEnergy for its opposition to Ohio’s energy efficiency requirements. (Columbus Dispatch)

WIND: An rural Illinois county sees a big payback from a wind farm. (WQAD)

OIL: Despite pipeline expansions, rail companies are investing heavily in equipment to transport crude. (Bloomberg)

GERMANY: The New York Times looks at Germany’s renewable energy transition, where “sloppy and uncoordinated” implementation is leading to sharply higher energy bills for some residents.

***SPONSORED LINK: The Sustainability Strategies for People, Profit, & Planet conference will be held at Lawrence Tech (Detroit Metro area) on September 27-28. Register now to learn about energy efficiency, resource reuse, faith & sustainability, and much more.***

TRANSPORTATION: Electric vehicle charging stations will be installed in downtown Toledo. (Toledo Blade)

COMMENTARY: A Minnesota farmer says the impact on family farms from a proposed Enbridge pipeline “varies from disheartening to devastating,” and how bad for the environment are gasoline-powered leaf blowers? (Duluth News Tribune, Washington Post)

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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