SOLAR: A new report finds retailers are still leading the way on commercial solar, and Midwest companies and states are seeing a larger piece of the action. (Midwest Energy News)
ALSO: The utility serving Madison, Wisconsin is opposing city officials’ efforts to install more solar power, and Topeka’s VA hospital begins work on a $2.7 million solar project. (The Isthmus, Topeka Capital-Journal)
***SPONSORED LINK: Join us at the Wisconsin Energy Institute: “Global Energy Outlook” on Oct. 29 as we bring together experts from around the world to discuss the energy, water and food challenges presented by growing urban environments.***
NATURAL GAS: A new study says natural gas development won’t slow climate change. (Associated Press)
FRACKING: Southern Illinois landowners sue state officials over delays to fracking permits. (Chicago Tribune)
FRAC SAND: Wisconsin officials reject a town’s attempted “balloon on a string” land acquisition to bring a frac sand mine within its city limits and escape county regulation. (Minneapolis Star Tribune)
OIL: North Dakota oil production continues to climb, with natural gas flaring exceeding a state benchmark. (Bismarck Tribune)
COAL: Xcel Energy says it will stop burning coal at a Twin Cities-area power plant in April. (Minneapolis Star Tribune)
MINNESOTA: A delegation from Germany travels to Morris, Minnesota to study its renewable energy facilities, and a Minneapolis neighborhood pursues its own renewable energy options. (Morris Sun Tribune, Minnesota Daily)
UTILITIES: A court rules that a Michigan utility is not liable for a 2009 fire and explosion at an oil facility. (MLive)
CLIMATE: The U.S. climate envoy says denying climate science is quickly becoming a political liability, and Exxon says the divestment movement is “out of step with reality.” (InsideClimate News, National Journal)
PIPELINES: A Michigan Libertarian U.S. Senate candidate will stand trial for protesting Enbridge pipeline construction, environmental groups submit petitions to Iowa’s governor calling on him to reject a proposed pipeline, and the natural gas boom is big business for a Wisconsin pipe company. (Battle Creek Enquirer, Cedar Rapids Gazette, Appleton Post-Crescent)
***SPONSORED LINK: Attend the Energy Liberty Forum Monday, Oct. 20, at 7 p.m. in Pewaukee, Wisconsin. Speakers include Tea Party co-founder Debbie Dooley, state Rep. Bob Kulp, and former state Rep. Mark Honadel.***
OHIO: The Atlantic revisits what’s left of an Ohio town that a utility bought out in 2002 rather than address pollution concerns.
COMMENTARY: A spokesman for Wisconsin utilities says conservation and energy efficiency are partially to blame for utilities’ need to create a “new approach to recovering fixed costs,” and fighting climate change is an economic opportunity in Minnesota. (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Minneapolis Star Tribune)