ILLINOIS: A proposed “fix” to the state’s renewable energy standard that will save ratepayers millions is gaining support in the legislature, but still faces opposition from Exelon. (Midwest Energy News)
FRACKING: North Dakota’s drilling boom leads to increased tension over water supplies, and Ohio’s oil and gas potential so far fails to live up to more optimistic projections. (Reuters, Columbus Dispatch)
NATURAL GAS: International companies back U.S. natural gas exports, and the approval of a recent project coincided with a 5 percent rise in the price of natural gas futures. (New York Times, Bloomberg)
OIL: Exxon still has no timetable for restarting a pipeline that spill oil into an Arkansas neighborhood in March, a pile of petroleum coke along the Detroit River continues to grow. (InsideClimate News, New York Times)
SOLAR: Goldman Sachs bets big on solar, announcing it will provide $500 million in financing for rooftop solar. (ClimateWire)
EFFICIENCY: Businesses in Illinois help lower demand when electricity is needed most, and see big financial benefits as a result, however, a grid reliability report shows that abundant power supplies mean those steps likely won’t be necessary this summer. (Chicago Tribune, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)
CLIMATE: Democrats introduce a bill calling for a national strategy to deal with public health impacts from climate change. (The Hill)
WIND: The utility serving Lincoln, Nebraska plans to triple its wind power purchases, and a proposed local setback of two miles would scuttle an Indiana wind project. (Lincoln Journal Star, Muncie Star Press)
FRAC SAND: A bill in the Minnesota legislature would require frac sand mines to get approval from the state Department of Natural Resources. (Minnesota Public Radio)
ETHANOL: Minnesota ethanol producers hope to rebound after a year of high corn prices and plant shutdowns. (Minneapolis Star Tribune)
EMISSIONS: A report shows that as utilities shift from coal, reductions in CO2 emissions still lag behind those of other pollutants. (Greentech Media)
NUCLEAR: OSHA sides with an engineer who was fired for reporting unsafe conditions at a Kansas nuclear plant. (Topeka Capital Journal)
TRANSPORTATION: Ford, which popularized the V-8 engine in the 1930s, predicts two-thirds of cars sold in 2020 will have four-cylinder engines. (Detroit News)
WASTE-TO-ENERGY: A study finds a proposed Cleveland trash-to-energy plant would be “an economic lead balloon,” leading several city leaders to declare the project dead. (Cleveland Plain Dealer)
MEDIA: Mother Jones magazine tracks down its most prolific climate-denying Twitter troll for a face-to-face interview.
COMMENTARY: Solar power costs close in on wind, and the New York Times again calls on President Obama to take more aggressive action on climate change. (Reuters, New York Times)