OIL: North Dakota regulators had little to say to state legislators about an 11-day delay in reporting a 20,000 barrel oil spill to the public, one said the spill’s remote location away from water supplies was “the best place it could’ve occurred.” (Bismarck Tribune)

MEANWHILE: Tesoro, which operates the ruptured North Dakota pipeline, has no timeline for restarting; also, a 25-year-old oil field worker died Friday after an accident on the job earlier in the week. (Reuters, Bismarck Tribune)

TRANSPORTATION: As Midwest cities consider congestion pricing, drivers in Sweden are already sold. (Midwest Energy News)

COAL: Illinois officials, under pressure from advocacy groups, remove kids’ sections from a state pro-coal website. (Yes Magazine)

ALSO: FERC signs off on Ameren’s plan to transfer ownership of five Illinois coal plants, though the deal still hinges on state approval to delay pollution upgrades; Ameren says it has also found a buyer for the remainder of its Illinois power plants. (Reuters, St. Louis Post-Dispatch)

OHIO: In a Q&A, American Electric Power CEO Nick Akins talks about the impact of deregulation on the industry. (Columbus CEO)

TRANSMISSION: American Transmission Co. proposes a new transmission line to improve reliability in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)

TECHNOLOGY: A study finds a surge in renewable energy patents over the past decade; meanwhile, investment in clean energy is declining amid a “weakening of political will” to deal with climate change. (The Hill)

SOLAR: A California company says using robots to build and maintain solar installations can help make them competitive with fossil fuels. (New York Times)

BIOFUELS: Iowa announces a new initiative to promote ethanol blender pumps around the state. (Des Moines Register)

EFFICIENCY: Utilities will help weatherize 1,000 low-income Indiana homes, and an Ohio school district considers an efficiency plan projected to save $500,000 a year. (Evansville Courier & Press, Toledo Blade)

MEDIA: Activists urge other newspapers to follow the L.A. Times lead in refusing to publish letters denying that humans are causing climate change. (The Hill)

COMMENTARY: Myth-busting American media coverage of Germany’s energy transition. (SmartPlanet)

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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