OHIO: A coalition of businesses opposes an Ohio utility’s proposal to guarantee prices for its coal plants, saying the plan amounts to “an unfair tax.” (Columbus Business First)

WISCONSIN: A fossil fuel industry group is misrepresenting the wishes of utility customers in filings supporting proposed increases in fixed charges. (Madison Capital Times)

***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.***

GEOTHERMAL: How abandoned copper mines in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula could play a role in the region’s energy future. (Midwest Energy News)

SOLAR: An NREL report says solar prices continue to fall. (Denver Business Journal)

WIND: A Michigan utility settles a lawsuit with 17 landowners over wind farm complaints, terms of the settlement are being kept confidential. (MLive)

OIL AND GAS:
• Falling oil prices lower projections for shale output. (Bloomberg)
• Ohio rules allow wells to be drilled close enough to homes to put them at risk from an explosion. (EnergyWire)
• A leaking wellhead in North Dakota is contained after releasing at least 650 barrels of oil. (Associated Press)
• Michigan residents say a planned natural gas pipeline would disrupt a burial ground. (MLive)
• A Wisconsin frac sand mine is fined $80,000 for discharging stormwater into a creek. (La Crosse Tribune)

POLITICS: In several congressional races, Democratic candidates are sounding like Republicans on climate change. (InsideClimate News)

CLIMATE: Ann Arbor officials move forward on plans to cut the city’s carbon emissions by 90 percent by 2050. (MLive)

EFFICIENCY: Michigan International Speedway joins the EPA’s Green Power Partnership, and the Department of Energy says it will not regulate high-intensity lamps. (CBS Detroit, The Hill)

TRANSPORTATION: Records show that few members of the board that oversees transportation and development issues in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area are regular transit users. (Minneapolis Star Tribune)

COMMENTARY: How wind energy will push Iowa beyond EPA carbon reduction targets. (NRDC Switchboard)

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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