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)