FRACKING: Ohio regulators acknowledge a link between fracking and earthquakes, and will require seismic monitoring at drilling sites. (Cleveland Plain Dealer)
ALSO: Ohio lawmakers are “really close” to a deal on drilling taxes, and a measure to ban fracking will be on the ballot for a third time in Youngstown, Ohio. (Cleveland Plain Dealer, Youngstown Vindicator)
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CLIMATE: The IPCC warns “we cannot afford to lose another decade” on emissions reductions, or it will be even more costly to prevent the worst impacts of climate change. (New York Times)
EFFICIENCY: Advocates want to make Chicago the most energy-efficient city in the U.S., but they’ll need help to get there; Detroit will seek energy upgrades for 10 public schools, and an Iowa greenhouse is warmed by waste industrial heat. (Midwest Energy News, Associated Press, Des Moines Register)
SOLAR: Some solar companies push back against the “value of solar” tariff, and a new report praises Milwaukee’s solar efforts but says it’s still falling behind other cities. (Greentech Media, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)
WIND: North Dakota considers a decommissioning requirement for wind farms, and policy uncertainty holds back wind development in Kansas. (Fargo Forum, Lawrence Journal-World)
NUCLEAR: A scientist warns materials that would be stored in a proposed waste facility along Lake Huron are hundreds of times more radioactive than Canadian officials were told. (Detroit Free Press)
OIL: A North Dakota regulator says flaring rules could cut production by up to 30,000 barrels per day, rail executives say they don’t give preferential treatment to oil shipments, and an Enbridge official says “we welcome the dialogue” on pipelines’ impact on climate change. (Fargo Forum, Minneapolis Star Tribune)
AGGREGATION: A Houston company says it won’t renew electricity aggregation contracts with 10 Chicago suburbs. (Crain’s Chicago Business)
COAL: A Wisconsin coal-fired unit will shut down, and a carbon-capture project in Mississippi generates controversy over its cost. (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Bloomberg)
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FRAC SAND: Environmental advocates concerned about frac sand impacts want pollution monitors installed in a Minnesota town. (Winona Daily News)
COMMENTARY: Solar power’s “almost violent” price drop, and why the fight against clean energy is futile. (CleanTechnica, Forbes)