OHIO: After debating until 1 a.m., the Ohio Senate passes a bill that would temporarily freeze the state’s renewable energy and efficiency standards. (Columbus Dispatch)
OIL: Calling oil trains an “imminent hazard,” the Department of Transportation issues an emergency order requiring railroads to notify states of crude shipments. (New York Times)
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WIND: A proposed Lake Erie offshore wind farm is not among the recipients of a major round of Department of Energy funding. (Cleveland Plain Dealer)
PIPELINES: Indian rights attorneys say historic treaties give tribes a say over pipeline routes, Enbridge says two new pipelines will double its capacity to ship oil to the Gulf Coast, and a Michigan property owner impacted by the Kalamazoo River oil spill questions a public radio station’s partnership with Enbridge on an Earth Day event. (Minneapolis Star Tribune, Reuters, Lansing City Pulse)
GRID: A report by state regulators faults Michigan utilities for inadequate tree trimming, a factor that contributed to power outages following a December ice storm. (Midwest Energy News)
FRACKING: A leaking shale well forces evacuations in Ohio, and a new natural gas processing plant will help fuel North Dakota drilling operations. (Columbus Dispatch, Forum News Service)
CLIMATE: Industries brace for tougher restrictions on emissions, and Missouri lawmakers approve a measure giving the state’s Department of Natural Resources authority to implement emission standards. (Bloomberg, St. Louis Post-Dispatch)
COAL: The mayor of St. Louis seeks help from the Missouri legislature to fight a ballot measure targeting tax credits for Peabody Energy. (St. Louis Post-Dispatch)
SOLAR: Missouri’s Supreme Court will determine whether a small utility should have been exempted from offering solar rebates required by state law. (Joplin Globe)
BIOENERGY: The University of Iowa begins planting grasses for a project that aims to produce 25,000 tons of biomass feedstock per year by 2016. (Cedar Rapids Gazette)
WISCONSIN: A forum in Madison aims to help the state reclaim its leadership on clean energy. (Madison Capital Times)
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ELECTRIC CARS: Minneapolis unveils 36 new charging stations in municipal parking garages. (Minneapolis Star Tribune)
COMMENTARY: Ohio lawmakers are “swimming heartily against the historic and scientific tide” on clean energy. (Athens News)