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)

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Ken Paulman

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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