WIND: South Dakota lawmakers hope a change in the state’s tax law will jump-start wind development in the state. (Midwest Energy News)
ALSO: About a dozen wind projects are on hold in Ohio amid state policy uncertainty. (Associated Press)
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MICHIGAN: A report from state regulators says Michigan utilities are on track to meet the state’s 10 percent by 2015 renewable energy standard. (MLive)
COAL: A contract with the Prairie State Energy Campus nearby in Illinois has led to soaring electricity rates in a Kentucky town. (Louisville Courier-Journal)
OIL:
• North Dakota lawmakers reject a bill that would have would have removed “promotion” from state regulators’ job description. (Forum News Service)
• North Dakota set a production record in December as drilling declined. (Forum News Service)
• An automatically triggered decrease in state drilling taxes is unlikely to reverse the decline. (Bismarck Tribune)
• Nationwide, the number of drilling rigs continues to decline. (Bloomberg)
• Falling oil prices have North Dakota legislators struggling with the state budget. (New York Times)
• Crews have recovered 150,000 barrels of contaminated water from the site of a January oil spill. (Bismarck Tribune)
• A North Dakota co-op projects electricity demand continuing to grow in the Oil Patch. (Utility Dive)
REFINERY STRIKE: BP says a refinery near Chicago is operating normally while 57 percent of workers are on strike, while managers at an Ohio refinery are living on-site to avoid striking workers. (Chicago Tribune, Reuters)
FRAC SAND: A proposed Minnesota frac sand project could double the size of the state’s industry, but details are still unknown. (Forum News Service)
SOLAR: Community solar begins to take hold in Indiana as a report shows declining solar industry jobs in the state. (Indianapolis Business Journal, Public News Service)
NUCLEAR: Local officials circulate a petition to keep an Illinois nuclear plant online. (Bloomington Pantagraph)
BIOENERGY: A Michigan biodigester will produce electricity from waste from restaurants, a dairy farm and a salad dressing factory. (Grand Rapids Business Journal)
PROPANE: Minnesota lawmakers debate how to prevent future propane shortages. (Minneapolis Star Tribune)
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ELECTRIC VEHICLES: A St. Paul church installs a high-speed electric vehicle charger. (St. Paul Pioneer Press)
COMMENTARY: Why solar power is popular in conservative states. (Washington Post)