BIOFUELS: Small and midsize biodiesel producers are struggling to sell renewable fuel credits in the wake of recent fraud allegations, which have made buyers skeptical of working with lesser-known firms. (Midwest Energy News)

WIND: A Wisconsin renewable energy business group is calling on a state senator to end his “war on wind.” (Midwest Energy News)

ALSO: While visiting Wisconsin, Energy Secretary Steven Chu calls for extension of the production tax credit; Evanston, Illinois lays the groundwork for offshore wind turbines in Lake Michigan; and wind farms are becoming a “cash crop” for rural Kansas counties. (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Medill Reports, Wichita Eagle)

FRACKING: A new study finds significant gaps in state-by-state regulation of gas drilling, an Illinois county attorney tells commissioners they don’t have the authority to regulate or ban fracking, and a public information session on a drilling proposal in Michigan turns into a heated debate. (EnergyWire, Carbondale Southern, Muskegon Chronicle)

CLIMATE: A Stanford/Washington Post poll finds more Americans recognize the climate is changing and weather is becoming more unstable, and a coalition of climate activists and conservative think tanks hold “brainstorming conversations” to discuss a potential carbon tax. (Washington Post, The Hill)

EFFICIENCY: A new report ranks the U.S. ninth out of 12 industrialized nations for energy efficiency, and an initiative in Milwaukee encourages downtown business owners to cut energy consumption by 20 percent. (InsideClimate News, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)

PIPELINES: U.S. oil producers say they’re being shut out by Canadian pipeline operators, and an Indiana company plans a $4 billion project to upgrade 459 miles of natural gas pipelines in Ohio. (Greenwire, Columbus Dispatch)

HYDRO: A Wisconsin technical college buys a nearby dam for $1, with plans to install new hydropower equipment it hopes will lead to $100,000 per year in energy savings. (LaCrosse Tribune)

COMMENTARY: Stephen Melink says every building “should become its own renewable energy power plant.” (Cincinnati Enquirer)

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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