SOTU: Despite pleas from environmental groups to modify his energy rhetoric, President Obama stuck with “all of the above” in last night’s State of the Union address. In the speech, Obama also re-emphasized that “climate change is a fact.” (The Hill)

EFFICIENCY: How utilities are increasingly turning to school assemblies to help drive energy efficiency at home. (Midwest Energy News)

***SPONSORED LINK: Join the right people to get solar done at the Solar Powering Minnesota Conference on March 7 in St. Paul. Early bird registration ends Friday, so register this week to save! Register and sponsor at growsolar.org.***

ETHANOL: Iowa’s attorney general says the federal government “doesn’t have the authority” to reduce the Renewable Fuel Standard. (Des Moines Register)

OIL: Small investors are financing a mini oil boom in Indiana, and a pipeline company sues four Ohio homeowners in an easement dispute. (Indianapolis Business Journal, Youngstown Vindicator)

CARBON CAPTURE: Michigan considers lowering taxes on oil wells that are injected with carbon dioxide. (MLive)

COAL: A coal mining company plans a new power plant to supply mines in southern Illinois. It will be powered by natural gas. (McLeansboro Times-Leader)

ALSO: The company that sold five West Virginia coal mines will now turn its attention to fracking in Ohio. (Steubenville Herald-Star)

NATURAL GAS: A Florida company plans to build a $500 million natural gas plant near Cincinnati. (Cincinnati Business Courier)

BIOENERGY: A Wisconsin company is using waste from cheese production to generate electricity, and meetings in North Dakota this week will update farmers on efforts to develop a sugar beet biofuel industry in the state. (St. Croix 360, Associated Press)

FRAC SAND: An online petition seeks to ban frac sand mining in Wisconsin. (Madison Capital Times)

TRANSMISSION: FERC says 3,300 miles of new transmission lines were built in 2013. (Utility Dive)

ELECTRIC CARS: A Kentucky man becomes the first to drive a Tesla Model S across the U.S. as the company’s network of chargers nears completion. (San Jose Mercury News)

COMMENTARY: Why President Obama’s approach to climate action is “a step forward on one hand and a step back on the other.” (Grist)

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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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