MICHIGAN: State regulators say Michigan’s utilities are on track to meet the state’s renewable energy standard, and have the capability to triple their production of renewable energy by 2035. (Detroit Free Press)

UTILITIES: A report says outdated utility business models, rather than technology or cost, are the main factors holding back clean energy development. (Midwest Energy News)

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OIL: A proposed crude oil terminal on Lake Superior is placed indefinitely on hold, hopes for a Kansas oil boom are further diminished as Shell pulls out of the state entirely. (Wisconsin Public Radio, Wichita Eagle)

COAL: An Illinois coal company’s offer to pay for power plant upgrades is part of a larger pattern of the industry seeking creative ways to expand its marketplace. (Chicago Tribune)

ALSO: EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy says new carbon rules will provide a lifeline for the coal industry by accelerating development of carbon-capture technology, a Michigan utility delays the retirement of three coal plants, and a financial firm says the structure of Ameren’s transfer of five Illinois coal plants to Dynegy shoulders the risk on communities where the plants are located. (InsideClimate News, MLive, FierceEnergy)

WIND: Offshore wind turbines in Lake Erie are viable, can easily be defended from ice floes, and could even benefit fisheries, according to a preliminary engineers’ report. (Cleveland Plain Dealer)

KEYSTONE XL: Activists in Nebraska celebrate completion of a solar-powered barn in the path of the Keystone XL pipeline; billionaire climate activist Tom Steyer was on hand for the event. (Lincoln Journal Star)

FERC: The White House says despite political pushback, it’s sticking with its nomination of Ron Binz to head the agency. (The Hill)

CLIMATE: Officials in Ann Arbor, Michigan, consider divesting the city’s pension fund from fossil fuel interests, and a new study says cutting greenhouse gas emissions could prevent millions of premature deaths. (MLive, LiveScience)

POLLUTION: In a deal with Chicago officials, a railroad will take steps to drastically reduce diesel emissions at a rail yard near a low-income neighborhood. (Chicago Tribune)

FRACKING: Ohio scientists seek locations for safe disposal of drilling waste. (Columbus Dispatch)

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SOLAR: A Missouri utility reaches an agreement for construction of the state’s largest solar array. (Springfield News-Leader)

COMMENTARY: Six myths about renewable energy. (Wall Street Journal)

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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