OHIO: A new report finds 89,000 clean energy jobs in Ohio, which are now at risk because of a legislative “freeze” to the state’s renewable energy and efficiency standards. (Toledo Blade)

ALSO: Opponents push back against American Electric Power’s demand for a quick decision on its latest plan to guarantee income for its coal plants. (Columbus Business First)

***SPONSORED LINK: EPA’s section 111(D) is driving generation and transmission in MISO. Infocast’s MISO Market Summit 2015 will bring policy-makers together with utility, IPP and DR executives to explore the opportunities to solve reliability and power market problems.***

TRANSMISSION:
• A new report offers tactics for developers of transmission lines to avoid having to use eminent domain. (Midwest Energy News)
• A transmission line connecting Minnesota to Canada will be a test case for a Department of Energy effort to streamline the approval process. (SNL)

CLIMATE: South Dakota is the latest state to adopt science standards requiring students to learn about climate change. (Midwest Energy News)

MINNESOTA: Legislation passed literally at the last minute, and facing a possible veto, will allow municipal utilities and co-ops to impose additional charges on solar customers, while opening the door to lower rates for large industrial users. (Minneapolis Star Tribune)

UTILITIES:
• FirstEnergy’s new CEO defuses shareholder anger over the utility’s direction. (Cleveland Plain Dealer)
• Protesters confront shareholders of a Madison utility for its reliance on coal. (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)
• A new report outlines alternative business models for utilities. (Greentech Media)

WIND:
• An Energy Department report says taller turbines could bring wind energy to all 50 states. (New York Times)
• Wildlife advocates say new rules are needed to protect birds from wind farms. (Associated Press)

POLLUTION: Marathon Petroleum will pay $3 million in fines and spend $2.8 million on upgrades to settle Clean Air Act violations at facilities in Indiana, Ohio and Kentucky. (Associated Press)

PIPELINES: Iowa officials are investigating a landowner’s charge that he was offered prostitutes by a pipeline developer. (Cedar Rapids Gazette)

FRACKING: A study finds high levels of airborne pollutants at drilling sites in an Ohio county. (InsideClimate News)

COAL:
• Critics say St. Louis-based Peabody Energy was exploiting the Ebola crisis to promote coal. (The Guardian)
• Co-ops want federal regulators to re-assess how railroad coal shipping charges are determined. (Electric Co-op Today)

***SPONSORED LINK: Join the nation’s most successful women leaders in energy as they share their industry knowledge, strategies and experiences at the Leadership Conference for Women in Energy, June 2-3 in Indianapolis.***

SOLAR: A Michigan man wants to start a buying club to help neighbors save money on solar panels. (Houghton Mining Gazette)

NATURAL GAS: Operations begin at a new Illinois power plant. (Associated Press)

Avatar photo

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.

Leave a comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.