RENEWABLES: A preliminary study by GE Energy Consulting finds moving to 30 percent renewable power in the PJM Interconnection would cut emissions and costs, even accounting for new infrastructure. (EnergyWire)
SOLAR: The solar industry begins to rebound from a two-year shakeout; “the worst is probably behind us,” says one analyst. (Bloomberg)
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OIL: Lawmakers in North Dakota will pursue legislation to require regulators to report all oil spills to the public; and three years after the Kalamazoo River oil spill, promised upgrades to federal pipeline regulations have yet to materialize. (Bismarck Tribune, Bloomberg)
WIND: A Michigan wind farm will proceed after a judge rejects local ordinances that would have effectively blocked the project. (MLive)
COAL: The Department of Energy signs off on an environmental review for the FutureGen carbon-storage project in Illinois, pollution upgrades begin at a northern Minnesota power plant, and a Michigan utility seeks state permission to demolish three coal plants. (Springfield State Journal-Register, Duluth News Tribune, Muskegon Chronicle)
CLIMATE: A Nebraska lawmaker who opposes a state-funded climate study says it’s because he believes environmentalists “are seeking to destroy farming and ranching as we know it.” (Omaha World-Herald)
FRACKING: A poll finds southern Illinois residents are evenly divided on fracking. (Carbondale Southern)
FRAC SAND: “Minnesota is not Wisconsin,” an industry representative assures hundreds of people at a public hearing concerned about frac sand mining reaching Twin Cities suburbs. (Minnesota Public Radio)
NUCLEAR: Federal regulators will hear final arguments today on DTE Energy’s proposal to expand its Fermi reactor in Michigan. (Toledo Blade)
TRANSMISSION: A consumer group raises objections to a proposed new power line in Wisconsin. (Lodi Enterprise)
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EFFICIENCY: PACE programs in 31 states have so far issued $43 million in funding to new energy efficiency projects; meanwhile, a new report finds the “cash for clunkers” program failed to reduce carbon emissions. (Greentech Media, Politico)
GERMANY: At an event in Iowa, a German diplomat warns “there’s a bad side to every good story” about his country’s renewable energy transition. (Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier)