CORRECTION: An item in yesterday’s digest misattributed a two-part series on solar power to the Toledo Blade. The report is being published by the weekly Toledo Free Press.
COAL: The Prairie State Energy Campus in Illinois is pursuing a 720-acre coal ash landfill near the power plant, reversing a 2005 pledge to local officials that the ash would be stored elsewhere. (Midwest Energy News)
TRANSMISSION: Federal regulators side with Xcel Energy and rule that American Transmission Co. is not the sole owner of a segment of the CapX2020 transmission project in Wisconsin. (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)
CLIMATE: A new study finds the number of hot, humid summer days is increasing in Midwest cities, with the trend expected to worsen over time. (Reuters)
ALSO: The League of Conservation Voters has launched a $1.5 million campaign aiming to unseat five members of Congress who dispute climate science, including a Michigan Republican; Brad Plumer lays out six things we know about climate change and droughts; and seven additional countries join a U.S.-led effort to cut soot and other emissions. (Washington Post, Reuters)
WIND: A two-year delay in a wind project is costing an Illinois county $1.5 million a year in tax revenue, money is was banking on to help cover costs of a high-profile murder trial. (Springfield State Journal-Register)
TRANSPORTATION: Ford’s C-Max Energi plug-in hybrid will be priced at $29,995 after tax credits, giving it a lower price and longer range than the plug-in version of the Toyota Prius. (Gas 2.0)
OIL: Oil companies throw a series of “cookfest” parties in North Dakota to improve relations with communities heavily impacted by drilling operations. (Fargo Forum)
SOLAR: UCLA researchers develop a transparent film that can be affixed to windows to generate electricity. (Bloomberg)
BIOFUELS: Goodyear is experimenting with tires made from soybean oil, which it says could last 10 percent longer than conventional tires made from petroleum. (Associated Press)
RENEWABLES: FERC’s chairman tells state regulators that low natural gas prices do not mean it is “time to bail” on renewable energy, and a conference in Minnesota touts the state’s ongoing clean energy potential. (Platts, Bemidji Pioneer)
COMMENTARY: Jon Tevlin says Minnesota needs to impose a moratorium on frac sand mining and study its impact “before it’s too late”; and Geoffrey Styles says while ethanol has minimal impact on gasoline prices, its impact on food prices should prompt a temporary suspension of biofuel mandates. (Minneapolis Star Tribune, The Energy Collective)