NET METERING: Ohio regulators are considering limitations to the state’s net metering rules that could resolve a utility’s Supreme Court challenge. (Midwest Energy News)

POLLUTION:
• A Minnesota utility agrees to cut coal plant emissions to reduce haze at nearby national parks. (Minneapolis Star Tribune)
• Medical groups say Indiana regulators are pushing back against federal pollution rules at the expense of public health. (Indianapolis Star)

***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.***

OIL AND GAS:
• A drilling CEO pressed for the dismissal of Oklahoma scientists studying links between oil and gas activity and earthquakes, according to an email archive. (Bloomberg)
• A wastewater disposal well near the site of Oklahoma’s largest earthquake may have been drilled too deep. (EnergyWire)
• Experts say much of Michigan’s future natural gas supply will come from out of state. (Associated Press)

PIPELINES: A Michigan pipeline project is moving forward despite a township’s opposition. (MLive)

SOLAR:
• Michigan regulators grant conditional approval for the state’s first utility community solar program. (Crain’s Detroit Business)
• Construction of Minnesota’s largest solar project — 100 MW across up to 24 sites — could begin this fall. (Rochester Post-Bulletin)
• An Illinois town will unveil a new solar system that will help power its recreational facilities. (Edwardsville Intelligencer)
• Solar advocates file their arguments in a challenge to a Wisconsin regulatory decision allowing higher fixed charges for solar customers. (Milwaukee Biz Times)
• Solar panels will help power a new St. Paul baseball stadium. (Minneapolis Star Tribune)
• Construction begins on a solar project at a Michigan National Guard base. (MLive)

GRID: Invenergy completes a new 31 MW storage facility connected to Illinois solar and wind generators. (PV Tech)

KANSAS: Environmental groups are concerned industry interests won’t hold up their end of a deal that ended the state’s renewable energy standard. (Lawrence Journal-World)

UTILITIES:
• Exelon’s bid to acquire an East Coast utility is approved by Maryland regulators, advocates fear the merger will slow solar growth. (The Hill, Bloomberg)
• Wisconsin Energy’s proposed acquisition of Integrys Energy Group gets a favorable response from an Illinois administrative law judge. (Crain’s Chicago Business)

TRANSMISSION:
• Wisconsin groups petition for a new hearing for a transmission project approved by regulators last month. (La Crosse Tribune)
• Completion of a major new Minnesota transmission upgrade had a major impact on some landowners who opted to be bought out. (St. Cloud Times)

***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.***

ELECTRIC VEHICLES: The Michigan plant that produces batteries for the Chevy Volt is hiring more workers. (AutoBlog)

BIOENERGY: A perennial grass crop at a Cedar Rapids airport will help power the University of Iowa’s power plant. (Cedar Rapids Gazette)

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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