ETHANOL: A new study finds U.S. biofuel policy helps reduce carbon emissions, but those savings are largely negated by corresponding land-use changes in other countries. (Midwest Energy News)

ALSO: Small-engine manufacturers petition the Supreme Court to fight higher ethanol mandates, and a study finds renewable fuel credits are not to blame for higher gasoline prices. (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Des Moines Register)

***SPONSORED LINK: The best Midwest clean energy startups vie for $250,000 in prizes at the 2013 Clean Energy Challenge April 4 in Chicago.***

OIL: A train spills 30,000 gallons of crude oil after derailing in western Minnesota, and a coalition of conservation groups aims to fight oil sands pipeline expansion throughout the Midwest. (Reuters, Minneapolis Star Tribune)

COAL: Backers of a proposed Indiana coal-to-gas plant say shale gas “is a miserable commercial failure,” and that rising natural gas prices will make their project economically justifiable. (Evansville Courier & Press)

FRACKING: Michigan groups plan a ballot initiative to ban fracking, industry data shows 670 miles of wells were drilled in Ohio in 2012, and Ohio Rep. Tim Ryan meets with German Chancellor Angela Merkel to discuss natural gas exports. (Capitol News Service, Akron Beacon Journal, The Hill)

FRAC SAND: A Wisconsin lawmaker proposes five bills that would place tougher restrictions on frac sand mining. (Wisconsin State Journal)

CLIMATE: Scientists say shrinking Arctic ice cover may be to blame for this year’s frigid spring. (ClimateWire)

POLICY: An IMF study finds governments worldwide spend $1.9 trillion each year subsidizing fossil fuels. (Washington Post)

TRANSPORTATION: An Indiana dairy farm powers its trucks with methane from cow manure, and equipment failure stalls Minnesota’s mileage tax experiment. (New York Times, Minneapolis Star Tribune)

NUCLEAR: Federal regulators cite Xcel Energy for failing to repair a broken radiation sensor at a Minnesota nuclear plant, and MidAmerican continues assessing possible sites for a new nuclear plant in Iowa. (Minneapolis Star Tribune, Muscatine Journal)

WIND: Minnesota-based Geronimo Energy acquires Midwest Wind Energy’s projects, and an Indiana county considers a moratorium on new wind farms. (St. Paul Pioneer Press, Kokomo Tribune)

SOLAR: Led mostly by big industries, Ohio rises quickly in state rankings for solar installations. (Dayton Daily News)

TRANSMISSION: Ohio farmers protest a planned 30-mile transmission line, saying it threatens a historic farm and two bald eagle nests. (Sandusky Register)

EFFICIENCY: Washington University in St. Louis announces a $30 million energy conservation program. (St. Louis Business Journal)

COMMENTARY: A new wind energy myth is born — this one about workplace fatalities, and a review summarizes the six most common conservative talking points on climate change. (Media Matters, Yale Forum on Climate Change and the Media)