OHIO: American Municipal Power and FirstEnergy scrap plans to build a new natural gas power plant in northeast Ohio, blaming financial issues and “continued regulatory uncertainty.” (Columbus Dispatch)

WIND: MidAmerican says it will announce the locations of more than 600 new Iowa wind turbines in the coming weeks, Illinois lawmakers advance a bill authorizing study of offshore wind in Lake Michigan, a Wisconsin wind farm plan stumbles, and the industry looks for a path forward from the production tax credit. (Des Moines Register, Champaign-Urbana News-Gazette, Sheboygan Press, Greenwire)

POLITICS: Senate Republicans boycott a vote on EPA nominee Gina McCarthy, in what the White House says is a “historic level of obstructionism”; a congressional scholar finds a pattern of GOP tactics in delaying cabinet posts; and divisions over climate change begin to appear in the Republican Party. (The Hill, SNL, National Journal)

BIOMASS: Does burning wood instead of fossil fuels increase greenhouse gas emissions? (Midwest Energy News)

OIL: Kansas oil production reaches its highest level since the 1990s, a Saudi oil company plans a research hub in Michigan, and a group of Democratic donors sends President Obama a letter comparing the decision on Keystone XL with Lincoln freeing the slaves. (Topeka Capital Journal, Detroit Free Press, Washington Post)

ELECTRIC CARS: Tesla’s stock surges on news of its first quarterly profit, and Iowa again considers raising its $25 registration fee for electric cars. (Bloomberg, Radio Iowa)

FRAC SAND: An analysis finds at least 10 frac sand mines in Minnesota would be affected by a proposed trout-stream setback. (Minnesota Public Radio)

MEDIA: Ten questions with David Sassoon, founder of the Pulitzer-winning InsideClimate News. (American Press Institute)

COMMENTARY: How light bulb efficiency rules are driving a wave of innovation, what the demise of the Kewaunee nuclear plant tells us about the economics of “baseload” power, and why conventional wisdom about clean energy is stuck in the 1990s. (Time, Midwest Energy News, Greentech Media)

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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