SOLAR: Major media outlets cover the rise of solar, and the threat it poses to utilities, from a national and international perspective. (Vox, Reuters)
ALSO: A Minnesota study finds permitting costs and procedures vary widely from city to city, making some installers reluctant to venture into new communities. (Midwest Energy News)
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WIND: A South Dakota community wind project surpasses its funding goal, and a new 124 MW wind farm is planned in Nebraska. (Associated Press, Lincoln Journal Star)
OIL AND GAS:
• The U.S. is poised to pass Saudi Arabia in production of liquid petroleum products. (Slate)
• The oil boom has Wisconsin logging companies struggling to find workers. (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)
• An Ohio college establishes a program to certify “landmen” in mineral-rights negotiations. (Columbus Business First)
• A Minnesota journalist shares her experience working for a month at a North Dakota truck stop. (The Atlantic)
COAL: A proposed expansion of a coal-waste site generates controversy in Illinois, a Kansas coal plant curtails generation amid fuel shipping delays, and advocates draw attention to pollution from an Illinois power plant. (Springfield State Journal-Register, Platts, Lake County News-Sun)
CARS: Iowa is the latest state to pose an obstacle to Tesla’s sales model, and Toyota is making a major investment in hydrogen fuel cells. (USA Today, San Jose Mercury News)
POLICY: Missouri’s new task force is among many state-level efforts to advance energy policy in the absence of federal action. (EnergyWire)
COMMENTARY: How solar power can become the world’s largest source of electricity. (Grist)