BIOFUELS: Algae biofuel producers hope inclusion in a federal tax credit will boost their industry, the EPA considers suspending the ethanol mandate and denies a petition to exempt oil refiners from a cellulosic biofuel requirement, and a leading fuel industry group is pushing Congress to keep higher ethanol blends off the market. (Midwest Energy News, Reuters, The Hill)

WIND: Why wind may replace ethanol as the key energy issue determining Iowa’s election outcome, and a Cedar Rapids wind manufacturer prepares to cut as many as 174 jobs. (Omaha World-Herald, Cedar Rapids Gazette)

OHIO: Will the Utica Shale live up to the hype? Initial results, so far, are mixed. (EnergyWire)

NORTH DAKOTA: Crews are at work cleaning up after an oil blowout near Williston spilled 400 barrels of oil and another 400 barrels of fracking fluid on nearby farmland, and state officials delay a $1 million grant for a project to convert waste natural gas to fertilizer. (Fargo Forum, Bismarck Tribune)

PIPELINES: Landowners in Michigan who oppose an Enbridge pipeline expansion are overshadowed by the still-simmering Keystone XL debate. (Los Angeles Times)

CLIMATE: A coalition of young conservatives launches an effort to encourage Republicans to back clean energy and fight climate change. (National Journal)

WASTE-TO-ENERGY: Iowa City considers a proposal to send as much as 80 percent of its municipal waste to a biorefinery to be converted into ethanol. (Cedar Rapids Gazette)

SOLAR: As professional sports franchises invest in solar power, will their fans follow? (Christian Science Monitor)

EFFICIENCY: An Omaha city councilman says a $10 million Nebraska program that has so far only insulated 93 homes is “the epitome of government inefficiency and bumbling.” (Omaha World-Herald)

TRANSPORTATION: Thirty U.S. cities now have bikeshare programs, with more on the way. (Climate Progress)

COMMENTARY: Can natural gas fully replace coal in the U.S.? Michael Levi runs the numbers And InsideClimate News publisher David Sassoon writes about the dangers of dilbit. (Council on Foreign Relations, New York Times)

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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