FRACKING: A good cement casing is key to ensuring a gas well won’t contaminate groundwater supplies. But states have a wide range of regulations governing the practice. (EnergyWire)

COAL: A judge rules North Dakota can proceed with its lawsuit challenging a Minnesota law requiring carbon offsets for imported coal power, and Ohio’s largest coal plant can no longer compete with natural gas. (Minneapolis Star Tribune, Youngstown Vindicator)

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SOLAR: The Minnesota Commerce Department orders Xcel Energy to continue its solar incentives for another three years. (St. Paul Pioneer Press)

OIL: Hyperion declines to renew its land contracts for a proposed refinery in South Dakota, meaning the developers would likely have to “start from scratch” if they paln to proceed with the project; and an airline serving Dickinson, North Dakota now has enough traffic that it will no longer receive federal subsidies. (Sioux City Journal)

FRAC SAND: A group of more than 50 protesters greeted a frac sand conference in a Minneapolis suburb yesterday. (Minneapolis Star Tribune)

WIND: Ohio State University signs an agreement to get a quarter of its power from wind. (Associated Press)

TRANSPORTATION: The White House announces it will fast-track federal review of a planned Twin Cities light rail line. (Minneapolis Star Tribune)

EFFICIENCY: An online energy-saving tool helped Chicagoans who used it avoid most of the rate spike from this summer’s heat wave, according to the group that developed it. (Chicago Sun-Times)

COMMENTARY: The Grand Forks Herald says the EPA has a place in the Oil Patch, and Daniel J. Weiss suggests three climate and energy questions for tomorrow night’s presidential debate. (Grand Forks Herald, Grist)

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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