OIL: Michigan’s elected officials are reluctant to take a position on Enbridge’s pipeline expansion in the state. (InsideClimate News)

WATER: A new report from the Government Accountability Office warns that increased U.S. energy production will further strain water supplies. (The Hill)

COAL: As urban coal plants shut down in the U.S., entities aiming to redevelop the sites could draw inspiration from Europe, where former energy sites have been turned into museums, a conference center, and even an amusement park. (Midwest Energy News)

ALSO: How U.S. taxpayers are subsidizing coal exports to Asia. (Reuters)

WIND: Nebraska landowners welcome a new wind farm, which a statewide utility calls a “major step forward” toward its 10 percent renewable power goal; and officials in Goodhue County, Minnesota, decide not to act on a resolution that would have pulled support for a contested wind farm. (Omaha World-Herald, Rochester Post-Bulletin)

ELECTRIC CARS: A $5 billion federal investment in electric cars is slow to generate results, and GM is spending $35 million to upgrade a Michigan plant to produce a Volt-based electric Cadillac. (Bloomberg, MLive.com)

CLIMATE: A German insurance giant blames climate change for an increasing number of weather-related disaster claims worldwide. (The Hill)

FRAC SAND: A Wisconsin county extends its sand-mining moratorium, and the state DNR seeks more staff to monitor air quality at frac sand sites. (Minneapolis Star Tribune, Chippewa Herald)

NATURAL GAS: Republic Services will spend $25 million upgrading its fleet of St. Louis garbage trucks to run on natural gas. (St. Louis Business Journal)

EFFICIENCY: Downtown Milwaukee businesses sign on to a national pledge to reduce energy use; and Xcel Energy says electricity demand in Minnesota actually declined in 2012, despite a scorching summer. (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, St. Paul Pioneer Press)

COMMENTARY: Why natural gas won’t solve our energy problems, and why biodiesel credit fraud isn’t that big of a deal. (Christian Science Monitor, MinnPost)

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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