25 BY 25: The debate over expanding Michigan’s renewable energy standard is heating up this summer, pitting clean energy industries against other business interests worried about the potential impact on utility rates. (Associated Press)

WIND: A North Carolina “backwoods scientist” is at the heart of a national effort to drive and organize citizen opposition to wind power, and S.C. Johnson plans a pair of 415-foot-tall wind turbines at a Wisconsin manufacturing facility. (Greenwire, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)

CLIMATE: More frequent and intense storms mean going without flood insurance is an increasingly risky bet for many Minnesotans. (Minneapolis Star Tribune)

HIGH-SPEED RAIL: Wisconsin will be reimbursed for the $14 million in state money spent on high-speed rail prior to Gov. Scott Walker’s rejection of federal funding; meanwhile, House Republicans move to block any additional spending on upgrading the nation’s mass transit. (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Fiscal Times)

OIL: Boaters and anglers return to the Kalamazoo River after it is reopened for recreation, but some still worry about the impact of 2010’s pipeline spill. (Battle Creek Enquirer)

NUCLEAR: The Sierra Club calls on federal regulators to revoke the operating license for a Nebraska nuclear power plant, citing a string of safety violations. (Associated Press)

BULK BUYS: Chicago’s city council this week is expected to approve a referendum that would allow voters to decide whether the city can negotiate lower electricity prices for residents. (Chicago Tribune)

EFFICIENCY: A Minnesota town will test LED streetlights by putting three of them in front of the homes of public employees, who’ve agreed to monitor them for a year. (West Central Tribune)

FRAC SAND: Opponents of frac sand mining produce a report claiming hazardous particulate levels near a Wisconsin facility, but state officials say the group’s research methods are questionable. (Winona Daily News)

COMMENTARY: The Chicago Tribune calls on Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn to veto state support for a Chicago coal-to-gas plant, and is Big Oil really serious about renewables? (EarthTechling)