OIL TRAINS: A North Dakota town was evacuated yesterday after a train carrying crude oil derailed and caught fire. (Reuters)
ALSO: The incident created new urgency around the debate over rail safety, with officials in North Dakota and Minnesota renewing calls for safer tanker cars. (Bismarck Tribune, Minneapolis Star Tribune)
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CLIMATE: Global carbon dioxide levels hit 400 parts per million for the first time in over 5 million years, a milestone one scientist calls “both disturbing and daunting.” (Washington Post)
NUCLEAR:
• A Canadian advisory panel backs a plan to store nuclear waste near Lake Huron, a project that has stirred opposition in Michigan. (Associated Press)
• Exelon employees and others rally in Illinois to support a bill to help the company’s nuclear plants compete. (Carbondale Southern Illinoisan)
WIND:
• Voters in a Michigan township reject a wind project in a ballot referendum. (Huron Daily Tribune)
• An affiliate of a Minnesota utility has purchased its seventh wind farm in 15 months. (Minneapolis Star Tribune)
• A Minnesota inventor enters a licensing deal with a Danish company for his funnel-shaped wind generator. (Minneapolis / St. Paul Business Journal)
GRID: MISO projects ample power supplies for the Midwest this summer. (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)
ELECTRIC CARS: Tesla is acquiring a Michigan-based automotive supplier, giving the company its first manufacturing presence in the state. (Detroit Free Press)
PIPELINES:
• President Obama has missed a deadline to name a permanent head for the agency that oversees pipeline safety. (Politico)
• Enbridge employees conduct a pipeline rupture drill in North Dakota. (Forum News Service)
FRACKING: Chesapeake Energy is seeking to acquire more territory in Ohio. (Columbus Business First)
UTILITIES: Controversy over a Chicago gas-line replacement program could complicate Wisconsin Energy’s effort to acquire Integrys Energy Group. (Milwaukee Business Journal)
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GASOLINE: Gasoline prices are expected to rise again this summer, as experts still disagree on the impact prices have on driving habits. (New York Times, Reuters)
COMMENTARY: Why renewable energy is still the winner in Kansas. (Grist)