EFFICIENCY: How a Michigan firm became one of the fastest growing companies in America by helping other businesses score rebates and tax breaks for saving energy. (Midwest Energy News)
CLIMATE: How drought and extreme heat are limiting energy production at conventional power plants. (Washington Post)
SOLAR: As utilities in Ohio reach benchmarks for solar power, the value of renewable energy credits begins to plummet; a European solar firm hopes to hire 300 workers for a new Ohio production facility; and a 1 MW solar farm is planned for a former munitions depot in Illinois. (Mansfield News Journal, Toledo Blade, Quad-City Times)
WIND: An Illinois county considers increasing wind turbine setbacks to 2,000 feet. (Rockford Register Star)
LIGHT BULBS: A Department of Energy study finds LED bulbs have a slightly lower overall environmental impact than CFLs, with both surpassing incandescents by a wide margin. (The Oregonian)
COAL: As summer draws to a close, the future of the coal-fired S.S. Badger ferry on Lake Michigan remains in question. (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)
FRACKING: Ohio towns seek to override state rules and impose tougher restrictions on gas drilling. (Akron Beacon Journal)
OIL: How the oil boom is helping to boost tourism in otherwise seldom-visited North Dakota. (USA Today)
BIOFUELS: In a debate, Iowa Rep. Steve King simultaneously demands government “get out of the way” of free markets while praising the state’s ethanol industry, which is supported by federal mandates. (The Hill)
TRANSMISSION: An Indianapolis utility is lukewarm to the idea of contracting with the Grain Belt Express, a $2 billion transmission project intended to carry wind energy from Kansas to the East Coast. (Indianapolis Star)
ALSO: An Ohio utility is saving millions on trimming trees that tangle with power lines by using chemicals to stunt the trees’ growth instead. (Columbus Dispatch)
COMMENTARY:
- Neither Romney nor Obama has a plan that’s up to the task of meeting America’s energy challenges. (Washington Post)
- David Roberts says distributed renewable energy is growing and has enormous potential. (Grist)
- Do climate scientists undercut their credibility when they engage in advocacy? (Minneapolis Star Tribune)
- Politicians who deny climate change cannot be “pro-business.” (Harvard Business Review)
- Why cement is the key to making fracking safe. (Forbes)