WIND: MidAmerican Energy announces it has started construction in Iowa on the country’s tallest wind tower, which will also be made of concrete instead of steel. (Midwest Energy News)
PETCOKE: Five protesters are arrested after locking themselves down and blocking entry to a petcoke storage facility on Chicago’s Southeast Side. (Midwest Energy News)
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OHIO: Merchant generator Dynegy says it will sue to stop “bailout” power-purchase agreements in Ohio if they’re approved for FirstEnergy and AEP: “It’s so ridiculous it’s even made it this far.” (Columbus Business First)
OIL AND GAS: For the first time in a decade, the Bakken oil patch in North Dakota posts a year-to-year decline in production. (Bloomberg News)
CLEAN POWER PLAN:
• The CEO of We Energies’ parent company in Wisconsin says the federal rules would cost the company $2.2 billion over the next five years. (Milwaukee Business Journal)
• The Republican Attorneys General Association defends Michigan AG’s position to fight against the Clean Power Plan. (Detroit News)
IOWA: In a potentially illegal move, the head of the Iowa Utilities Board has withheld funding for the state’s renewable energy research center until she receives answers to questions about its operations and finances. (Associated Press)
FRACKING:
• The federal government is holding three public meetings in Ohio this week over potentially opening a portion of a national forest there to fracking. (Columbus Dispatch)
• Anti-fracking activists plan protests today in Ohio and other parts of the country. (Associated Press)
NUCLEAR: A Wisconsin lawmaker pushes to end the state’s moratorium on new nuclear plants as the cost of fossil fuels rises. (Associated Press)
SOLAR: Local officials delay action on a proposed 5-megawatt community solar project in Minnesota, citing too much “ambiguity.” (Le Center Leader)
CORPORATE SUSTAINABILITY: A company that bills itself as the world’s largest data center is on track to buy a vacant 600,000-square-foot facility in West Michigan that will run entirely on renewables. (MLive)
BIOMASS: By commercializing miscanthus crops, the University of Iowa is on pace to hit a 40 percent renewable energy target by 2020. (The Gazette)
ALTERNATIVE FUELS:
• An Ohio start-up raises nearly $2 million to demonstrate its line of natural-gas compressors as an alternative to gasoline in vehicles. (Columbus Business First)
• Renewable fuel producers brace for the U.S. EPA’s rule announcement by the end of the month on ethanol mandates in the fuel supply. (WHO-TV)
COMMENTARY: Ohio lawmakers have a double-standard when it comes to energy development and property rights, “bending over backwards” for the oil and gas industry while trying to undermine Ohio’s wind industry. (NRDC Switchboard)