OHIO: As the Energy Mandates Study Committee wraps up its last meeting, “everything is still on the table” as the group prepares recommendations for the state’s renewable energy and efficiency laws. (Columbus Dispatch)
COAL:
• For Illinois farmers, the impacts from underground coal mining can last for decades. (Midwest Energy News)
• A Minnesota utility is still assessing damage from a fire at a coal storage facility over the weekend. (Associated Press)
***SPONSORED LINK: Illinois Residents — Enter to win a 4kW solar installation! Only 1,200 tickets will be sold. 1 for $40, 3 for $100 www.illinoissolar.org ***
POLITICS:
• Ohio Gov. John Kasich, expected to announce a bid for president today, acknowledges that climate change is a problem, but says he doesn’t want to “overreact to it.” (Mother Jones)
• Republicans’ turnaround on wind energy could harm them politically, especially in Iowa. (National Journal)
SOLAR:
• The owner of a large Minnesota solar project says Xcel Energy is delaying interconnecting the project, a charge the utility rejects. (Minneapolis Star Tribune)
• A Minnesota town will get a majority of the power for its municipal buildings from solar. (KARE)
• Solar advocates plan a rally against a Kansas utility’s proposed increase in fixed charges. (Lawrence Journal-World)
WIND: Three developers have expressed interest in a proposed offshore wind farm in Lake Erie. (Ashtabula Star Beacon)
FRACKING:
• The Sierra Club will back an effort to put a fracking ban on the ballot in Michigan. (MLive)
• A fracking ban won’t be on the ballot in Columbus, Ohio, but will be in the town of Athens. (Columbus Dispatch, Athens Post)
OIL:
• Enbridge crews will continue monitoring the Kalamazoo River for remnants of oil from a 2010 pipeline spill. (MLive)
• A company drilling near a North Dakota state park will pay to move hiking trails away from its operations. (Bismarck Tribune)
EFFICIENCY:
• Missouri’s consumer advocate says “we would rather there be no program” than move forward with a utility’s efficiency proposal. (St. Louis Post-Dispatch)
• The owners of the tallest building in Minneapolis launch a new efficiency program. (Minnesota Public Radio)
ELECTRIC VEHICLES: An Ohio utility executive says electric cars could bring about “a huge change in the demand cycle.” (Columbus Business First)
CLIMATE: Betsy Hodges of Minneapolis will be among 60 mayors meeting with Pope Francis on climate change issues today. (Minnesota Public Radio)
COMMENTARY:
• “The facts don’t lie” on Ohio’s renewable energy and efficiency standards. (NRDC Switchboard)
• How Wisconsin can benefit from more wind energy. (Janesville Gazette)