CLEAN ENERGY: Several candidates running to serve on the Nebraska Public Power District board indicate they want to speed the utility’s transition from coal to clean energy. (Energy News Network)

UTILITIES: FirstEnergy executives offer a positive financial picture amid the pandemic as the company is shielded from revenue declines in at least three states where it operates. (Utility Dive)

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ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE:
• Fine particulate matter and nitrogen oxide emissions have dropped in the Detroit area over the past month, though previous pollution may have already put residents at higher risk from COVID-19. (MLive)
• Air quality tests around Chicago’s Little Village neighborhood show “no apparent health risk” after a former coal plant smokestack demolition blanketed the area with dust. (Chicago Sun-Times)

PIPELINES: U.S. government attorneys argue that a recent ruling halting a wetland permitting program would hamper thousands of construction projects. (Associated Press)

WIND: Illinois added $1 billion in wind energy investment while land lease payments doubled in 2019, according to a wind industry group report. (Kankakee Daily Journal)

EMISSIONS:
• An Indiana researcher says the U.S. EPA’s plan to revise the cost-benefit analysis for mercury and other air toxins is “basically trying to handcuff the agency from future rules.” (Indianapolis Star)
• Purdue University’s emissions-reduction plan lags behind stronger targets at Ball State University and Indiana University. (Purdue Exponent)

OIL & GAS: Two companies delay a decision on whether to build an ethane cracker plant in eastern Ohio, citing uncertainty from the pandemic. (Akron Beacon Journal)

COAL: Coal remains the second largest commodity at the Port of Duluth-Superior, but it is steadily declining and researchers say it could have ripple effects through the local economy. (MinnPost)

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SOLAR: A 20 MW solar project comes online in southwestern Kansas. (Solar Industry Magazine)

COMMENTARY: Clean energy advocates say a newly passed Chicago ordinance boosting requirements for electric vehicle charging at new developments promotes more “equitable access” to EVs. (Natural Resources Defense Council)