SOLAR:
• Kansas’ largest utility wants state regulators to approve new demand fees for its distributed generation customers, though advocates say there are too few solar customers at this point making an impact on utility revenue. (Midwest Energy News)
• Residents in an Ohio town say local officials’ plans to buy solar energy from those who generate it on their property would be too restrictive. (Hamilton Journal-News)
EFFICIENCY: Kansas regulators have rejected the first utility energy efficiency incentive program proposed in the state since a new efficiency law took effect in 2014. (Midwest Energy News)
WIND:
• Falling prices are leading to a spike in wind energy development in North Dakota. (Forum News Service)
• A City Council in Ohio approves a resolution in support of plans for an offshore wind project near Cleveland. (Elyria Chronicle-Telegram)
OIL AND GAS:
• An application for the first hydraulic fracturing permit in Illinois is reviving a debate where the practice was first approved four years ago. (Springfield State Journal-Register)
• Activists in Chicago call the plan a “dangerous precedent.” (CBS Chicago)
• With exports of oil and natural gas surging, President Trump says the U.S. is on the verge of becoming a net exporter of energy. (Associated Press)
CLIMATE: Major Detroit businesses and institutions sign on to the city’s 2030 District initiative that aims to cut carbon emissions by 50 percent from existing buildings by 2030. (MLive)
COAL:
• Local officials in a Missouri city are seeking more answers about the company selected to unload and clean up a former coal plant there. (Independence Examiner)
• Ohio State University and AEP are partnering to use coal combustion byproducts to reclaim abandoned mining land. (Zanesville Times Recorder)
PIPELINES: Public comments close this week on an application by Enbridge to install 22 new anchor supports along is Line 5 pipeline in the Straits of Mackinac, which the company calls preventative maintenance. (MLive)
RENEWABLES: Researchers and advocates discuss the potential for renewable energy deployment in northern Michigan. (Petoskey News-Review)
TRANSPORTATION: Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel wants to explore the potential for a “Hyperloop” train developed by Elon Musk to connect downtown with O’Hare International Airport. (CBS Chicago)
BIOFUELS: Officials say faulty equipment was to blame for a fire at a North Dakota ethanol plant last week. (Wahpeton Daily News)