FRACKING: Advocates say proposed changes to Michigan’s fracking regulations are too lenient. (Midwest Energy News)

UTILITIES: Consumer advocates say the proposed Exelon buyout of Integrys’ retail operations will limit competition, and We Energies says cool summer weather will hurt its profits. (Chicago Tribune, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)

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CLIMATE: Wisconsin Rep. Paul Ryan says EPA carbon rules are “outside the confines of the law” and “climate change occurs no matter what,” and religious conservatives voice support for carbon regulation at EPA hearings. (Christian Science Monitor, New York Times)

COAL: A small Indiana town worries about the impact of climate regulations: “All we know in Dugger is coal, coal, coal.” (CNHI News Service)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES: Stanford University researchers say a lithium battery breakthrough could boost electric car range to 300 miles, and an industry group says electric cars are a “quadruple win” for utilities. (ClimateWire, Greentech Media)

POLITICS: How ethanol and climate change could impact Iowa’s Senate race, and coal likely won’t be a major issue in Ohio’s gubernatorial election. (Politico, Climate Progess, Columbus Dispatch)

SOLAR: The Indiana Municipal Power Agency plans a $2 million solar project, and Iowa’s largest solar array goes online. (Crawfordsville Journal Review, Des Moines Register)

OIL: A petition drive seeks to block a section of crude oil pipeline through Iowa, and Archer Daniels Midland will pay $430,000 to settle accusations of water violations at oil facilities in three states. (Cedar Rapids Gazette, Associated Press)

NATURAL GAS: An Oklahoma company plans a new processing plant in North Dakota, which is expected to further reduce natural gas flaring in the Oil Patch. (Forum News Service)

COMMENTARY: Why FERC is not worried about EPA carbon regulations, and advocates say a utility industry group is backing ALEC’s attack on solar. (NRDC Switchboard, Huffington Post)