WIND: A judge in Wisconsin deals a setback to the only major wind farm being planned in the state over noise standards. (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)

SOLAR: Minnesota communities are struggling with the rapid uptick in applications for community solar gardens. (Minneapolis Star Tribune)

***SPONSORED LINK: Green Your Ride!  The Illinois Solar Energy Association is raffling a 2015 Tesla Model S! Only 2,000 tickets sold. 1 for $100, 4 for $300 www.illinoissolar.org ***

FRACKING: In a surprise move, the city of Youngstown, Ohio files a complaint with the state Supreme Court in support of putting an anti-fracking ballot proposal before voters. (Youngstown Vindicator)

NUCLEAR: Exelon will have to decide next month whether to close its struggling Quad Cities nuclear plant. (Chicago Tribune)

EFFICIENCY: A federal grant is helping small Iowa communities navigate the complexities of energy audits and efficiency savings. (Midwest Energy News)

OHIO: PUCO chairman: “The utility of the future looks a lot different from the utility of today.” (Cleveland Plain Dealer)

CLIMATE: General Mills plans to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions 28 percent by 2025 across its entire supply chain, investing $100 million in energy efficiency and clean energy. (Associated Press)

SOLAR: DTE Energy starts construction on a 750-kw solar project in southeast Michigan. (The News-Herald)

BIOFUELS: Plans for an $11 million biofuel production facility near Dayton would be the “first of its kind” in Ohio. (Dayton Business Journal)

GRID: FERC rejects complaints from two energy companies seeking to change the way PJM does its capacity auctions. (RTO Insider)

NATURAL GAS: Regulatory staff in Ohio recommend fining a natural gas company $400,000 for its role in a house explosion in March. (Columbus Business First)

COAL:
• U.S. coal generation declined more than 14 percent in the first half of 2015 compared to last year, slumping to levels not seen since the early 1980s. (SNL)
FirstEnergy is preparing to demolish a century-0ld coal plant along the shoreline in Cleveland. (Cleveland Plain Dealer)

COMMENTARY:
• Alliant Energy’s plans for a solar research park is good news for solar development in Wisconsin after taking a hit last year. (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)
“Surely … there must be a better place to bury nuclear waste” in all of Canada than six-tenths of a mile from the Great Lakes. (MLive)
PUCO should reject FirstEnergy’s “bailout” request. (Cleveland Plain Dealer)
Consumers Energy is “making all the right moves” with the community as it prepares to close a major coal plant along the West Michigan lakeshore. (MLive)

CORRECTION: An item in Friday’s digest misidentified the state where a co-op is lobbying to stall the Clean Power Plan. It is in Minnesota, not Wisconsin.

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Andy Balaskovitz

Andy compiles the Midwest Energy News digest and was a journalism fellow for Midwest Energy News from 2014-2020. He is managing editor of MiBiz in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and was formerly a reporter and editor at City Pulse, Lansing’s alternative newsweekly.

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