SOLAR: Solar industry jobs doubled in the Cleveland area last year as coal employment statewide continues to decline. (Midwest Energy News)

ALSO:
• Retail giant Ikea continues its push for a 100 percent renewable energy portfolio by 2020 by building Illinois’ largest rooftop solar array at its new Midwest distribution center. (Midwest Energy News)
• Plans for a solar project at the site of a former industrial site in Carbondale, Illinois are back on track after Gov. Rauner signed the Future Energy Jobs bill into law last year. (Southern Illinoisan)
• Chisago County in Minnesota is leading the state’s clean energy transition with a flood of solar activity. (Minneapolis Star Tribune)
• A consumer advocacy group in Indiana says plans to eliminate net metering there will likely bring “prolonged litigation.” (Indiana Lawyer)

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FINANCE: Nebraska cities and state lawmakers are expressing a growing interest in Property Assessed Clean Energy financing, which advocates hope will soon be available to property owners from “border to border” in the state. (Midwest Energy News)

WIND:
• A new analysis says Iowa’s wind industry is expected to grow by more than $9 billion and more than double in jobs by 2020. (Cedar Rapids Gazette)
• Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad is confident that President Trump will keep the wind production tax credit in place. (Radio Iowa)

PIPELINES:
• The Dakota Access developer says the pipeline is now loaded with oil beneath a contested portion of the project in North Dakota beneath the Missouri River. (Bismarck Tribune)
• The chairman of the Standing Rock Sioux tribe calls on other banks to end their financial dealings with the Dakota Access pipeline. (Bismarck Tribune)
• An actress will avoid jail time by pleading guilty to disorderly conduct over her role in Dakota Access protests in October. (Associated Press)

RENEWABLES: Hundreds of clean energy-related bills have been introduced at the state level so far this year. (InsideClimate News)

CLEAN POWER PLAN:
• Energy economists say repealing the Clean Power Plan is unlikely to increase U.S. energy independence and bring back coal mining jobs. (New York Times)
• A Nebraska utility says repealing the rules will not impact its near-term generation plans. (Lincoln Journal Star)

OIL AND GAS:
• Minnesota-based Otter Tail Power Co. plans to build a $165 million, 250-megawatt natural gas plant in eastern South Dakota to replace a retiring coal plant in its hometown. (Minneapolis Star Tribune)
• The North Dakota Senate votes to increase the threshold for reporting oil spills, “a proposal the oil industry supported but many landowners opposed.” (Forum News Service)

COAL:
• The CEO of Ohio-based Murray Energy says he told President Trump to “temper” his expectations about restoring coal mining jobs, because “he can’t bring them back.” (The Guardian)
• Production is expected to start this summer at a new coal mine in southeastern Ohio. (Platts)

EFFICIENCY: The Cobo Center convention space in downtown Detroit is recognized nationally for its efforts to cut down on energy use. (Model D Media)

CLIMATE: Kalamazoo, Michigan looks to follow other cities in the state in reducing carbon emissions through a climate action plan. (MLive)

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GRID: Southwest Michigan residents win a victory with a decision on where to site a planned $30 million transmission project. (MLive)

COMMENTARY:
• The CEO of Detroit-based DTE Energy say recent reports about Michigan’s reliability are incorrect, and that in 2015, Michigan was better than the national average in the number of power outages per customer. (Bridge Magazine)
• An Indiana editorial board says the “wisest course is for the legislature to take a pass on this sweeping effort” to change the state’s net metering rules. (Fort Wayne Journal Gazette)
• A national wind industry group says eight projects are waiting to be built in Ohio, and the state’s restrictive setback rules are blocking more development. (Into the Wind blog)