SOLAR: Clean-energy groups propose up to 10 MW worth of community solar projects in Illinois. (EnergyWire)
TRANSMISSION: The Minnesota Supreme Court rules in favor of landowners, saying a utility must buy an entire farm in order to run a transmission line through it. (Minnesota Public Radio)
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CHICAGO: Two former owners of a California-based company have been charged with fraud after obtaining nearly $3 million in government funds to launch Chicago’s network of electric vehicle charging stations. (Chicago Tribune)
EFFICIENCY: A Minnesota engineer and entrepreneur taps into the commercial market with an energy-saving technology that controls temperature room by room. Elsewhere, designers are incorporating natural light into architecture to reduce the need for light bulbs. (Minneapolis StarTribune, EnergyWire)
PETCOKE: After stopping petcoke storage in Chicago, BP says it will not simply move it to communities in northwest Indiana. (Northwest Indiana Times)
WIND: Despite new attention toward solar in Minnesota, wind is still a major player with growth potential there. (Midwest Energy News)
CARBON: According to new research from Duke University, the social cost of fossil fuels is “much larger than previously realized.” (Phys.org)
KEYSTONE XL: The Senate falls five votes short of overriding Obama’s Keystone XL veto. (New York Times)
TECHNOLOGY: Energy technology experts gather in Wisconsin to highlight growth potential in the market. (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)
GRID: States across the country are developing policies to protect the electric grid in the case of catastrophic events. (Governing Magazine)
CLIMATE CHANGE: A former local Minnesota TV newsman has become an authoritative voice on climate change. (MinnPost)
CLEAN POWER PLAN: Sen. Mitch McConnell is urging governors to defy President Obama’s climate change policy by refusing to submit state compliance plans to the federal government. (New York Times)
TRANSPORTATION: South Dakota sets aside $300,000 to pay for ethanol infrastructure upgrades, while interest groups in Illinois consider plan to overhaul gasoline taxes to pay for road and bridge upgrades. (Associated Press, Chicago Tribune)
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COMMENTARY: Ohio-based FirstEnergy continues to decline as it pursues a ratepayer bailout. (Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis)