CLEAN ENERGY: City-led clean energy efforts in Warsaw, Poland confront the national government’s commitment to coal, similar to local clean-energy efforts in Ohio that contrast with the state’s commitment to clean energy. (Midwest Energy News)
COAL:
• Minnesota will not appeal after federal courts reject a state law barring imported electricity from coal plants in neighboring North Dakota. (Minneapolis Star Tribune)
• Bankrupt coal company Peabody Energy will provide $200 million to Illinois for mine cleanup as part of a settlement. (St. Louis Post-Dispatch)
• Energy companies partner with the University of North Dakota in an effort to reduce carbon dioxide emissions from burning coal. (Forum News Service)
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SOLAR: Clean energy supporters still have unanswered questions about how a value-of-solar study being overseen by Kansas regulators will proceed. (Midwest Energy News)
PIPELINES:
• The company looking to develop a $500 million ethane pipeline through Ohio says the project would bring nearly $240 million in economic benefits to the state’s economy. (Toledo Blade)
• Iowa landowners file an emergency appeal with state regulators after a judge denies a request to halt construction on the Dakota Access pipeline. (Cedar Rapids Gazette)
• In a symbolic move, a local government in southeast Michigan votes to formally oppose a planned natural gas pipeline due to its proximity to neighborhoods and schools. (MLive)
• A former FERC attorney who now runs a private practice in D.C. is known as the “pipeline lawyer” who represents the interests of landowners. (Greenwire)
• Authorities say the FBI has been contacted after an aircraft monitoring Dakota Access protests appears to have been targeted by “laser beams.” (Associated Press)
FRAC SAND: A Minnesota county is set to consider proposed regulations on the size and number of frac sand mines. (Winona Daily News)
HYDRO: Minnesota remains a major customer for hydroelectric power generated in Canada. (Minneapolis Star Tribune)
EMISSIONS: The U.S. EPA’s lawsuit against Ameren Missouri over alleged Clean Air Act violations heads to trial. (St. Louis Business Journal)
GRID: Energy officials discuss the potential for accommodating more renewables on the grid as part of a low-carbon future during a conference hosted by grid operator MISO. (RTO Insider)
BIOFUELS: A Nebraska-based company plans to buy three Midwest ethanol plants for $237 million from a Spanish energy company that is moving through bankruptcy. (Reuters)
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CLIMATE: A new study says Minnesota would see more triple-digit temperature days in the coming decades unless greenhouse gas emissions are curbed. (WCCO-TV)
COMMENTARY: A health specialist says an Indiana utility should focus on generating more electricity from wind and solar rather than extend the life of a major coal plant. (Fort Wayne Journal Gazette)