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EMISSIONS:
• A Minnesota project has helped retrofit thousands of large vehicles and pieces of equipment with cleaner-burning diesel engines. (Midwest Energy News)
• Clean-energy advocates speak out against shortcomings in a state plan to reduce sulfur dioxide emissions in Detroit. (Michigan Radio)
CLIMATE:
• China is expected to announce today the world’s largest cap-and-trade system, which would start in 2017. (New York Times)
• Leading cities and regions around the world pledge to cut emissions that would keep temperatures from rising no more than 2 degrees Celsius. (Phys.org)
• Minnesota-based Cargill is criticized for not joining other large corporations in aggressively pursuing emissions reductions and clean energy. (Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal)
***SPONSORED LINK: Hear top executives from the area’s RTOs, utilities, transmission developers, and state regulatory agencies discuss and debate critical issues at EUCI’s Transmission Expansion in the Midwest conference November 9-10 in Indianapolis.***
PHILANTHROPY: A $1 million gift from a Chicago firm will help develop new business models for large-scale renewable energy projects across the country. (Midwest Energy News)
OIL AND GAS:
• North Dakota regulators give the industry 10 more months to reduce the amount of natural gas burned off at wells, known as flaring. (Reuters)
• Plans for a “mini-ethane” cracker plant in eastern Ohio for repurposing natural-gas components are on hold. (Columbus Business First)
• BP is investigating the source of an oil leak found at its northwest Indiana refinery. (CBS Chicago)
SOLAR:
• Kansas regulators approve a rate increase for a major utility there, delaying a decision to revise special rates for customers with solar panels. (Lawrence Journal-World)
• Advocates tout the benefits of going solar in Illinois. (Southern Illinoisan)
PIPELINES: Around the Straits of Mackinac Thursday, emergency crews deployed booms and practiced wildlife rehabilitation and shoreline cleanup as part of an oil-spill training exercise. (MLive)
NUCLEAR: A plant in southeast Michigan will remain shut down for maintenance and refueling. (Associated Press)
ETHANOL: A farmer-owned cooperative in southern Minnesota is considering a $146 million expansion of its ethanol plant, though some members are concerned about how to pay for it. (Rochester Post-Bulletin)
FRACKING: Advocates in Ohio are praising the state Supreme Court for placing an anti-fracking initiative back on Nov. 3 ballots. (Youngstown Vindicator)
VW POLLUTION CASE:
• At least 27 state attorneys general, including six in the Midwest, are opening a multi-state investigation into the automaker over rigging technology to pass smog tests. (Associated Press)
• The EPA plans sweeping changes to the way it tests for diesel emissions. (Associated Press)
COMMENTARY: A craft brewery owner in Michigan says alternatives should be found to reroute oil away from the Straits of Mackinac in order to protect water quality. (MLive)