POLICY: Ohio Gov. John Kasich reiterates his threat to veto any attempts to eliminate clean energy standards in the state. (Columbus Dispatch)

CLEAN POWER PLAN:
• Michigan officials release results of two analyses showing that energy efficiency and trading carbon credits with other states would allow the state to affordably comply with the Clean Power Plan. (Midwest Energy News)
• Oral arguments begin today on the centerpiece of President Obama’s climate change strategy. (Reuters)

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SOLAR:
• Six Midwestern cities are among 22 communities nationwide recognized for taking innovative approaches to reduce the “soft costs” of solar installations. (Midwest Energy News)
• More than 20 Minnesota solar gardens will be sold to a Chicago company for almost $80 million through the bankruptcy of SunEdison. (Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal)
• South Dakota’s largest solar project is gearing up to start producing electricity. (Associated Press)
• A southeast Michigan city is preparing to build its largest city-owned solar array on top of a fire station. (MLive)

FRAC SAND: Multiple frac sand permits in a Wisconsin county could be in jeopardy after a local official is charged with misconduct for allegedly voting to grant a license to a mining company that had agreed to lease his land. (LaCrosse Tribune)

CLIMATE:
• Researchers say the U.S. is falling short of emission-reduction pledges it made to the United Nations last year and “not by a small amount.” (Climate Central)
• Potentially hundreds of billions of dollars hang in the balance as a new debate emerges about companies’ pricing climate change risks. (New York Times)

COAL: Local residents say pollution from a central Illinois coal plant is an environmental justice issue for being in a low-income, minority neighborhood. (Peoria Journal Star)

PIPELINES:
• Advocates say Enbridge has made inconsistent claims about the nature of a planned replacement pipeline running through northern Minnesota. (Minnesota Public Radio)
• A draft memo by North Dakota’s chief archaeologist says no signs of Native American artifacts have been found at a Dakota Access pipeline site. (Associated Press)

OIL AND GAS: Detroit-based DTE Energy says it will spend $1.3 billion for natural gas assets in West Virginia and Pennsylvania. (Associated Press)

UTILITIES:
• Shareholders overwhelmingly approve the $12.2 billion sale of Kansas-based Westar Energy to Missouri-based Great Plains Energy. (Associated Press)
• Federal regulators uphold refunds to Wisconsin utilities to keep open two plants in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula under system support resource agreements. (RTO Insider)

GRID: Experts gathered in Chicago say the growth of distributed generation and behind-the-meter innovation will require upgrades to the distribution network. (RTO Insider)

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POLITICS:
• Donald Trump’s pro-coal rhetoric has resonated among working-class voters in southeastern Ohio. (Columbus Dispatch)
• Millions of dollars in spending by outside groups to paint one candidate as anti-coal has helped turn a once-close U.S. Senate race in Ohio into a near-runaway for incumbent Republican Rob Portman. (Inside Climate News)

COMMENTARY: A Nebraska city should be applauded for making a variety of clean-energy investments in order to lower costs. (Sioux City Journal)