OHIO: A group of large Ohio manufacturers, including Honda, Honeywell and Whirlpool, write a letter opposing a bill to freeze the state’s renewable and energy efficiency standards. (Columbus Business First)

ALSO: FirstEnergy’s CEO accuses policymakers of trying to “further advance the war on coal” to “achieve a social agenda that has little, if anything, to do with maintaining electric service.” (Cleveland Plain Dealer)

***SPONSORED LINK: Join the conversation, expand your network and meet face-to-face with key Midwest solar industry players at the Midwest Solar Expo on May 16th at the Hilton Minneapolis. Sponsor this event and become a strategic player in the expanding Midwest solar market.***

SOLAR: If Minnesota’s value of solar tariff is optional, will utilities adopt it? A new report suggests they will. And Ameren gets state approval for a new 5.7 MW solar project in Missouri. (Midwest Energy News, St. Louis Business Journal)

OIL: The Minnesota Department of Commerce backs an Enbridge pipeline expansion plan, landowners in North Dakota’s oil patch say state environmental protections are “failing miserably,” and farmers worry about continued impacts from rail service disruption. (Minneapolis Star Tribune, Fargo Forum, Bismarck Tribune)

ELECTRIC CARS: GM will spend $449 million to upgrade two Detroit-area plants to expand electric vehicle and battery production. (Detroit Free Press)

UTILITIES: The NRDC explains why “it doesn’t serve anybody if the utilities are caught in a death spiral,” and utilities disagree on how the EPA should regulate carbon emissions. (Forbes, Climate Central)

CLIMATE: Unilever, Shell and 68 other major corporations call for a “rapid and focused response” to climate change, the UN says cars will become the largest driver of global emissions, and a Senate hearing on an EPA nominee turns into yet another debate over climate science. (BusinessGreen, Bloomberg, The Hill)

ENERGIEWENDE: Facing rising energy costs, Germany approves a plan to slow the growth of wind and solar power. (New York Times)

COAL: Two Ohio towns will have to pay for millions in stranded costs related to a canceled coal plant plan. (Hillsdale Daily News)

TRANSPORTATION: A plan to modify the gasoline tax to raise money for roads runs into political opposition in Iowa. (Cedar Rapids Gazette)

BIOFUELS: A Minnesota bill would delay a 20 percent biodiesel mandate, currently scheduled to kick in next year. (Mankato Free Press)

COMMENTARY: Ohio newspapers ignore the ALEC connection to attacks on the state’s energy laws. (Media Matters)

Ken is the director of the Energy News Network at Fresh Energy and is a founding editor of both Midwest Energy News and Southeast Energy News. Prior to joining Fresh Energy, he was the managing editor for online news at Minnesota Public Radio. He started his journalism career in 2002 as a copy editor for the Duluth News Tribune before spending five years at the Spokesman-Review in Spokane, Washington, where he worked as a copy editor, online producer, features editor and night city editor. A Nebraska native, Ken has a bachelor's degree from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and a master's degree from the University of Oregon. He is a member of the Society of Professional Journalists and Investigative Reporters and Editors.

Leave a comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.