PETCOKE: Chicago residents are concerned petcoke is being piled on barges to avoid city regulations, a Coast Guard official says “it’s impossible to tell” how many barges are being used to store the material. (Midwest Energy News)
UTILITIES: After a contentious fight over municipalization, Minneapolis is expected to finalize a historic agreement today with two utilities to cut carbon emissions. (Midwest Energy News)
***SPONSORED LINK: Join Schlumberger, CN Rail & many more at the 2nd Annual Frac Sand Logistics & Market Forecast Summit USA as they find practical solutions for overcoming rail, storage and transloading bottlenecks. Midwest Energy News readers save 15% with code ‘FRSMEN15’ ***
OHIO: State regulators confirm that a requirement that power companies get half of their renewable energy from in-state sources was eliminated by SB 310. (Columbus Business First)
FRAC SAND: Preliminary data from Minnesota shows dust from frac sand trucks doesn’t pose a health threat. (InsideClimate News)
WIND: Developers put a Nebraska wind project on hold, and the Minnesota inventor of a bladeless wind turbine plans to test the technology in Hawaii. (Lincoln Journal Star, Pacific Business News)
POLITICS: A Kansas candidate poses a serious challenge to Sen. Pat Roberts, but it’s unclear where he stands on energy issues, and political groups move on from Keystone XL. (Greenwire, Politico)
ETHANOL: Operations begin at a cellulosic biofuel plant in Kansas. (Bloomberg)
ELECTRIC CARS: Michigan lawmakers approve a bill blocking Tesla’s direct-sales model. (Bloomberg)
SOLAR: An Indiana utility files a proposal to expand its voluntary feed-in tariff. (Solar Industry)
***SPONSORED LINK: Join top executives from the area’s RTOs, utilities, transmission developers, and state regulatory agencies at EUCI’s Transmission Expansion in the Midwest, Nov. 4-5 in Indianapolis.***
EFFICIENCY: The Wisconsin Green Building Alliance recognizes the state’s greenest projects. (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)
COMMENTARY: Why keeping existing nuclear plants online can help advance renewable energy, and FirstEnergy should embrace the future before seeking “bailouts” for power plants. (Forbes, Crain’s Cleveland Business)