OIL BY RAIL: The Bakken crude oil on a train that derailed in Oregon last week met North Dakota’s oil conditioning standards that require the removal of the most volatile gases. (Forum News Service)

CLEAN ENERGY:
• A Minnesota community is selected as a finalist in the America’s Best Communities competition due in part to its commitment to clean energy. (Midwest Energy News)
• An Ann Arbor, Michigan-based nonprofit wins a global sustainability award for its work bringing clean energy to citizens in developing countries. (MLive)

***SPONSORED LINK: Learn about the latest in renewable energy and sustainability at The Energy FairJune 17-19. Features include keynote speakers John Farrell and J. Drake Hamilton, 250+ workshops, 200+ exhibitors, entertainment, and more.***

WIND: Local officials approve plans for a 160-turbine wind project in Nebraska over the objections of some residents. (Associated Press)

STORAGE: Shedd Aquarium in Chicago installs a one-megawatt lithium ion battery as part of an effort to cut energy usage in half by 2020. (Crain’s Chicago Business)

PIPELINES: The developer of the Dakota Access pipeline is challenging the findings and authority of Iowa’s state archaeologist who recommended rerouting a portion of the project because it passes a sacred tribal burial ground. (Cedar Rapids Gazette)

OIL AND GAS:
• ConocoPhillips is back to operating at 10 percent at one of its Alberta oil sands projects after shutting down due to a massive wildfire last month. (Reuters)
• A federal agency considers measures to strengthen regulatory oversight of liquefied natural gas storage facilities. (EnergyWire)
Natural gas plants remain the cheapest generation facilities to build, according to U.S. EIA data. (Utility Dive)

BIOFUELS: Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad makes a pitch at a California conference for the state’s new tax credit for reusing materials left over during the biodiesel-making process. (Radio Iowa)

UTILITIES: Missouri regulators want to have a say in approving the planned merger between Great Plains Energy and Kansas-based Westar Energy. (Topeka Capital-Journal)

COAL: Officials are investigating the death of a worker at a coal mine in Illinois. (Southern Illinoisan)

***SPONSORED LINK: The Michigan Energy Fair announces two new partners: The Sustainable Living Summit 2016 and The Great Lakes Emergency Preparedness Expo, June 24-25, Ingham County Fairgrounds, Mason, Michigan. For complete information go to www.glrea.org ***

POLITICS:
• U.S. Senate candidate Ted Strickland looks to appeal to coal communities in eastern and southern Ohio after losing a key mining union endorsement to incumbent Republican Rob Portman. (Associated Press)
• The two candidates continue to criticize each other’s records on coal. (Morning Consult)

COMMENTARY:
• FirstEnergy is “all in for competitive markets … except when they aren’t.” (Energy Collective)
In Iowa, wind energy has always been about jobs and economic development. (Christian Science Monitor)
A Minnesota utility should set higher clean energy goals. (Duluth News Tribune)
Wind and solar should not be subsidized to the detriment of nuclear. (U.S. News and World Report)

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Andy Balaskovitz

Andy compiles the Midwest Energy News digest and was a journalism fellow for Midwest Energy News from 2014-2020. He is managing editor of MiBiz in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and was formerly a reporter and editor at City Pulse, Lansing’s alternative newsweekly.

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