EFFICIENCY: Who’s behind the effort to kill Indiana’s energy efficiency law? (Midwest Energy News)
OIL: An oil spill in North Dakota reaches the Missouri River, pipeline expansions face growing opposition in northern Minnesota, and crews work to clean up oil spilled by a rail car along the Mississippi River in southeast Minnesota. (Associated Press, Minneapolis Star Tribune)
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SOLAR: A solar entrepreneur with a manufacturing facility in Minnesota says he’s being shut out of the state’s rebate program, and officials in an Indiana county consider a 20-acre solar farm. (Minneapolis Star Tribune, Associated Press)
NUCLEAR: Public hearings will be held next week on a license extension for Ohio’s Davis-Besse nuclear plant, and Michigan’s Palisades plant is back in service after a 55-day refueling shutdown. (Toledo Blade, MLive)
TRANSMISSION: A transmission opponent confronts Iowa’s lieutenant governor, and developers of the Grain Belt Express line say they’re “succeeding in clearing the air” with opposing landowners. (Sioux City Journal, Associated Press)
FRACKING:
• An Illinois county will decide on an anti-fracking referendum this week. (Associated Press)
• Lawsuits accuse Chesapeake Energy of stiffing landowners on royalty payments. (ProPublica)
• Officials in a Michigan town are divided on fracking. (MLive)
• Large amounts of Utica Shale gas are being sent to the Gulf Coast. (Columbus Business First)
FRAC SAND: A Wisconsin county official won’t be charged over accusations he used his position to benefit a sand mining company he had a financial interest in. (La Crosse Tribune)
WASTE-TO-ENERGY: A plant in Akron, Ohio will produce fuel from discarded plastic. (Akron Beacon-Journal)
AGGREGATION: An Illinois town will see electrical rates rise under its aggregation deal. (Chicago Tribune)
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UTILIITES: Ameren Illinois wins an award for emergency recovery efforts, and the CEO of We Energies is being honored for his company’s financial performance. (Carbondale Southern, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)
COMMENTARY: What the Midwest can learn from Texas on transmission lines, and the renewable energy revolution is skipping Wisconsin. (Midwest Energy News, Madison Capital Times)