POLICY: Minnesota clean energy advocates are concerned about provisions in an omnibus energy bill that would remove regulatory oversight of programs, shift power from experts to legislators and potentially kills jobs in the growing sector. (Midwest Energy News)

COAL:
• A Democratic pro-coal group says rolling back regulations and ignoring climate change will do little to help the industry. (Midwest Energy News)
• American Electric Power and Dynegy complete the transfer of their stakes in a pair of Ohio coal-fired plants as part of AEP’s strategic review of its merchant assets. (RTO Insider)

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NUCLEAR:
• The American Petroleum Institute is opposing FirstEnergy’s legislation to subsidize its nuclear plants because the plan threatens Ohio’s shale gas development. (Cleveland Plain Dealer)
• Dynegy’s CEO uses FirstEnergy’s own 2011 arguments in support of competitive markets to oppose the utility’s plan for subsidizing nuclear plants. (Columbus Business First)
• FirstEnergy finds support for its zero-emissions credits plan from labor unions, a contractor’s group and a local school district. (Cleveland Plain Dealer)

SOLAR:
• A Minnesota-based manufacturer is winding down operations after “rampant inverter failures” with its solar panels. (Greentech Media)
• Contractors are selected to move forward with two solar group-buying programs in Wisconsin. (Wisconsin State Journal)
• An initiative in one Indiana county is encouraging residents to commit to installing solar panels before a new law phasing out net metering takes effect. (Indiana Public Media)

CARBON CAPTURE: The U.S. EPA takes steps to allow North Dakota to become the first state to regulate the underground storage of carbon dioxide. (Bismarck Tribune)

CLIMATE: Former President Obama says the agriculture sector is the next front in the global fight against climate change. (New York Times)

OIL AND GAS:
• A public hearing in North Dakota next week will cover plans for a $6.3 million natural gas pipeline. (Associated Press)
• A power failure causes a disposal well in North Dakota to spill nearly 13,000 gallons of oil and saltwater, most of which was recovered. (Associated Press)
• Some residents were evacuated and a high school was on lockdown in southeast Michigan after a major gas line was struck and leaked. (WWJ)
• U.S. Sen. Rob Portman of Ohio says he will vote to overturn an Obama-era regulation limiting methane emissions from oil and gas wells, making it likely that Republicans will have the 51 votes needed to repeal the rule. (ThinkProgress)
• Local officials in Illinois approve tax breaks for a planned 1,100-megawatt natural gas plant. (State Journal-Register)