BIOFUELS: Researchers at Argonne National Laboratory hope to convince farmers that growing feedstock plants on land that doesn’t support commodity crops will be economically beneficial. (Midwest Energy News)

OIL BY RAIL: A Minnesota industry official says disclosing emergency response plans to the public “is like giving terrorists a road map on how to do something bad.” (Minnesota Public Radio)

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EFFICIENCY: The White House announces financing plans for homeowners to encourage efficiency and distributed generation. (Climate Central)

NEBRASKA: Advocates are pushing state lawmakers again to pass a production tax credit for wind and solar to help the state meet its federal emission requirements. (Associated Press)

FRACKING: Activists and lawmakers in Ohio are concerned about a lack of state monitoring at wells. (The Intelligencer)

RATES: Critics say Xcel Energy’s rate change request in Wisconsin will discourage energy efficiency and home generation; utility says it will help with capital improvements. (LaCross Tribune)

OIL PIPELINE:
• Iowa regulators receive nearly 4,000 letters objecting to a proposed oil pipeline across the state, many against the developer’s request to use eminent domain. (Associated Press)
Enbridge officials say raw data on safety inspections on the Straits of Mackinac pipeline was “too complex” for a state safety task force to understand. (MLive)

GAS: Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan and Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel join others in demanding answers to the spike in gasoline prices in the Midwest. (Chicago Tribune)

WIND:
• Xcel Energy buys a 200 MW, $300 million wind farm in North Dakota from Geronimo Energy. (Associated Press)
Wind energy will be a key factor, particularly in Midwest states, for Clean Power Plan compliance. (Greentech Media)

RENEWABLE FUEL STANDARD: An industry analysis shows the Renewable Fuel Standard has displaced 1.9 billion barrels of foreign oil over the past 10 years. (Biofuels Digest)

COAL: Illinois lawmakers and the president of a state coal association are asking the state to hold off on issuing stream protection rules for mining. (Southern Illinoisan)

GRID: Results of the latest PJM capacity auction mean ratepayers in the Midwest and Mid-Atlantic regions will pay billions more for electricity during extreme conditions in three years. (EnergyWire)

SOLAR:
• Former Congressman Barry Goldwater, Jr. criticizes Michigan Republicans and utilities over proposed net metering rules. (Crain’s Detroit Business)
• Researchers in Nebraska hope to commercialize a product that could reduce the cost of installing solar panels by 10 times. (KETV)
President Obama calls out renewable-energy opponents for supporting the free market when it comes to fossil fuels but not the solar industry. (Washington Post)
Rooftop solar is a major theme at an Energy Summit in Las Vegas where Obama gave the keynote address. (Associated Press)

ALSO: DTE Energy installs its first solar-powered trash and recycling compactors in downtown Detroit. (CBS Detroit)

COMMENTARY:
• Ohio regulators should analyze FirstEnergy’s “bailout” request for struggling plants “with the greatest of skepticism.” (Toledo Blade)
Sierra Club and UAW officials say the Clean Power Plan will help fight climate change, economic inequality and racial injustice. (MLive)

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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