SMART METERS: Chicago-based Commonwealth Edison agrees to test whether customers with smart meters are reducing their energy consumption compared to those without the meters. (EnergyWire)
MERGER: Despite opposition from key officials, Washington D.C. regulators approve the $6.8 billion merger between Pepco and Chicago-based Exelon. (Utility Dive)
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WIND:
• A new analysis shows Iowa ranks second in the U.S. for the amount of money paid to landowners through wind turbine leases. (Radio Iowa)
• The ongoing battle between developers and property owners over how to move wind energy across Midwestern states raises questions about fairness. (New York Times)
CLIMATE: The Securities and Exchange Commission orders Exxon Mobil to hold a shareholder vote that could require the company to disclose how climate change impacts its profits. (New York Times)
TRANSMISSION: Construction begins on a controversial transmission line from Wyoming to South Dakota that passes through the Black Hills National Forest. (Rapid City Journal)
EMISSIONS: The U.S. EPA says Michigan has missed a deadline to submit plans for reducing sulfur dioxide emissions in a high asthma disease area. (MLive)
COAL: A coal plant in southern Indiana has nearby residents worried about whether its emissions have been curbed. (WEHT-TV)
OIL AND GAS: Federal regulators are investigating whether an Ohio-based oil and gas supplier offered bribes to get business in foreign countries. (Columbus Business First)
BIOFUELS: A prolonged fuel glut has altered the economics for corn-reliant communities across the Midwest. (Bloomberg News)
REGULATION: GOP lawmakers tell EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy to refocus the agency’s efforts away from the Clean Power Plan and onto more basic infrastructure needs. (E&E Daily)
SOLAR:
• Residents living near a planned solar array in Illinois fear the project will stir up contaminated soil. (Southern Illinoisan)
• Statewide solar incentives across the country begin to expire as states grapple with tight budgets. (Associated Press)
COAL: The combined market value of publicly traded U.S. coal companies continues to erode. (SNL/Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis)
COMMENTARY:
• Michigan can become more competitive, decrease emissions and lower costs for all ratepayers by embracing cogeneration. (Lansing State Journal)
• Conservatives look to appeal to a younger generation by embracing clean energy. (Midwest Energy News)