OIL & GAS: A history of safety and emission violations, fires, and fines at a Texas petrochemical complex is a cautionary tale for officials seeking to make the Ohio River Valley the next hub for ethane production. (InsideClimate News)

ALSO: A lawsuit brought by former Murray Energy CEO Robert Murray halts a public meeting scheduled on proposed saltwater injection wells in eastern Ohio. (WTOV)

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PIPELINES: Several members on a Michigan environmental justice task force ask Gov. Gretchen Whitmer to use executive action to extend permitting deadlines for a Great Lakes oil pipeline tunnel. (Interlochen Public Radio)

GRID: Electricity demand has dropped across the North American power grid due to COVID-19 stay-home orders, and analysts say markets could be disrupted for at least 18 months. (Utility Dive)

POLLUTION: Southern Indiana public health advocates raise concerns about the area’s high concentration of coal plants and how pollution from them could worsen the impact of the coronavirus. (WFIE)

SOLAR:
• A decision by the Kansas Supreme Court last week that rooftop solar fees are discriminatory took some clean energy advocates by surprise. (InsideClimate News)
• Invenergy proposes a 200 MW solar project on 1,400 acres in northwestern Indiana. (Times of Northwest Indiana)
• Installations at Indiana utility NIPSCO’s offices are the company’s first zero-waste solar projects. (Michigan City News-Dispatch)

GEOTHERMAL: Companies that supply drilling equipment and services are lowering rates and looking for new business, which could help geothermal developers lower upfront costs. (Grist)

POWER PLANTS: Utilities seeking to build a 625 MW natural gas plant in Superior, Wisconsin, say switching to an air cooling system would save 3 million gallons of water daily. (Wisconsin Public Radio)

STORAGE: The U.S. Department of Energy explores energy storage at fossil fuel plants to improve the facilities’ performance and flexibility. (Utility Dive)

COAL: Murray Energy shouldn’t send its bankruptcy reorganization plan to a creditor vote without making changes that shield others tied to the company from litigation, the U.S. Justice Department says. (Bloomberg Law)

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BIOFUELS: A South Dakota ethanol facility produces and helps distribute ethanol-based hand sanitizer in the surrounding area. (Watertown Public Opinion)

COMMENTARY:
A Minnesota clean energy advocate says volatility from the pandemic should become an “inflection point for our expectations for the energy system” and ensure more equitable access in the future. (MinnPost)
• The president of the Ohio Coal Association says the industry needs “thoughtful support from government to help it weather this storm.” (Marietta Times)

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.