SOLAR: A compromise between solar advocates and Kansas’ largest utility may preserve net metering in the state following legislative efforts to repeal the policy altogether. (Midwest Energy News)
ALSO: Missouri solar advocates push for reinstatement of a state rebate program, and a Wisconsin co-op plans the state’s first community solar project. (St. Louis Public Radio, La Crosse Tribune)
***SPONSORED LINK: The 2014 Clean Energy Challenge business plan competition on April 3 awards $500,000 in prizes to innovative Midwest clean tech startups! Hear keynote speakers David Crane and Tom Steyer. Use code “MEN_Newsletter” & register today! ***
COAL: Opposition to a southern Illinois strip mine may reflect a larger turning point in a region that has long acquiesced to the coal industry. (Midwest Energy News)
OIL:
• Investigators find a 5-inch crack in an oil pipeline that spill 10,000 gallons of crude into an Ohio nature preserve. (Associated Press)
• The EPA will inspect the site where a North Dakota oil spill reached the Missouri River. (Bismarck Tribune)
• Crews are cleaning up a 400-barrel pipeline spill in western North Dakota. (Fargo Forum)
• North Dakota officials say the state will pay for cleanup of radioactive oil field waste dumped in an abandoned gas station. (Associated Press)
• Minnesota lawmakers push for more funds to train emergency responders for oil train disasters. (Forum News Service)
• A review of records finds Koch Industries is the largest lease-holder in Canada’s oil sands. (Washington Post)
EMISSIONS: The NRDC sends the EPA a proposal for achieving even steeper cuts in carbon emissions, and a new analysis finds industry has routinely overestimated the impact of EPA rules on energy prices. (New York Times, Huffington Post)
COAL ASH: North Carolina regulators say Duke Energy illegally pumped 61 million gallons of coal ash wastewater into a river. (New York Times)
WIND: New technology helps the wind industry compete economically, and wildlife advocates remain divided on wind energy. (New York Times, Audubon Magazine)
UTILITIES: Two projects open up a trove of utility data that has previously been difficult for the public to obtain. (The Energy Collective)
***SPONSORED LINK: Attend “Solar Powering Illinois” on April 8. Sessions on shared solar, IL RPS, solar in municipal aggregation and more. Keynotes include Dr. Elaine Ulrich, U.S. DOE, and Mike Hornitschek, StraightUp Solar. NABCEP credits provided.***
TECHNOLOGY: Wisconsin-based Johnson Controls will partner with a German company to develop cooler lithium-ion batteries. (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)
COMMENTARY: How to change Americans’ minds on climate change. (Bloomberg)