Court decision deals major setback to Kansas coal plant

COAL: A court ruling Friday reverses an air permit for a proposed Kansas coal plant, dealing a major setback to the project. (Kansas City Star)

ALSO: The Sierra Club targets a Michigan utility for its dependence on coal, and a power plant upgrade in Wisconsin will be the first in the U.S. to use new pollution control technology. (Detroit Free Press, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)

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OHIO: An Ohio aluminum plant will shut down, blaming in part the state’s high industrial electricity rates brought on by deregulation. (Columbus Dispatch)

PIPELINES: Arkansas legislators try to toughen pipeline regulations, but are largely powerless against federal authority; and residents of a Michigan town, still suffering from the effects of the 2010 Kalamazoo River spill, object to Enbridge plans to remove a historic dam. (InsideClimate News, Battle Creek Enquirer)

OIL: Has North Dakota’s oil industry surpassed agriculture in economic impact? (Associated Press)

FRACKING: Ohio will soon allow large, open-air wastewater pools; the state seeks more resources to track seismic activity at injection wells, and anti-drilling activists soften their tone. (Youngstown Vindicator, Columbus Dispatch, Associated Press)

FRAC SAND: The sand mining boom raises health concerns in Wisconsin. (Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism)

EFFICIENCY: An Indiana county reinvests savings from efficiency programs directly into new energy projects, which it hopes will become a national model. (Great Lakes Echo)

FERC: President Obama’s top contender to lead FERC will likely be less controversial than previous nominee Ron Binz. (Greenwire)

TRANSMISSION: Landowners in Illinois are granted a rehearing on a proposed transmission line route. (Jacksonville Journal Courier)

SOLAR: A Minnesota company develops a modular solar panel system that it says homeowners can install themselves. (Minneapolis Star Tribune)

WASTE-TO-ENERGY: A landfill gas power plant opens in Lincoln, Nebraska; while two waste-to-energy plants in Iowa shut down amid financial troubles. (Lincoln Journal Star, Cedar Rapids Gazette)

BIOFUELS: Ethanol producers in Minnesota seek to improve their margins by producing other products. (Minneapolis Star Tribune)

COMMENTARY: Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn’s position on coal seems to vary depending on which part of the state he’s speaking in. (Midwest Energy News)