GE to stop work on Colorado solar plant

COAL: Several Ohio towns, locked into contracts with the Prairie State Energy Campus in Illinois, have paid hundreds of thousands of dollars without receiving any electricity. (Midwest Energy News)

SOLAR: General Electric announced last week it’s stopped work on its highly publicized solar plant in Colorado, but says it’s still committed to the project. (Denver Post)

ALSO: Minnesota solar installers say the end of an Xcel Energy rebate program will harm the industry, a judge rules that an affluent St. Louis suburb acted capriciously in denying a couple a permit to install solar panels on their home, and Iowa homeowners install solar shingles. (Minnesota Public Radio, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier)

HYDRO: Federal regulators may revoke a license for a long-delayed plan to install hydro turbines on a downtown Minneapolis dam. (Minneapolis Star Tribune)

25 BY 25: Backers of an initiative to expand Michigan’s renewable energy standard turn in 530,000 signatures in hopes of getting the measure on the ballot. (Detroit Free Press)

WIND: The denial of a state grant for an offshore wind project is part of a growing pattern of inertia for an Ohio commission intended to spark new industries, and a Michigan farmer becomes an aggressive advocate for wind power in his county. (Cleveland Plain Dealer, Battle Creek Enquirer)

EFFICIENCY: Kroger supermarkets announce they’ll voluntarily cut lighting by a third to help reduce electricity demand during the heat wave. (Cincinnati Business Courier)

CLIMATE: Climate activists abandon a plan to put an ice sculpture of the word ​“hoax” in Washington D.C., and will instead use the money to help people impacted by the heat wave. (The Hill)

NATURAL GAS: A St. Louis-area school district considers converting buses to run on natural gas. (St. Louis Post-Dispatch)

OIL: The January death of a worker in North Dakota’s Oil Patch was caused by inhaling petroleum fumes, according to a state forensic examiner. (Bismarck Tribune)

COMMENTARY: David Roberts says ubiquitous disclaimers in news stories about climate and weather show how conservatives have been able to ​“work the refs” on media coverage, and Geoffrey Styles says GE’s Colorado pullback is ​“a sign of sanity” in solar manufacturing. (Grist, The Energy Collective)