Michigan governor’s energy vision lacks specifics

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PETCOKE: Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel announces new regulations requiring petroleum coke storage facilities to be fully enclosed, but stopped short of banning the material outright. (Chicago Tribune, Chicago Sun-Times)

MEANWHILE: BP’s Whiting refinery just outside Chicago completes a $4.2 billion upgrade to process more than 100,000 barrels per day of oil sands crude, which will substantially increase its petcoke output. (Times of Northwest Indiana)

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MICHIGAN: In response to months of public input, Gov. Rick Snyder says Michigan needs ​“affordable, reliable energy with no regrets” but offers little in the way of specific policy recommendations. (Detroit Free Press)

MINNESOTA: Minnesota regulators will re-evaluate the social cost of pollution from power plants. (Minneapolis Star Tribune)

HYDRO: A century-old dam in Indiana will soon be producing electricity again, part of a broader movement to revive hydropower facilities throughout the U.S.. (Midwest Energy News)

COAL: A Wisconsin utility cancels plans for pollution upgrades at a power plant in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)

CARBON CAPTURE: The EPA unveils carbon capture regulations; and a pilot project at an Illinois ethanol plant has successfully sequestered 685,000 metric tons of CO2, and operators of the plant are seeking permission to store 5 million more. (The Hill, Springfield State Journal-Register)

WIND: Developers rush to begin work on projects before the production tax credit expires. (Greenwire)

OHIO: FirstEnergy will ask the Supreme Court to review a decision requiring it to refund $43 million to ratepayers for overpayment for renewable energy credits. (Cleveland Plain Dealer)

OIL: North Dakota regulators halt dumping at an oil drilling waste pit amid concerns a town’s water supply might be threatened, and officials in dozens of towns and cities raise concerns about the safety of crude oil shipped by rail. (Associated Press)

EFFICIENCY: Habitat for Humanity builds a net-zero house in Minneapolis. (WCCO)

FRAC SAND: While local government officials like Minnesota’s new frac sand guidelines, an industry representative says they seem ​“focused on stopping projects.” (Associated Press)

TRANSMISSION: Utilities and other companies spent a record $34.9 billion on transmission upgrades in 2012, and a look back at a former Wisconsin regulator’s ambitious tenure at the Department of Energy. (Electric Light & Power, Greenwire) 

ELECTRIC CARS: An Indiana University study finds most consumers are unaware of the financial benefits of electric vehicles. (Transmission & Distribution World)

COMMENTARY: Why Wisconsin’s SC Johnson company is going big on wind despite a lack of political support in its home state. (Triple Pundit)