Minnesota lawmakers approve 4 percent solar standard

NUCLEAR: A proposal in the U.S. Senate has advocates concerned that Illinois could become a leading contender for storing nuclear waste from around the nation. (Midwest Energy News)

ALSO: Wisconsin’s Kewaunee plant shuts down, and Michigan Rep. Fred Upton says a leaking storage tank at the Palisades plant is ​“unacceptable” and that the facility should remain shut down until it is permanently fixed. (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, MLive.com)

SOLAR: The Minnesota House approves an energy bill that includes a 4 percent solar standard, a similar bill in the state Senate has a lower requirement. (Minneapolis Star Tribune)

FRACKING: Voters in Youngstown, Ohio reject a measure to ban fracking; a northeast Ohio business group credits the gas boom for a significant boost in economic growth; and a new natural gas processing facility opens in North Dakota. (Youngstown Vindicator, Associated Press)

FRAC SAND: Opponents of frac sand mining confront a southeast Minnesota legislator for his vote against a bill preventing mining facilities from within a mile of trout streams. (Rochester Post-Bulletin)

WIND: A South Dakota wind farm succeeds in invoking a 1978 federal law to force a utility to buy its electricity. (Rapid City Journal)

EPA: In a federal court proceeding, judges show skepticism over states’ arguments against the EPA’s authority to regulate greenhouse gases; and the agency is criticized for refusing to regulate methane emissions from coal mines. (Greenwire, The Hill)

OIL: Enbridge is found to be in violation of safety rules at 117 of its 125 Canadian pumping stations. (CBC News)

TRANSPORTATION: GM says it can cut the cost of the Chevy Volt by as much as $10,000; and a Michigan-based EV manufacturer of compressed natural gas vehicles shuts down, still owing $50 million to the Department of Energy. (Flint Journal, USA Today)

COMMENTARY: How transmission-line NIMBYs threaten electric reliability, and a report finds news organizations ignored the climate connection in coverage of Midwest flooding. (EnergyBiz, Media Matters)