Utilities drop plan for new Ohio natural gas power plant

OHIO: American Municipal Power and FirstEnergy scrap plans to build a new natural gas power plant in northeast Ohio, blaming financial issues and ​“continued regulatory uncertainty.” (Columbus Dispatch)

WIND: MidAmerican says it will announce the locations of more than 600 new Iowa wind turbines in the coming weeks, Illinois lawmakers advance a bill authorizing study of offshore wind in Lake Michigan, a Wisconsin wind farm plan stumbles, and the industry looks for a path forward from the production tax credit. (Des Moines Register, Champaign-Urbana News-Gazette, Sheboygan Press, Greenwire)

POLITICS: Senate Republicans boycott a vote on EPA nominee Gina McCarthy, in what the White House says is a ​“historic level of obstructionism”; a congressional scholar finds a pattern of GOP tactics in delaying cabinet posts; and divisions over climate change begin to appear in the Republican Party. (The Hill, SNL, National Journal)

BIOMASS: Does burning wood instead of fossil fuels increase greenhouse gas emissions? (Midwest Energy News)

OIL: Kansas oil production reaches its highest level since the 1990s, a Saudi oil company plans a research hub in Michigan, and a group of Democratic donors sends President Obama a letter comparing the decision on Keystone XL with Lincoln freeing the slaves. (Topeka Capital Journal, Detroit Free Press, Washington Post)

ELECTRIC CARS: Tesla’s stock surges on news of its first quarterly profit, and Iowa again considers raising its $25 registration fee for electric cars. (Bloomberg, Radio Iowa)

FRAC SAND: An analysis finds at least 10 frac sand mines in Minnesota would be affected by a proposed trout-stream setback. (Minnesota Public Radio)

MEDIA: Ten questions with David Sassoon, founder of the Pulitzer-winning InsideClimate News. (American Press Institute)

COMMENTARY: How light bulb efficiency rules are driving a wave of innovation, what the demise of the Kewaunee nuclear plant tells us about the economics of ​“baseload” power, and why conventional wisdom about clean energy is stuck in the 1990s. (Time, Midwest Energy News, Greentech Media)