‘Everything still on the table’ for Ohio energy standards

OHIO: As the Energy Mandates Study Committee wraps up its last meeting, ​“everything is still on the table” as the group prepares recommendations for the state’s renewable energy and efficiency laws. (Columbus Dispatch)

COAL:
• For Illinois farmers, the impacts from underground coal mining can last for decades. (Midwest Energy News)
• A Minnesota utility is still assessing damage from a fire at a coal storage facility over the weekend. (Associated Press)

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POLITICS:
• Ohio Gov. John Kasich, expected to announce a bid for president today, acknowledges that climate change is a problem, but says he doesn’t want to ​“overreact to it.” (Mother Jones)
• Republicans’ turnaround on wind energy could harm them politically, especially in Iowa. (National Journal)

SOLAR:
• The owner of a large Minnesota solar project says Xcel Energy is delaying interconnecting the project, a charge the utility rejects. (Minneapolis Star Tribune)
• A Minnesota town will get a majority of the power for its municipal buildings from solar. (KARE)
• Solar advocates plan a rally against a Kansas utility’s proposed increase in fixed charges. (Lawrence Journal-World)

WIND: Three developers have expressed interest in a proposed offshore wind farm in Lake Erie. (Ashtabula Star Beacon)

FRACKING:
• The Sierra Club will back an effort to put a fracking ban on the ballot in Michigan. (MLive)
• A fracking ban won’t be on the ballot in Columbus, Ohio, but will be in the town of Athens. (Columbus Dispatch, Athens Post)

OIL:
• Enbridge crews will continue monitoring the Kalamazoo River for remnants of oil from a 2010 pipeline spill. (MLive)
• A company drilling near a North Dakota state park will pay to move hiking trails away from its operations. (Bismarck Tribune)

EFFICIENCY:
• Missouri’s consumer advocate says ​“we would rather there be no program” than move forward with a utility’s efficiency proposal. (St. Louis Post-Dispatch)
• The owners of the tallest building in Minneapolis launch a new efficiency program. (Minnesota Public Radio)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES: An Ohio utility executive says electric cars could bring about ​“a huge change in the demand cycle.” (Columbus Business First)

CLIMATE: Betsy Hodges of Minneapolis will be among 60 mayors meeting with Pope Francis on climate change issues today. (Minnesota Public Radio)

COMMENTARY:
• ​“The facts don’t lie” on Ohio’s renewable energy and efficiency standards. (NRDC Switchboard)
• How Wisconsin can benefit from more wind energy. (Janesville Gazette)