Kansas legislature repeals renewable energy standard

MINNESOTA: Lawmakers are in the final few days for reaching a compromise on energy legislation, though clean-energy advocates fear too many concessions — like scrapping a planned 40 percent RPS by 2030 — will be made to Republicans. (Midwest Energy News)

ALSO: Manitoba tribe representatives lobby against a proposed bill that would allow Minnesota utilities to count new hydro projects toward meeting renewable-energy goals. (Midwest Energy News)

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STANDARDS: The Kansas legislature votes to repeal the state’s 20 percent renewable energy standard by 2020, opting instead for voluntary goals. (Lawrence Journal-World)

EPA: An analysis shows that an upcoming Supreme Court ruling on the EPA’s Mercury and Air Toxics Standards will be ​“largely moot” because many plants have already had to comply with the rule. (SNL Energy)

COAL:
• Wisconsin regulators allow We Energies to make $100 million in changes to its Oak Creek coal plant to burn coal from Wyoming. (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)
• Wisconsin Energy Corp. agrees to sell a small coal-fired power plant to a nearby academic medical center. (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)
• Duke Energy pleads guilty to several Clean Water Act violations for a coal-ash spill last year and agrees to pay $102 million in fines and cleanup costs. (New York Times)

FRACKING: A new report from New York officials cites climate change and earthquake risks as reasons for a statewide fracking ban. (Climate Central)

EFFICIENCY: After approval from a City Council panel, Kansas City officials will vote next week on whether to require reports from building owners on energy consumption. Background here. (Associated Press, Midwest Energy News archives)

OIL:
• President Obama says domestic oil production is important amid transition to clean energy, defending the permits granted to Shell for drilling off the coast of Alaska. (AFP)
• Environmental groups file suit against the government over new rail transport safety rules, saying they don’t go far enough to protect the public. (New York Times)
• Local officials in Chicago are worried about the possible devastation an oil train crash could cause before new rules take effect. (CBS Chicago)

DETROIT: Neighbors of Marathon’s oil refinery in southwest Detroit are demanding that the company buy their homes due to the plant’s pollution and nuisance issues. (CBS Detroit)

TRANSMISSION: A proposed 220-mile transmission project to move hydroelectric power from Canada through Minnesota clears a regulatory hurdle. (Minneapolis StarTribune)

MINING: Despite pressure from the EPA over water pollution, Minnesota’s largest taconite plant will likely maintain status quo as state sulfate-pollution rules are amended. (MinnPost)

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AIR QUALITY: Chicago is the 6th ​“sneeziest and wheeziest” city in the country based on a new report linking carbon emissions and allergies and asthma. (Chicago Tribune)

COMMENTARY: Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker’s evolving views on ethanol mandates. (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)