Ohio nuclear plant reopens after 44-day shutdown

UTILITIES: Michigan’s largest municipal utility has laid out a 20-year roadmap to respond to 80 percent of its coal portfolio being retired, a process lawmakers want to adopt for all utilities statewide. (Midwest Energy News)

NUCLEAR: The Davis-Besse nuclear plant in Ohio is operating again after a 44-day shutdown to install new emergency safety measures. (Cleveland Plain Dealer)

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FRACKING: U.S. Geological Survey researchers say chemicals from fracking wastewater can negatively impact nearby freshwater sources. (Washington Post)

BIOFUELS: Researchers at the University of Illinois have been granted another round of funding by the federal government to commercialize ​“ultra-productive” biofuel crops. (Phys.org)

RENEWABLES: A Duluth, Minnesota-based utility aims to have a one-third renewable portfolio in the coming years. (Duluth News Tribune)

FRAC SAND:
• A Wisconsin appeals court upholds a decision to reject a frac-sand mining permit. (Associated Press)
• While industry officials say frac sand mining in Wisconsin is poised for a rebound, not all operations will survive. (LaCrosse Tribune)

SOLAR:
• Local officials approve their part in what will be South Dakota’s largest solar installation. (Pierre Capital Journal)
• Michigan, Wisconsin and Indiana are ranked among the top 10 worst states for solar development based on their potential. (Mother Jones)
• Local planners consider installing solar panels along a highway reconfiguration project in suburban Chicago. (Pioneer Press)

WIND:
• As a Missouri wind farm moves forward with construction, opponents continue to fight the project. (St. Joseph News-Press)
• Opponents of a Wisconsin wind farm push local officials to reject a report that failed to find evidence supporting their health claims. (Green Bay Press-Gazette)

TRANSMISSION: Wisconsin-based American Transmission Co. receives approval for a corporate restructuring that will make it easier for the company to develop projects outside the state. (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)

NATURAL GAS: The Illinois Attorney General reaches an $18.5 million settlement with Peoples Gas and its former parent company for misleading consumers about the cost of a gas main replacement program in Chicago. (CBS Chicago)

OIL AND GAS:
• Another sign of the declining oil industry in North Dakota: Strip clubs are being forced to close in one of the first boomtowns. (Grand Forks Herald)
• As much as a third of Canada’s oil output was offline as a result of a wildfire that started last week and it will ramp back up again only when it’s ​“absolutely safe.” (Associated Press)
• North Dakota regulators will start public hearings today on a proposed 42-mile, $55 million oil pipeline through the state. (Associated Press)

COAL:
• Multiple major coal companies that have recently declared bankruptcy were able to meet their tax obligations in a Wyoming county. (Gillette News Record)
• St. Louis-based mining company Foresight Energy struggles to recoup revenue amid the coal industry decline. (St. Louis Post-Dispatch)
• A proposed bill in Illinois would provide incentives to more cleanly burn coal. (Peoria Journal Star)

OIL BY RAIL: The U.S. Senate passes a bill to increase training efforts for first responders to rail car accidents involving hazardous materials. (The Hill)

STORAGE: An oil and gas major’s recent acquisition of a battery storage and renewable energy company suggests fossil fuel companies may be growing interested in clean tech. (EnergyWire)

COMMENTARY:
• Competition provisions in proposed energy policy in Michigan would ​“create a bidding system for new generation that will be entirely controlled by the utilities.” (MLive)
• Legislative attacks in Minnesota seek to curb Clean Power Plan work and energy efficiency mandates. (Union of Concerned Scientists)