U.S. Supreme Court ruling may block Ohio ​‘bailouts,’ opponents say

UTILITIES: Opponents of income-guarantee deals in Ohio say a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision blocking subsidies for new power plants in Maryland could bolster their case. (Columbus Dispatch)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES: A Minnesota study challenges claims that electric vehicles are no better for the climate than gasoline cars, finding significantly lower emissions based on the state’s energy mix. (Midwest Energy News)

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SOLAR:
• A Missouri appellate court rules against a homeowner whose neighborhood association ordered him to remove solar panels from his property. (St. Joseph News-Press)
• Though interest is high, subscriptions are lagging for what would be Wisconsin’s largest community solar project. (LaCrosse Tribune)
• The Indiana Supreme Court rules that a state lawmaker’s email correspondence with a utility company over controversial solar legislation will not be released. (Indianapolis Star)
• The first community solar project in Cedar Falls, Iowa started operations earlier this month. (Waterloo/​Cedar Falls Courier)

POLLUTION:
• Central Ohio is making progress on reducing air pollution, but the region still received an ​“F” in a new American Lung Association report on ozone levels. (Columbus Dispatch)
• The report reached similar conclusions for northeast Ohio, finding that conditions are improving around Cleveland. (WKSU)

WIND:
• Developers are exploring the potential for a 200-megawatt wind project in an eastern Indiana county, though local opposition is growing. (Anderson Herald Bulletin)
• The renewable portfolio of Omaha, Nebraska’s municipal utility is now over 30 percent, made up largely by wind. (KIOS)

OIL AND GAS: State workers doing a site evaluation for an exploratory oil well at a metro Detroit church have found brine seeping nearby from an old well. (Associated Press)

COAL:
• Organizers are lining up legislative sponsors for a 2017 severance tax proposal in Illinois that supporters say would help boost state and local coffers. (Associated Press)
• A week after Peabody Energy’s bankruptcy announcement, protesters are still taking to the streets of St. Louis urging a ​“societal shift” away from coal. (St. Louis Post-Dispatch)

BUSINESS: The prominent leader of a Wisconsin-based clean energy company is indicted on charges that he allegedly obtained fraudulent bank loans. (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)

PIPELINES: The U.S. EPA says a pipeline spill in southern Illinois that leaked 48,000 gallons of diesel into a river has had no impact on wildlife. (Associated Press)

TRANSPORTATION: The Federal Highway Administration is considering measures that would account for carbon pollution reductions in local and state transportation projects. (ClimateWire)

COMMENTARY:
• Last week’s announcement of a $3.6 billion, 2,000-megawatt wind project in Iowa is ​“fresh evidence” that the state is a national leader in clean energy. (Sioux City Journal)
• A new report says strong clean energy policies along with a national carbon emissions-trading program would net significant economic and health benefits for Michigan. (Union of Concerned Scientists)