News
Iowa biodiesel plant shuts down following explosion
>> Des Moines Register
The general manager of the Soy Energy biodiesel plant at Mason City said the facility was closed Wednesday after a blast Tuesday night apparently caused some damage but no injuries.
Federal regulators may cut incentives for transmission lines
>> Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission is considering proposals to reduce the rate of return, or profit, that utilities receive from building power lines.
Chicago considers following other towns’ lead on bulk-rate power
>> Chicago Tribune
Chicago aldermen are weighing whether to ask voters in November if the city should try to negotiate lower electric rates for residents and small retailers — a step approved by voters in more than 200 Illinois villages and cities in March.
Ameren plans Illinois transmission line to carry power eastward
>> Springfield State Journal-Register
The 330-mile, 345,000-volt line from Quincy, Illinois, to Terre Haute, Indiana, would carry electricity from the upper Midwest to Eastern power grids.
A pause in Ohio’s gas boom as Chesapeake struggles
>> Cleveland Plain Dealer
In at least one Ohio county, prospectors are waiting to see whether Chesapeake Energy, lord of the local gas fields, survives a crisis now playing out daily in the nation’s financial press.
FirstEnergy cuts shareholders meeting short amid protests
>> Akron Beacon Journal
FirstEnergy’s annual meeting of shareholders lasted 10 minutes Tuesday morning as the company took measures to try to keep protesters who had been bused in from voicing their displeasure against the company.
As Iowa nuclear bill fizzles, MidAmerican eyes next steps
>> Cedar Rapids Gazette
Officials at MidAmerican Energy Co. are studying potential options now that the Iowa Legislature adjourned without taking action on a bill the utility sought as a step toward its planned construction of a nuclear power plant in Iowa.
Hoeven says Keystone XL needed to ease Oil Patch road gridlock
>> Reuters
For Sen. John Hoeven, examples of gridlocked roads in his home state help make the case for fast-tracking the Keystone XL crude oil pipeline, which would help take more than 100,000 barrels of oil per day — about 500 trucks worth — off of North Dakota roads.
$55 million plan could double size of Ohio wind development
>> Springfield News-Sun
A proposed $55 million development would double the number of turbines in a controversial Champaign County wind project, according to plans submitted Tuesday.
Minnesota nuclear plant supervisor fired over faked drug test
>> St. Paul Pioneer Press
A security supervisor at Xcel Energy’s Prairie Island nuclear power plant was fired after he was caught faking a drug test urine sample, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission says.
