PIPELINES: In response to a recent Keystone XL court ruling, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers suspends a program that has been used for decades to approve stream and wetland crossings for pipelines, power lines and other utility projects. (Associated Press)
ALSO:
• The Michigan Public Service Commission will accept public comments through May 13 on Enbridge’s request for the authority to build a tunnel for the Line 5 pipeline beneath the Straits of Mackinac. (Detroit News)
• Activists and authors Winona LaDuke and Bill McKibben discuss companies’ efforts to bolster pipelines in the Upper Midwest. (Rolling Stone)
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CLIMATE:
• Environmental advocates in Duluth, Minnesota, say their biggest obstacle to climate action is the local utility, Minnesota Power. (MinnPost)
• Microgrids and offshore wind energy are among new clean energy technologies the Great Lakes region is using to tackle climate change. (Pulitzer Center)
COAL:
• Residents and environmental advocates are skeptical about whether NIPSCO will thoroughly remediate a coal ash storage site along Lake Michigan. (WBOI)
• As power demand drops during the pandemic, many utilities are cutting back on coal power first, which bodes poorly for the already struggling industry. (Wall Street Journal, subscription)
• “Just about everything that can go wrong, has gone wrong for the coal industry,” says a coal industry analyst at Wood Mackenzie. (NPR)
WIND: An Iowa wind turbine manufacturing plant suspends production to start enhanced testing after 28 employees test positive for COVID-19. (KCRG)
SOLAR:
• Michigan solar advocates raise concerns about hitting limits on distributed generation programs and harming the market for installers. (WMUK)
• A major solar project in Wisconsin is among large U.S. renewable energy projects seeing slight development delays due to COVID-19. (InsideClimate News)
UTILITIES: Minnesota Power reduces its rate increase request due to the economic uncertainty related to the COVID-19 pandemic. (Star Tribune)
GRID: The organization that oversees the U.S. electric grid says uncertainty from the pandemic “permeates an environment that is highly challenging even for the most prepared of industries.” (E&E News, subscription)
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BIOFUELS: An ethanol plant in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, will idle production and furlough 90 workers due to a “challenging operating environment.” (Cedar Rapids Gazette)
COMMENTARY:
• Investing in clean energy will help reduce the health burden for communities of color while also benefit Indiana’s economic recovery, says the president of the Indiana NAACP. (South Bend Tribune)
• Tribal officials in Michigan say the Line 5 pipeline is the “biggest danger facing Michigan’s environment.” (Bridge)