FINANCE: Advocates are hopeful that Illinois will become the 20th state with Property Assessed Clean Energy financing for energy efficiency and renewable energy projects after receiving strong support in the legislature. (Midwest Energy News)
SOLAR:
• A developer files suit against a Minnesota town over its refusal to allow the company to build a 5-megawatt community solar project. (Courthouse News Service)
• Plans by an Indiana city to lease land for a 1,000-panel solar project move forward. (Goshen News)
WIND: Two planned wind projects in Indiana are facing organized opposition from some residents, though proponents say their claims are unfounded. (Crawfordsville Journal Review)
EMISSIONS: Iowa’s attorney general joins 12 other states in preparing to challenge any efforts by the Trump administration to roll back vehicle emission rules. (Reuters)
GRID: Two cybersecurity firms have issued private alerts to governments and infrastructure operators about malicious software that could shut down power transmission in the U.S. (Reuters)
CLEAN ENERGY:
• Community forums in southern Illinois will highlight clean-energy job opportunities following major legislation passed last year. (WSIU)
• According to the U.S. Department of Energy, there are more than twice as many clean energy jobs in Wisconsin than fossil fuel-related jobs. (Wisconsin State Journal)
CLIMATE: The Trump administration is expected to make the legal argument that the U.S. EPA under President Obama went too far in setting carbon reduction goals by focusing on the broader power system instead of solely on improvements at coal plants. (E&E News)
EFFICIENCY: FirstEnergy is offering its Ohio customers “Energy Conservation Kits” with various energy efficient lights, components and tips. (Cleveland Plain Dealer)
OIL AND GAS: Interested parties are closely following a case before the North Dakota Supreme Court involving mineral rights ownership and state land acquisition. (Bismarck Tribune)
BIOFUELS: A Nebraska ethanol plant celebrates its 10-year anniversary this week: “We see the bigger picture even more now than when we started,” one official says. (Sioux City Journal)
SUSTAINABILITY: A net-zero energy school building in Michigan built in 2013 continues to serve as a valuable teaching tool for students. (MLive)
COMMENTARY: A coal-miner’s son and newspaper editor says the narrative around saving the coal industry is “pretty demeaning, as the coal miner is used as a political pawn and an excuse to trash the planet.” (Indiana Gazette)