WIND: After first being announced in 2008, backers of a major wind project in central Illinois hope to start construction next year. (Springfield State Journal-Register)
SOLAR:
• An obscure technology known as advanced inverters can help deploy more solar and assist in smoothing out an increasingly variable grid, if state policies can catch up. (Midwest Energy News)
• Construction moves forward on what will be Minnesota’s largest solar project. (West Central Tribune)
***SPONSORED LINK: The Energy Storage Conference, August 30-31 at Argonne National Laboratory in Illinois, will discuss the past, present, and future of battery storage, with technological, regulatory, and marketplace perspectives. ***
CLEAN ENERGY: Nonprofit housing developers have ambitious plans for community solar and energy efficiency for a low-income neighborhood in St. Paul, Minnesota. (Midwest Energy News)
CLIMATE: Michigan researchers say there is urgency in developing negative emissions technology that removes carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. (Climate Central)
UTILITIES: California-based installer SolarCity and Chicago-based ComEd have a shared vision of what the utility of the future looks like. (Forbes)
OIL AND GAS: An analysis shows more than 640 oil and gas spills affected groundwater or surface water in some way in 2015. (EnergyWire)
FRACKING: A judge rejects a Michigan anti-fracking group’s effort to change ballot drive requirements so it could carry signatures forward to the 2018 election. (Detroit Free Press)
CYBERSECURITY: Iowa officials announce details of the state’s first cybersecurity plan, which focuses on the energy, transportation and communication sectors. (Cedar Rapids Gazette)
FINANCE: A municipal utility in West Michigan is set to launch an on-bill financing program this fall for energy upgrades. (Holland Sentinel)
COAL:
• While in Detroit, Donald Trump claims the “war on coal” cost Michigan 50,000 jobs, but utility officials say the “number doesn’t come close to approaching” that. (Detroit News)
• Peabody Energy’s revenues continue to decline. (St. Louis Business Journal)
***SPONSORED LINK: Today is the last day to nominate a Midwest clean energy leader for 40 Under 40. Nominations close at noon central. ***
GRID: Grid operator MISO says it will take more time to develop its proposal for a new capacity auction process. (RTO Insider)
COMMENTARY:
• Is Wisconsin shaking off the Koch brothers’ influence and tapping its wind resources? (Cleantechnica)
• “The nation needs to reduce coal use, not rejuvenate it.” (The Dispatch / Rock Island Argus)