MICROGRID: Researchers in Illinois revive the debate over alternating current and direct current as it’s applied to a local microgrid. (Midwest Energy News)
NUCLEAR: Chicago-based Exelon prepares for legal challenges to New York’s plan to subsidize struggling nuclear plants. (EnergyWire)
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PIPELINES:
• Iowa landowners want a judge to halt construction on the Dakota Access pipeline until a dispute over using eminent domain is resolved. (Cedar Rapids Gazette)
• North Dakota Gov. Jack Dalrymple declares an emergency to make more state resources available to manage public safety response to Dakota Access protests. (Associated Press)
• An earlier planned route for the Dakota Access pipeline was rejected by the company over concerns about threats to local drinking water. (Forum News Service)
WIND: Residents in Michigan’s “Thumb” region disagree on whether the local and individual financial gains from wind projects outweigh perceived downsides. (Port Huron Times Herald)
SOLAR:
• The number of solar installations in Ohio increased 23 percent since 2015, according to a new study. (Tiffin Advertiser-Tribune)
• A Nebraska utility will dedicate a new 5-megawatt commercial solar project next month. (Lincoln Journal Star)
• South Bend, Indiana companies are helping drive growth for the solar industry statewide. (South Bend Tribune)
FRACKING: Efforts to impose local bans on hydraulic fracturing in Ohio have been met with resistance by state and local governments. (DeSmog Blog)
BIOFUELS:
• Researchers in Chicago have developed a way to mimic plants’ ability to convert carbon dioxide into fuel as a way to create clean energy. (Chicago Tribune)
• South Dakota officials approve an air quality permit for a new ethanol plant despite opposition from some residents. (Watertown Public Opinion)
• A wealthy environmentalist from Michigan says the clean-energy benefits of the federal ethanol mandate are “a big farce.” (Crain’s Detroit Business)
CLIMATE: Exxon Mobil and a team of researchers say they have devised a way to slash carbon emissions during the chemicals-manufacturing process. (Reuters)
ELECTRIC CHOICE: A state law that allows Upper Peninsula mining companies to exercise electric choice and seek lower rates is still causing concern among local power companies. (Marquette Mining Journal)
REGULATION: A former federal energy regulator issued numerous rulings that favored energy companies that his spouse worked for as a lobbyist. (DeSmog Blog)
RATES: Wisconsin regulators are being warned that the state’s high electric rates may drive large manufacturing companies out of the state. (Wisconsin State Journal)
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OIL AND GAS: South Dakota officials are still waiting for a mine reclamation plan for an oil well that was drilled three years ago but was not completed. (Rapid City Journal)
COMMENTARY: Ohio should follow New York’s lead in providing financial assistance to struggling nuclear plants. (Akron Beacon Journal)