COAL: When people die in Illinois coal mines, faulty equipment and a lack of safety policies and procedures are the most commonly cited causes by investigators, according to an Energy News Network review of two decades’ worth of federal mine safety records. (Energy News Network)
ALSO:
• Critics say penalties issued for coal mining safety violations are typically so small that they become a cost of doing business rather than a deterrent for unsafe working conditions. (Energy News Network)
• The danger and physical toll of coal mining are part of everyday life in southern Illinois, where the industry remains deeply enmeshed in communities. (Energy News Network)
FINANCE: Some Ohio officials seek to expand Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) financing to other cities under the same for-profit lender that has harmed borrowers in Missouri. (ProPublica / Cincinnati Enquirer)
PIPELINES:
• Officials with the state of Michigan and Enbridge plan to complete mediation over the future of the Line 5 pipeline in the Straits of Mackinac by the end of August. (Detroit News)
• The Line 3 pipeline’s replacement status and total length are two key differences from the cancelled Keystone XL project. (MinnPost)
POLICY:
• A Republican state lawmaker cites Ohio’s inconsistent approach to local control over renewable energy versus oil and gas projects. (Cleveland.com)
• Illinois would likely have to import more electricity under a proposed clean energy policy that would retire the state’s coal plants by 2035. (Bloomington Pantagraph)
SOLAR:
• Michigan college students seek to become the first people to travel across the country in a solar-powered car. (Lansing State Journal)
• Alliant Energy is set to start construction on three Wisconsin solar projects totaling 250 MW. (Solar Power World)
• County officials seek to intervene in the formal approval process of a planned 175 MW solar project in Ohio. (Xenia Daily Gazette)
• Officials in Ann Arbor, Michigan, advance plans for a 24 MW community solar project. (MLive)
• Local officials schedule a public hearing for a planned 101 MW solar project in northern Ohio. (Farm and Dairy)
ELECTRIC VEHICLES: A lack of charging stations remains a key barrier to electric vehicle deployment in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, advocates say. (WDET)
RENEWABLES: The Nebraska Public Power District is seeing strong interest from renewable energy developers seeking to supply power to a major industrial facility. (Norfolk Daily News)
CLIMATE: The mayor of Ann Arbor, Michigan, intends to introduce a resolution asking voters to approve a 20-year tax to fund climate change efforts. (Michigan Radio)
WIND: Township-wide zoning may be required for local officials in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula to have a greater say over a proposed wind project. (Daily Mining Gazette)
NUCLEAR: Local officials in northern Illinois are growing anxious about state lawmakers’ ability to reach an agreement over saving an Exelon nuclear plant. (Illinois Newsroom)
COMMENTARY: A columnist says the proposed sale of North Dakota’s largest coal plant that includes plans for carbon capture and storage prove coal is still a viable electricity option. (Inforum)