Correction: An Appalachian infrastructure plan could bring 235,000 jobs per year to Ohio over the next decade, according to a recent study. An item in an earlier version of this digest misstated the number.
PIPELINES: A federal judge denies Native American tribes’ request to halt construction on the Keystone XL pipeline over concerns about potential spills and damage to cultural sites. (Associated Press)
ALSO: A tribe in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula urges state regulators to reject permits to build a tunnel for the Line 5 pipeline in the Straits of Mackinac, calling the pipeline an “existential threat” to treaty rights. (WPBN)
***SPONSORED LINK: The University of Minnesota Law, Policy, and Business Conference on Equity and Electrification of Transportation, Friday, October 23, from 10 am – 2:30 pm, will discuss broader reforms to our transportation systems through the lens of law, policy, and business. Register here. ***
WIND: MidAmerican Energy is inspecting more than 40 wind turbines after the second case in two months of a blade falling off. (Radio Iowa)
ELECTRIC VEHICLES:
• General Motors announces plans to invest $150 million into five Michigan auto plants, including one for electric vehicle production, as well as $2 billion into a Tennessee plant to produce electric Cadillacs. (Detroit News)
• GM also publicly unveils the 2022 electric Hummer model, which the company calls the “world’s first supertruck.” (CNBC)
POLLUTION: Industrial pollution from southwest Detroit fossil fuel production facilities exacerbates public health concerns during the COVID-19 pandemic. (Bloomberg Businessweek)
OIL & GAS: An equipment failure at a well site led to the release of about 12,180 gallons of oil in western North Dakota. (Associated Press)
BIOFUELS: A cellulosic ethanol plant in Iowa closes after failing to compete with low oil prices in recent years. (Radio Iowa)
SOLAR: State regulators approve plans for a community solar project in Superior, Wisconsin. (Superior Telegram)
CLEAN ENERGY:
• Ann Arbor, Michigan, officials approve plans for a solar-powered, net-zero housing development that will have no gas lines or combustion appliances. (MLive)
• Sustained federal funding for an Appalachian jobs blueprint could create 235,000 per year2.3 million jobs in Ohio over 10 years that include modernizing the region’s electric grid and repurposing shuttered coal plants, researchers say. (Columbus Dispatch)
• Des Moines, Iowa, officials will consider a plan to commit the city to run on 100% clean energy by 2030. (We Are Iowa)
GRID: American Transmission Co.’s 10-year plan calls for billions of dollars in infrastructure investments as the company prepares for more renewable generation to come online. (Daily Energy Insider)
COAL:
• Environmental groups criticize a new U.S. EPA rule scaling back coal ash storage regulations, saying it violates a 2018 court ruling that clay-lined coal ash ponds should be considered unlined. (Utility Dive)
• Nearly all U.S. coal producers are expected to report lower third-quarter earnings compared to the same period last year. (S&P Global)
COMMENTARY: Failing to repeal Ohio’s HB 6 is already harming ratepayers after energy efficiency programs ended on Oct. 1, an editorial board says. (Columbus Dispatch)