NUCLEAR: Amid climate change concerns, researchers say a looming threat for nuclear plants is the availability of suitable water to cool them. (Midwest Energy News)

ALSO:
• A FirstEnergy official says the utility may support a “New York-style” scenario to save its struggling nuclear plants in Ohio and Pennsylvania. (Platts)
• Illinois lawmakers say deliberations continue over saving nuclear plants there, but local officials aren’t seeing much progress. (Bloomington Pantagraph)

***SPONSORED LINK: Discover the human side of the energy future at the 2016 Surge Summit, featuring interactive panels, group discussions, and networking with leading experts in smart grid customer engagement.***

PIPELINES:
• In the months leading up to a federal agency’s decision to approve the Dakota Access pipeline, industry players sought a fast-track permitting process. (DeSmog)
• The Standing Rock Sioux Tribe may have some legal advantages in the courtroom as a sovereign nation with long ties to the land, but a victory in fighting the Dakota Access pipeline may simply result in a re-routed project. (Associated Press)
• Opponents of a planned natural gas pipeline through Ohio and Michigan claim at least 200 letters in support of the project filed with federal regulators are fraudulent. (Toledo Blade)

ELECTRIC CHOICE: Michigan faces an energy transformation, but the role of investor-owned utilities and alternative suppliers going forward is the “subject of intense debate” among lawmakers. (Utility Dive)

SOLAR: A 10-megawatt solar array under construction at a Minnesota National Guard base is severely damaged in a strong storm, delaying its official opening. (Duluth News Tribune)

COAL:
• Some lawmakers in Congress want to tap the federal mine reclamation fund to extend health and pension benefits for retired miners. (McClatchy)
• As thousands rally in Washington D.C. to support a bill to protect retired miners’ health and pension benefits, Sen. Rob Portman of Ohio is hopeful the bill will pass. (Columbus Dispatch)

WIND: A renewable energy developer expresses interest in leasing land for wind turbines in southwest Michigan. (St. Joseph Herald-Palladium)

GRID:
• While new high-voltage power lines could help integrate more renewables into the power grid, “the U.S. electricity transmission system is saddled with a sprawling regulatory process that vets proposed long-distance projects at a glacial pace.” (ClimateWire)
• AEP Ohio is investing $2 million to upgrade the transmission system in southeast Ohio. (Transmission & Distribution World)

BIOFUELS: Upper Peninsula residents in Michigan voice concerns about pollution from a local biomass plant. (ABC-10)

MERGERS: Investors predict a wave of mergers within the pipeline industry may be coming. (Bloomberg)

INFRASTRUCTURE: After a 12-year-old was electrocuted in her backyard in Detroit, the city’s mayor is ordering an investigation into the many old, dormant power lines across the city. (WWJ)

UTILITIES: Columbus, Ohio corporate giants AEP and Nationwide continue to fight over who should pay $16,000 for damage to a house, though bigger regulatory issues are at stake. (Columbus Dispatch)

CLIMATE: The U.S. needs to overhaul its energy policy and put a price on carbon to avoid major climate and health impacts, according to a new report by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine. (Greenwire)

***SPONSORED LINK: EnergyStorage Global Innovation Forum, September 12-13 in Chicago brings together top experts from ComEd, Oncor, PowerStream, PJM, Midwest ISO, ARPA-E, Argonne National Lab and many others to examine grid-level and behind-the-meter storage business models, technology innovations and opportunities. Visit www.esinnovationforum.com ***

EFFICIENCY: A mid-Michigan school district is recognized by the governor for energy efficiency investments. (MLive)

COMMENTARY: An Enbridge official says transporting oil and gas through pipelines is necessary to meet the country’s energy needs. (Minneapolis Star Tribune)

Avatar photo

Andy Balaskovitz

Andy compiles the Midwest Energy News digest and was a journalism fellow for Midwest Energy News from 2014-2020. He is managing editor of MiBiz in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and was formerly a reporter and editor at City Pulse, Lansing’s alternative newsweekly.

Leave a comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.