UTILITIES: FirstEnergy settles a series of shareholder lawsuits seeking corporate reform in the wake of the HB 6 corruption scandal, agreeing to have six longtime board members not seek reelection, among other commitments. (Associated Press)
WIND: Wind energy advocates say a series of bills before Kansas lawmakers would limit wind development and make it one of the most restrictive states in the nation. (Kansas Reflector)
PIPELINES: The North Dakota Supreme Court is considering whether to further delay the release of about 16,000 documents related to construction security on the Dakota Access pipeline. (Bismarck Tribune)
COAL: Michigan’s largest municipal utility finds elevated levels of boron in private water wells near one of its Lansing-area coal plants. (Lansing State Journal)
SOLAR: MidAmerican Energy brings online a 4 MW solar project in western Iowa. (Sioux City Journal)
EMISSIONS: Executives at two Michigan ski resorts call on swifter emission-reduction policies, including a federal carbon tax, to stave off effects of the climate crisis. (MLive)
RENEWABLES:
• An environmental group’s renewable energy mapping tool identifies more than 2,800 square miles of land in Wisconsin where projects could be developed to avoid conflicts with wildlife. (Wisconsin State Journal)
• Indiana lawmakers advance a bill to establish uniform zoning rules and a certification process for communities whose local regulations are “ready” for renewable energy projects. (WTWO)
• A Michigan utility regulator says the state should do more to allow customers and communities to own solar, storage and other distributed energy resources. (City Pulse)
ELECTRIC VEHICLES: U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and Illinois officials visit an electric vehicle manufacturing plant. (ABC 7)
BIOGAS:
• An Iowa facility that turns cow manure into renewable natural gas leaks about 376,000 gallons of manure water into a nearby creek. (Iowa Capital Dispatch)
• Southwestern Wisconsin county officials consider working with a developer to help finance a proposed renewable gas facility. (Telegraph Herald)
OIL & GAS: Since being fined $6.9 million in 1998 for leaks and spills into the Mississippi River, a Minnesota refinery has invested about $2 billion in emission control and efficiency technology. (Star Tribune)
COMMENTARY:
• An organized labor official says more clean energy jobs should be unionized to continue investments in the workforce and raise wages. (Energy News Network)
• Kansas has an opportunity to “take the lead in solar energy and sustainable agriculture production,” a former reporter says in an op-ed. (Kansas Reflector)
• Minnesota’s shift to renewable energy is producing both environmental and economic benefits for the state, a columnist writes. (Star Tribune)