UTILITIES: Former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan is indicted on federal racketeering charges in connection with an alleged ComEd bribery scheme. (Chicago Tribune)
RENEWABLES: St. Louis-based coal producer Peabody Energy launches a joint venture on renewable energy that will initially pursue more than 3,300 MW of solar and 1,600 MW of battery storage. (St. Louis Post-Dispatch)
SOLAR:
• Utilities behind multiple large solar projects say Wisconsin’s constitution does not prohibit long-term land leases that project opponents say are illegal. (Wisconsin State Journal)
• Missouri legislation would require utilities to offer community solar pilot projects that would be open to third-party development. (News Tribune)
• Eastern Iowa county officials consider plans for two solar projects as state lawmakers pursue legislation that would significantly increase setback restrictions. (Clinton Herald)
TRANSMISSION: The Wisconsin Supreme Court hears arguments on whether permits for a controversial power line should be invalidated based on a former regulator’s personal relationships with project backers. (Wisconsin State Journal)
ELECTRIC VEHICLES:
• The Biden administration is laying the groundwork to deploy thousands of electric vehicle chargers along key corridors and in “under-resourced” communities using $7.5 billion from last year’s federal infrastructure law. (Utility Dive)
• The former CEO of electric vehicle startup Lordstown Motors sold $13.5 million worth of shares in the company this week, a day before General Motors withdrew its investment in the company. (Reuters)
• Officials in Lansing, Michigan are considering a local ordinance that would require electric vehicle charging stations, or at least electric infrastructure to support them, with new construction. (FOX 47)
WIND:
• An Illinois food pantry and local park district will each receive $5,000 grants from the development of a planned 300 MW wind project. (Bloomington Pantagraph)
• Southeastern Nebraska county officials table a vote on zoning recommendations involving wind energy development and extend a moratorium on projects for another month. (News Channel Nebraska)
TRANSPORTATION: Indianapolis’ transit agency tests the potential of hydrogen fuel cell buses as it transitions to zero-emissions vehicles. (Indianapolis Star)
BIOFUELS: A temporary covering is applied to pesticide-contaminated distiller’s grain and sludge at a former Nebraska ethanol plant that was shut down over pollution concerns. (Lincoln Journal Star)
CARBON CAPTURE: The governors of North Dakota and Nebraska tout the importance of carbon capture pipelines and storage projects during an event at an ethanol plant. (WZFG)
COMMENTARY: An Iowa landowner who would be affected by a proposed carbon dioxide pipeline says converting more acres to grasslands and prairies is a better approach than pipelines to sequester carbon. (Des Moines Register)