SOLAR: A Wisconsin county considers a partnership with Alliant Energy that would offset all of its electricity use with power from a 16.5 MW solar project on county land. (Wisconsin State Journal)
ALSO:
• A 123-year-old observatory in southeastern Wisconsin will be outfitted with solar panels with grant support from a clean energy nonprofit. (Lake Geneva Regional News)
• A northwestern Indiana charter school and adult education facility completes a solar project that will deliver energy savings and job training. (Chicago Tribune)
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ELECTRIC VEHICLES: General Motors plans to bring new electric vehicles to market faster than it anticipated as it starts to bring workers back to EV plants in Michigan and Ohio. (Detroit Free Press)
UTILITIES:
• South Dakota utility Black Hills Energy plans to cut greenhouse gas emissions from its electricity business 70% by 2040. (Rapid City Journal)
• St. Louis-area natural gas utility Spire launches a program to help pay down overdue bills of customers who have lost income during the pandemic. (St. Louis Post-Dispatch)
PIPELINES:
• The Keystone XL pipeline’s developer plans to sue to obtain a construction permit in a rural Nebraska county, which rejected the plan until the company agreed to comply with various conditions. (Omaha World-Herald)
• Enbridge says it will achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, though the scope of the goal was unclear from its announcement. (news release)
OVERSIGHT: President Trump replaces Neil Chatterjee as chairman of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission amid frustration among conservatives over recent decisions. (Utility Dive)
COAL:
• Wisconsin regulators approve a securitization refinancing plan for a shuttered We Energies coal plant that had installed pollution controls, which could save ratepayers about $40 million. (Wisconsin State Journal)
• Ohio utility American Electric Power plans to retire a Texas coal plant in 2023 and discontinue using coal at another power plant in the state amid the utility’s broader shift to clean energy. (Columbus Dispatch)
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RENEWABLES:
• Indiana Michigan Power issues a request for proposals for an additional 450 MW of wind, solar and battery storage resources. (Inside Indiana Business)
• Columbus, Ohio, is among U.S. cities that passed local initiatives in this week’s election to help expand clean energy and reduce greenhouse emissions. (Utility Dive)
• Though energy took a backseat in this week’s election, advocates still see optimism after some state and local measures passed as well as continued momentum from the 2018 election. (InsideClimate News)
POLITICS: Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker says House Speaker Michael Madigan, who has been implicated in a bribery case involving ComEd, should step down as head of the state’s Democratic Party. (CBS Chicago)