TRANSPORTATION: General Motors announces plans to eliminate tailpipe emissions from all new models by 2035 and to make its global operations carbon neutral by 2040, riding a climate change shift with the Biden administration. (Detroit News)

ALSO:
• The move is a significant shift for a company that has built its brand image and profits on gas-guzzling SUVs. (Inside Climate News)
• GM’s new targets could lead to major shifts in the manufacturing and utility sectors, experts say. (E&E News, subscription)

***SPONSORED LINK: Join MEEA and fellow industry leaders and innovators at the 2021 Midwest Energy Solutions Conference, happening virtually Feb. 16-19. Stay connected, create important business opportunities and expand your knowledge of EE policy, programs, innovations and more. Register today.***

ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE: A governor-appointed environmental justice task force in Michigan is having an influence in top-level decision making, members and other activists say, though some want it to have “more teeth.” (Energy News Network)

CLEAN ENERGY:
• An amendment to an already controversial Indiana energy bill would place restrictions on state-funded universities’ clean energy investments. (Energy News Network)
• Minnesota lawmakers begin work on legislation that would require utilities to produce 100% carbon-free electricity by 2040. (Associated Press)

SOLAR:
• Environmental and solar activists are suing Wisconsin regulators for their approval of Madison Gas and Electric rates they argue are discriminatory against low-income customers and discourage solar and efficiency investments. (Wisconsin State Journal)
• County officials approve plans for a 1 MW community solar project in southwestern Minnesota. (Pipestone County Star)

OHIO: The racketeering investigation surrounding HB 6 will continue despite the current federal prosecutor preparing to depart under the Biden administration. (Columbus Dispatch)

RENEWABLES: Renewable energy companies’ stocks will likely benefit from the Biden administration’s approach to tackling climate change and bolstering clean energy. (Associated Press)

TRANSMISSION:
• Opponents of renewable energy infrastructure projects may be able stall development by deploying some of the same legal tactics that have upended the pipeline sector, experts say. (S&P Global)
• A bipartisan group of former FERC commissioners and chairs say regulators must tackle interregional transmission planning to maximize wind and solar benefits. (Utility Dive)

WIND: Developers plan to lease vacant industrial land as a staging area for a planned 300 MW wind project in central Illinois. (Journal Courier)

COMMENTARY:
• Clean energy “must become part of the Republican Party’s core messaging platform as a matter of survival,” says a board member of the Minnesota Conservative Energy Forum. (MinnPost)
• Canceling a presidential permit for the Keystone XL pipeline risks more oil being transported by rail instead, says a Wisconsin editorial board. (Racine Journal Times)
• Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine must pick a new Public Utilities Commission member who will “resist the Statehouse’s go-along, get-along, we’re-all-pals atmosphere,” an editorial board says. (Cleveland.com)
• A CenterPoint Energy executive says demand from southern Indiana customers has helped lead the company’s transition from coal to renewables. (Courier & Press)