ILLINOIS: A sweeping clean energy plan that phases out coal and gas plants while providing nearly $700 million in subsidies to save two Exeleon nuclear plants passes in the state House and heads back to the Senate for consideration. Gov. J.B. Pritzker has said he will sign the bill. (Chicago Tribune, WTVO)
ALSO: Federal prosecutors seek to halt fact-finding in a civil case related to the ongoing bribery investigation involving ComEd, while a judge tosses a separate case alleging ties between the utility and former House Speaker Michael Madigan. (Chicago Sun-Times)
STORAGE: Minnesota electric cooperative Great River Energy sees long-duration energy storage as a potential buffer for its grid during extreme cold weather events. (Energy News Network)
COAL: Minnesota regulators say they need more information before deciding whether to approve a permit transfer that’s needed as part of the planned sale of North Dakota’s largest coal plant. (WCCO)
SOLAR:
• Wisconsin regulators approve plans for a 100 MW solar project over some objections from residents and neighboring municipalities. (Wisconsin State Journal)
• Local officials break ground on the $21 million expansion of a northern Minnesota solar manufacturing facility. (CBS 3)
PIPELINES:
• Federal and state authorities will negotiate a settlement for costs North Dakota claims it paid to police during Dakota Access pipeline protests. (Associated Press)
• Authorities say 23 people were arrested at a Line 3 pipeline protest in northwestern Minnesota. (KVRR)
WIND:
• An Illinois judge rules that a county board lacked authority to suspend permits for a planned 200 MW wind project. (Pantagraph)
• Missouri consumer advocates say Ameren customers should be paying less for electricity produced at a major wind project that shuts down at night to avoid killing endangered species. (News-Tribune)
UTILITIES:
• Kansas regulators reject a request to pursue a company’s records to determine whether price gouging or predatory billing occurred during major natural gas price spikes last winter. (Lawrence Journal-World)
• A coalition of Indiana environmental groups ask Duke Energy to improve access to and transparency around the company’s long-term energy planning process. (Indiana Environmental Reporter)
CARBON CAPTURE: A North Dakota cooperative seeks to expand the carbon capture system at a synthetic fuels plant to contain as much as 70% of the facility’s carbon dioxide. (Bismarck Tribune)