ILLINOIS: As labor leaders say they’ve reached an impasse with environmental groups over stalled clean energy legislation, some lawmakers eye a standalone deal to bail out two uncompetitive nuclear power plants. (WEEK, Center Square)

COAL: Opponents of a plan to sell and extend the life of North Dakota’s largest coal plant pin their hopes on convincing Minnesota regulators to reject the sale of an interstate power line, which would sink the deal. (Inside Climate News)

GRID: AES Ohio is working with Google’s “moonshot” innovation division to simulate and model how to improve reliability and increase renewables on its electric distribution grids in Ohio and Indiana. (Dayton Daily News)

OHIO:
• Federal investigators have requested records related to former Public Utilities Commission of Ohio Chairman Sam Randazzo and other topics related to the state’s power plant bribery scandal, subpoenas show. (Cleveland.com)
• A coal lobbyist backed by former President Trump wins a Republican U.S. House primary in Ohio, while centrist Shontel Brown defeats progressive Nina Turner in the Democratic contest. (Associated Press)

PIPELINES:
• Enbridge pledged to hire thousands of local workers for its Line 3 project in northern Minnesota, but the public may not know whether it fulfilled that promise until the project is complete. (Minnesota Reformer)
• Indiana environmental advocates want federal regulators to require a study of a proposed interstate natural gas pipeline expansion. (Courier & Press) 
• A historic Black farming community in Illinois sees a planned natural gas pipeline as an existential threat. (WBEZ)

SOLAR:
• After a county board rejected funding, a planned 150 MW solar project near Iowa City moves ahead with a grid application using private funds. (Gazette)
• First Solar says its recently announced factory in Ohio will be the largest fully vertically integrated solar manufacturing complex outside of China. (Utility Dive)
• Alliant Energy’s first community solar project in Wisconsin is on track to begin producing energy by the end of the year. (Fond du Lac Reporter)
• An Illinois water utility expects to save $4 million in energy costs over 25 years from a 1.6 MW solar project that came online last month. (Commercial-News)
• Student competitors in an annual solar-powered vehicle race depart from Independence, Missouri, en route to Santa Fe, New Mexico. (KSHB)

STORAGE: Invenergy is seeking approval to add another 60 MW of storage to a Wisconsin solar project, bringing the total to 110 MW of batteries. (PV magazine)

UTILITIES: Families in Chicago’s Little Village neighborhood face utility disconnections as they await financial relief from a city assistance program. (Chicago Sun-Times)

CARBON: An ethanol producer plans to begin seismic studies this summer to assess the potential for storing carbon emissions underground in eastern North Dakota. (Bismarck Tribune)

WIND: Attorneys and state regulators in South Dakota discuss what should happen when a wind farm reaches the end of its service life. (KELO)

CLEAN ENERGY: After a virtual visit to the Ames Laboratory, U.S. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm discusses the urgency to “go, go, go” on deploying emission-reducing technologies. (Iowa Public Radio)

Dan has two decades' experience working in print, digital and broadcast media. Prior to joining the Energy News Network as managing editor in December 2017, he oversaw watchdog reporting at the Sioux Falls Argus Leader, part of the USA Today Network, and before that spent several years as a freelance journalist covering energy, business and technology. Dan is a former Midwest Energy News journalism fellow and a member of Investigative Reporters and Editors. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in journalism and mass communications from University of Minnesota-Twin Cities.