UTILITIES: Illinois regulators vote to open an investigation to determine whether ComEd improperly recovered costs from ratepayers as part of a bribery scandal involving favors from lawmakers. (Chicago Tribune)

OHIO: State Attorney General Dave Yost takes steps to freeze the assets of former utility regulator Sam Randazzo, a key figure in the ongoing bribery scandal involving favorable policies for FirstEnergy. (WKYC, Energy News Network archive)

OIL & GAS: A North Dakota county was the fastest-growing county in the nation as the oil industry fueled a population that more than doubled over the last decade, according to U.S. Census data released yesterday. (Associated Press)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES:
• Some Indiana automotive suppliers are beginning to transition operations to build components for electric vehicles. (Indiana Public Radio)
• A company plans to buy 65 electric vehicles to support operations at a copper-nickel mine in northern Minnesota that officials say will reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 65%. (Associated Press)

HYDROGEN: A 485 MW power plant equipped to run on a mix of hydrogen and natural gas is nearing completion at a former industrial site in southeastern Ohio. (S&P Global)

CARBON CAPTURE: North Dakota regulators hold their first hearing on plans by an ethanol producer to capture carbon dioxide emissions and store them underground. (Bismarck Tribune)

SOLAR:
• Local organizers in northern Minnesota work with their public utility to build a solar-plus-storage project that should be operational this fall. (Hometown Focus)
• A new report sheds light on utility efforts in Illinois and Kansas to stifle attempts at growing distribution generation and rooftop solar. (PV Magazine)
• A northeastern Indiana city plans to complete a 1.55 MW solar project in the coming months that will help offset power costs for a wastewater treatment plant. (News Sun)
• Local officials seek more information about a developer’s potential plans for a solar project in northwestern Ohio. (LimaOhio.com)

PIPELINES: U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota suggests that shutting down construction on the Line 3 pipeline would fall under state jurisdiction as pipeline opponents criticize the Biden administration’s decision to not intervene on the project. (KVRR)

WIND:
• Wind energy development in South Dakota has become more divisive among landowners as more projects come to state regulators for approval. (KOTA)
• A $350 million wind project in central Illinois is set to begin construction in two months. (Bloomington Pantagraph)

CLEAN ENERGY:
• Federal officials recognize an Indiana nonprofit’s efforts to reduce air and water pollution by pursuing clean energy projects. (Times of Northwest Indiana)
• The Nebraska Public Power District begins a series of public forums to gather community input on the utility’s future energy mix. (Norfolk Daily News)

BIOGAS: A joint venture involving Smithfield Foods has completed the installation of manure-to-energy technology on nearly all of the company’s northern Missouri hog farms. (KTTN)