GRID: Xcel Energy is updating an online mapping tool that details grid congestion, which would help clean energy developers determine where to site projects. (Energy News Network)
ALSO: Improving transmission along the seam of the Southwest Power Pool and grid operator MISO’s territory could unlock large amounts of wind power, but doing so remains complex. (Greentech Media)
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WIND: The Ohio Power Siting Board is expected to reject calls to revisit a May ruling that critics say would doom the first offshore wind project in the Great Lakes. (Cleveland.com)
UTILITIES: Xcel Energy is among the five biggest U.S. utilities that have made net-zero carbon pledges by 2050. (Greentech Media)
COAL:
• Murray Energy emerges from bankruptcy as American Consolidated Natural Resources and is the largest privately owned U.S. coal operator with mines in five states. (Associated Press)
• MISO’s independent market monitor says uneconomic self-commitments of coal plants aren’t as widespread as critics say. (RTO Insider, subscription)
PIPELINES: A federal judge’s ruling on whether to halt oil flowing in the Dakota Access pipeline likely won’t come until after the November election. (Bismarck Tribune)
ELECTRIC VEHICLES: A widespread transition to electric vehicles could help avoid $72 billion in public health costs nationally by 2050, according to the American Lung Association. (Smart Cities Dive)
SOLAR:
• More than a dozen Indiana environmental groups issue a letter to a state task force urging it to include distributed energy in the state’s long-term energy plan. (WBOI)
• The Michigan Department of Natural Resources selects a private developer to install solar panels at a state fish hatchery. (9&10 News)
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BIOFUELS: Former Democratic Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack calls President Trump a “Johnny-come-lately” when it comes to supporting the ethanol industry. (Cedar Rapids Gazette)
COMMENTARY:
• Advanced energy like wind, solar, energy storage and efficiency is the “most cost-effective option for Indiana” to improve energy affordability and attract more businesses to the state, a Republican lawmaker says. (Indianapolis Star)
• The chairman and president of BP America supports Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s clean energy plan and climate bill that includes a price on carbon. (Southern Illinoisan)