UTILITIES: Indiana regulators deny 10 utilities’ request to charge customers for electricity and natural gas that wasn’t used during the pandemic, and also extended prohibitions on disconnections until August 14. (Times of Northwest Indiana)
ALSO: Indiana’s largest utilities each own significant amounts of coal capacity but are sitting on plans to install large amounts of solar. (S&P Global)
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COAL:
• A coalition of local, regional and national organizations has released an economic plan to help struggling coal communities. (InsideClimate News)
• Coal communities are increasingly relying on federal health programs due to continuing layoffs and declining state revenues from coal and oil. (Energy News Network)
ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE: Amid a broadening national conversation on racial equity in the climate movement, NAACP senior director Jacqui Patterson talks about the group’s longstanding work on climate and clean energy. (Energy News Network)
SOLAR:
• A solar industry group finds the value of solar sent back to the grid from Michigan utility customers exceeds retail rates currently paid under net metering. (PV Magazine)
• Solar installer Sunrun is using drones for initial site assessments in Wisconsin and elsewhere as a way to limit customer interaction during the pandemic. (WUWM)
• Local officials in eastern South Dakota approve an agreement to purchase power from 10 small solar projects owned by the Flandreau Santee Sioux Tribe. (Moody County Enterprise)
• Solar continues to grow across Minnesota with help from federal and state incentives and from customers seeking to reduce energy costs. (Mankato Free Press)
• Hair care company Aveda activates a 900 kW solar array at its Minnesota headquarters that includes pollinator-friendly ground cover. (Solar Power World)
PIPELINES:
• Enbridge is still unable to determine what caused recent damage to Line 5 in the Straits of Mackinac, but the company has raised the possibility that it was caused by a boat anchor strike. (Michigan Advance)
• State officials will host a virtual public hearing this week on Enbridge’s proposed relocation of the Line 5 pipeline through northern Wisconsin. (Ashland Advocate)
WIND: Construction started recently on a 199 MW expansion at a southern Kansas wind project, which will increase its capacity to 599 MW. (Dodge City Daily Globe)
GRID: AEP, DTE Energy and Exelon are among utilities fined for violating North American Electric Reliability Corp. standards. (ERO Insider, subscription)
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CLEAN ENERGY: Michigan, Illinois and Ohio have been hardest hit by pandemic-related clean energy job losses in the Midwest, according to a recent report. (Crain’s Detroit Business)
POLITICS: Federal ethanol policy emerges as a key issue in a U.S. Senate race in Iowa. (Radio Iowa)