RENEWABLES: A bipartisan effort in Minnesota led by the Dayton administration would double the state’s renewable energy standard to 50 percent by 2030. (Midwest Energy News)
SOLAR:
• The Indiana Senate approves a bill that would drastically cut the price solar generators are paid for their surplus energy, though the bill would grandfather in current solar panel owners for 30 years. (Associated Press)
• A 17-megawatt commercial-scale solar project in Indiana is now in operation. (Inside Indiana Business)
• An Indiana school board gives unanimous approval to a plan for solar projects at two of its schools. (Goshen News)
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ELECTRIC CHOICE: Clean energy advocates are skeptical of plans to introduce electric choice in Nebraska and Kansas and the impact it would have on driving clean energy generation. (Midwest Energy News)
ELECTRIC VEHICLES: Several Midwest clean energy groups are working together to bring a share of $1.2 billion from the Volkswagen settlement fund to electric vehicle infrastructure in the region. (Midwest Energy News)
WIND:
• A wind developer sues a Michigan township, alleging that it has “systematically tried to prevent the project from going forward.” (Huron Daily Tribune)
• A special election on new wind zoning regulations in a Michigan township stalls a proposed project. (Port Huron Times Herald)
• Proposed wind turbine setback regulations in a South Dakota county could make or break a project there. (Aberdeen News)
OIL AND GAS: Nearly 60 Michigan landowners are facing an eminent domain lawsuit from the developer of the multi-state ET Rover natural gas pipeline seeking easement rights along the path of the project. (Livingston Daily)
POLICY: Executives from Ohio’s biggest investor-owned utilities spar with the head of Houston-based Dynegy at a conference on the state’s energy future. (Columbus Business First)
CLIMATE: Officials in St. Paul, Minnesota are cataloging the local impacts of climate change and developing a Climate Action Plan. (Pioneer Press)
BIOFUELS:
• A new study commissioned by an industry group says Minnesota’s ethanol sector contributed $1.98 billion to the state’s gross domestic product in 2016. (Ethanol Producer Magazine)
• The Sierra Club files an intent to sue the U.S. EPA for failing to conduct an environmental assessment on the Renewable Fuel Standard. (Green Car Reports)
REGULATION: U.S. EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt promises a “very aggressive” rollback of key regulations, including the Clean Power Plan and methane standards for the oil and gas industry. (Climatewire)
PIPELINES:
• A federal judge is scheduled to hear arguments today about whether to stop the last piece of construction needed to complete the Dakota Access pipeline. (Associated Press)
• An Iowa-based author’s new book chronicles the battle over the Dakota Access pipeline and being raised around the fossil fuel industry. (Radio Iowa)
MINNESOTA: A look back at how the Rural Electrification Administration under President Franklin D. Roosevelt “revolutionized life in rural Minnesota and across the country.” (MinnPost)
COAL: A 200-megawatt North Dakota coal plant is officially retired after 50 years of operation. (Bismarck Tribune)
EMISSIONS: Selling the idea of a carbon tax to President Trump is a “tall order” for some conservatives. (NPR)
COMMENTARY: A University of Chicago study finds that comparing a household’s energy use to another is a more effective way to achieve energy efficiency than incentives. (Forbes)