SOLAR: One of Nebraska’s largest utilities is developing a vision for what its first community solar project might look like as a result of customer demand. (Midwest Energy News)
ALSO:
• Once confined to the U.S. Southwest, large-scale solar development is spreading across the country, including northern states like Minnesota and Wisconsin. (Yale Environment 360)
• A utility industry representative in Indiana says net metering doesn’t threaten utility profits now, but it could in the future. (Associated Press)
• The National Rural Electric Cooperative Association launches a new initiative to promote solar power. (Triple Pundit)
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WIND:
• A 2014 Ohio bill that increased property line setbacks for wind turbines has also cost schools hundreds of thousands of dollars in revenue. (Nexus Media)
• Wind development in some rural areas of Michigan is helping expand the tax base there, but it’s unclear the effect that such development is having on property values. (Bridge Magazine)
• More Missouri cities are lining up for deals to get electricity from the proposed Grain Belt Express transmission project. (Missouri Times)
COAL:
• Workers at the embattled W.H. Sammis coal plant in Ohio hope President Trump will help them keep their jobs. (Cleveland Plain Dealer)
• Consumers Energy says it has selected a buyer from North Carolina to purchase and then demolish one of the utility’s coal plants in West Michigan. (MLive)
GRID: Construction is set to begin next month on a controversial, 180-mile high-voltage transmission line through Wisconsin. (LaCrosse Tribune)
EFFICIENCY: Ohio and Kentucky are trying to roll back energy efficiency programs at the same time coal advocates look to make gains in those states. (Bloomberg)
OIL AND GAS:
• Local officials in Ohio express concern to a state agency about plans for two wastewater injection wells they say risk groundwater contamination. (Warren Tribune Chronicle)
• Pipeline company Enbridge says it is cutting about 1,000 employees, or 6 percent of its workforce, to eliminate duplication following a merger with Spectra Energy in February. (Houston Business Journal)
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CLIMATE: Wisconsin communities are making strides in developing more clean energy to reduce emissions. (WisCONTEXT)
COMMENTARY: An Indiana editorial board says given the relatively few customers who generate their own solar power, there is no great urgency to change the state’s net metering law. (Fort Wayne News-Sentinel)