SOLAR: As the state phases out net metering, Vectren is the first Indiana utility to file a request to compensate customers less for excess solar power they send to the grid. (Evansville Courier & Press)
EFFICIENCY: Virtual home energy inspections are increasing in Minnesota after the pandemic suspended in-person visits in March. (Energy News Network)
***SPONSORED LINK: Applications are now open for the Veterans Advanced Energy Fellowship, a yearlong program for high-performing, high-potential military veterans in advanced energy, presented by the Atlantic Council Global Energy Center. Learn more at www.vetsenergyproject.org/fellowship***
WIND:
• Illinois and Indiana saw significant increases in wind power last year despite pockets of vocal opposition and, in the case of Indiana, a lack of robust incentives. (Energy News Network)
• The CEO of American Electric Power expects final state regulatory decisions this month on the company’s 1,500 MW wind project in Arkansas, Texas, Oklahoma and Louisiana. (Utility Dive)
PIPELINES: Michigan regulators tell Enbridge to consider more alternatives and environmental impacts in response to the company’s application to build a tunnel for the Line 5 pipeline in the Straits of Mackinac. (Bridge Magazine)
GRID: Michigan’s Lower Peninsula needs more renewable energy to replace anticipated coal and nuclear plant retirements based on the results of last month’s MISO capacity auction, experts say. (MiBiz)
COAL:
• The developer being sued over its role in the demolition of a former coal plant in Chicago is fined for allowing runoff into a nearby waterway. (Chicago Sun-Times)
• Large coal plants in Michigan, Missouri, Ohio and Illinois are among the top 10 U.S. plants for carbon dioxide emissions. (E&E News, subscription)
• A public hearing is scheduled next week on a proposal to lease 320 acres of federally owned land in North Dakota for coal mining. (Bismarck Tribune)
• Officials begin the early phases of moving coal ash and other materials from a former power plant in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. (Marquette Mining Journal)
UTILITIES: Michigan regulators approve a $188 million rate increase for DTE Energy while raising concerns about the company’s coal and grid reliability plans. (Michigan Radio)
POLICY: A Michigan advanced energy group outlines a series of legislative, administrative and regulatory policy changes that could help the state’s industry recover from the pandemic. (MiBiz)
OIL & GAS: Oil production declines in rural Illinois due to low prices and decreased demand from the pandemic. (Southern Illinoisan)
***SPONSORED LINK: Green Energy Ohio invites you to a virtual conversation about Clean Energy in the Age of Coronavirus, May 21 at noon EDT. Featuring ENN reporter Kathiann Kowalski and Dan Gearino from InsideClimate News. Register today!***
BIOFUELS: An oil refiner at the center of a dispute over federal ethanol blending requirements wants the U.S. Supreme Court to resolve ongoing issues over waivers. (E&E News, subscription)
COMMENTARY:
• An official with the Ohio Corn and Wheat Growers Association says “blaming farmers, the renewable fuel standard, and the ethanol industry for refinery economic woes is disingenuous.” (Toledo Blade)
• Legislation to block the Grain Belt Express transmission project is “bad public policy and worse for the progress of Missouri’s economy,” says the head of a renewable energy group. (Columbia Missourian)