OHIO: Former House Speaker Larry Householder asks a federal judge to dismiss a public corruption case against him, claiming there was no quid pro quo involving favorable policy for FirstEnergy. (Ohio Capital Journal)
FINANCE: County officials in St. Louis vote to expand a controversial residential clean energy lending program by allowing for a second provider and also adding consumer protections. (St. Louis Post-Dispatch)
POWER PLANTS: Madison Gas and Electric wants to purchase up to 50 MW of capacity from a Wisconsin natural gas plant as part of its decarbonization plan, though clean energy experts cast doubt on the fossil fuel investment. (Wisconsin State Journal)
PIPELINES:
• A pipeline owner settles a class action lawsuit with Illinois landowners related to a 2015 incident that spilled 4,000 gallons of crude oil onto their properties. (Bloomberg Law, subscription)
• Construction is completed on a $260 million natural gas pipeline expansion in North Dakota that officials say will help limit the flaring of excess gas. (Associated Press)
• The developer of a carbon dioxide pipeline asks Iowa regulators for permission to use eminent domain despite opposition from landowners and environmental groups. (Globe Gazette, Summit-Tribune)
WIND: MidAmerican Energy pursues plans for a wind project with up to 140 turbines in southwestern Iowa. (KETV)
TRANSPORTATION:
• Michigan plans to install a 1-mile road system near Detroit that can charge electric vehicles while they are stationary or in motion. (Crain’s Detroit Business)
• Nebraska-based Union Pacific Railroad will purchase 20 battery-electric locomotives that require no fuel and produce no emissions. (Omaha World-Herald)
• Michigan’s two U.S. senators reintroduce a bill that would appropriate $1.7 billion to the Department of Energy over five years for research and development on fuel-efficient vehicle technology. (Detroit News)
SOLAR:
• Grid operator PJM seeks a two-year pause on more than 1,000 solar project interconnection requests: “Our system wasn’t designed to handle this kind of growth.” (Inside Climate News)
• Ann Arbor, Michigan plans an $8.5 million project to install 4 MW of solar at nearly 20 locations to power city facilities. (MLive)
• An Israeli company commits $75 million in funding for the second phase of an Indiana solar project that will produce 700 MW of power. (Inside Indiana Business)
RENEWABLES: General Motors will purchase enough renewable energy credits through a voluntary Consumers Energy program to offset the power at three manufacturing facilities. (Michigan Radio)
GRID: A FirstEnergy subsidiary invests in grid infrastructure upgrades in a Cleveland suburb that the utility says will help reduce outage times. (Cleveland.com)
COMMENTARY: Aerial monitoring with drones and making smart grid investments are alternatives to expensive underground transmission lines that can benefit the U.S. power grid, a columnist writes. (Governing)