PIPELINES:
• Federal and state authorities withdraw a construction permit for the Dakota Access oil pipeline in Iowa to investigate reports it crosses sacred tribal burial grounds. (Cedar Rapids Gazette)
• The Dakota Access developer seeks to dismiss lawsuits from Iowa landowners over the company’s use of eminent domain. (Sioux City Journal)
RENEWABLES: While Wisconsin hit its 10 percent renewable energy target last year, advocates say the state risks falling behind others without further action. (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)
***SPONSORED LINK: The Michigan Energy Fair announces two new partners: The Sustainable Living Summit 2016 and The Great Lakes Emergency Preparedness Expo, June 24-25, Ingham County Fairgrounds, Mason, Michigan. For complete information go to www.glrea.org ***
SOLAR:
• An Iowa college considers a third-party solar-plus-storage project on campus as a way to increase its solar generation by working around its utility. (Midwest Energy News)
• Supporters face obstacles to growing the solar industry in Iowa. (The Gazette)
• Environmental groups raise concerns about the details within a utility’s community solar plans for Duluth, Minnesota. (Duluth News Tribune)
• A northern Michigan high school student is working on a $25,000 senior project to bring solar panels to his high school. (Traverse City Record-Eagle)
NUCLEAR: An industry official says there needs to be a greater sense of urgency to keep nuclear plants from closing prematurely. (Toledo Blade)
EFFICIENCY: Ameren announces support for a proposed bill in Illinois to save Exelon’s struggling nuclear plants after an amendment is added to change energy efficiency rules in southern Illinois. (St. Louis Post-Dispatch)
CARBON: A site in Decatur, Illinois is testing the feasibility of negative carbon emissions from energy production through bioenergy with carbon capture and storage. (Carbon Brief)
ELECTRIC CHOICE: Supporters of a deregulated electricity market are pushing back against a bill moving through the Michigan legislature. (Detroit News)
WIND:
• Whirlpool Corp. plans to install wind turbines at two more of its plants in Ohio. (Associated Press)
• A Nebraska wind project faces more delays amid local opposition. (Omaha World-Herald)
EMISSIONS: Michigan officials approve new air permits for the Marathon refinery near Detroit they say will lower sulfur dioxide emissions. (Associated Press)
UTILITIES:
• The parent company of Kansas City Power & Light will buy rival Westar Energy for $8.6 billion. (Reuters)
• Insurance giant Nationwide has filed a complaint with Ohio regulators against AEP, claiming the utility was negligent in its role leading to a 2014 power outage incident. (Columbus Dispatch)
COAL:
• Two Ohio lawmakers continue their push to ensure coal miners are guaranteed health benefits as companies struggle to stay afloat. (The Intelligencer / Wheeling News-Register)
• In addition to environmental regulations and competition from natural gas, the capacity auction process is also leading to coal plants being shuttered in southern Illinois. (St. Louis Post-Dispatch)
• Questions remain over an Illinois coal mine that has been in the works for years. (News-Gazette)
• Coal dropped to 23.8 percent of the U.S. utility-scale generating mix in March. (Platts / Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis)
OIL AND GAS:
• Businesses and legislators are optimistic about the future of the industry following last week’s oil and gas conference in North Dakota. (Forum News Service)
• It “doesn’t make much sense” that a North Dakota county is seeing a baby boom amid the oil industry downturn. (KFYR-TV)
TRANSPORTATION: Students at Ohio State University take top honors in a competition to develop a more energy-efficient vehicle. (Columbus Dispatch)
COMMENTARY:
• Presidential hopeful Donald Trump’s visit to North Dakota last week provides a boost to the region’s oil and gas industry. (Bismarck Tribune)
• With major wind developments, the energy transition is on full display in Iowa. (NRDC)
• ComEd’s and Exelon’s proposed energy bill in Illinois “doesn’t do enough to protect consumers or the environment.” (Union of Concerned Scientists)
• Proposed legislation in Michigan attacks workers in the state’s nascent solar industry. (Crain’s Detroit Business)