PIPELINES: TC Energy formally cancels plans for the Keystone XL pipeline after 12 years of opposition by landowners, Native American tribes and environmentalists. (Reuters)
ALSO:
• Democrats praise the Keystone XL outcome as a climate victory while GOP lawmakers call it a win for “environmental extremists.” (E&E News, subscription)
• Most of the 247 people arrested during Line 3 demonstrations in northern Minnesota this week were charged with misdemeanor trespassing on critical infrastructure or public nuisance and unlawful assembly. (MPR News)
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SOLAR:
• A Wisconsin utility completes work on a 20 MW solar project that will provide power to local governments and businesses. (Wisconsin State Journal)
• Some residents and local officials raise concerns about the scale of a planned 3,500-acre solar project near a decommissioning Iowa nuclear plant. (KCRG)
OHIO: American Electric Power says it is “cooperating fully” with a federal subpoena for documents relating to how the utility stands to benefit from Ohio’s power plant bailout law. (Ohio Capital Journal)
ELECTRIC VEHICLES:
• General Motors now says it would support vehicle emission limits that other automakers negotiated in California if they can be achieved mostly by promoting electric vehicle sales. (Associated Press)
• Nearly 6,000 hybrid and fully electric vehicles have been registered in Iowa as interest in the electric vehicle transition grows. (WOI-TV)
COAL: A 100-year-old coal plant is closing along Lake Erie in Ohio, giving local officials an opportunity to repurpose the 40-acre site for recreation. (FOX 8)
OIL & GAS: Officials with the natural gas pipeline operator that’s being spun off from DTE Energy say the company is financially stable with long-term contracts in place. (S&P Global)
WIND:
• North Dakota regulators deny a developer’s request to delay the replacement of lights on top of a wind project based on safety concerns. (Prairie Public News)
• A 75-turbine, 250 MW wind project is now operational in western Ohio. (Renewable Energy World)
EFFICIENCY: A western Michigan county adopts a Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) financing program to help businesses finance energy efficiency projects. (FOX 17)
DEVELOPMENT: President Biden’s nominee to oversee numerous tribal programs wants to ensure tribal communities maintain control over energy development. (E&E News, subscription)
COMMENTARY:
• An “all of the above” federal energy policy has propped up outdated and wasteful energy resources while providing only tepid support for renewables, environmental advocates say. (Environmental Working Group)
• North Dakota is “strategically positioned” to lead on carbon capture and storage under Gov. Doug Burgum’s goal for the state to be carbon neutral by 2030, advocates say. (Williston Herald)
• The Line 3 pipeline is a “real test” for the Biden administration’s climate change commitments, says author and activist Bill McKibben. (New Yorker)
• An Illinois editorial board says there’s “no need to rush” new comprehensive state energy legislation after a 2016 package failed to meet its goals. (News-Gazette)