PIPELINES: A federal judge rules the Dakota Access pipeline must be shut down and emptied of oil by Aug. 5 pending an environmental review. (NPR)
ALSO:
• The U.S. Supreme Court rejects a Trump administration request to allow construction on parts of the Keystone XL pipeline but temporarily revives a permitting program allowing pipelines to cross waterways elsewhere. (New York Times)
• Along with the canceling of the Atlantic Coast Pipeline, the recent pipeline setbacks for the fossil fuel industry were driven by Indigenous and environmental activists. (The New Republic)
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SOLAR:
• Minnesota’s community solar program continues to be a national leader despite recent setbacks related to the pandemic, legislative opposition and other market forces that could have slowed growth. (Energy News Network)
• Construction of one of Wisconsin’s first large-scale solar projects could be delayed up to a year due to pending tariffs on imported solar panels. (Wisconsin State Journal)
• Energy Harbor will pay nearly $66 million to cancel a solar power purchase agreement signed by its predecessor FirstEnergy Solutions. (RTO Insider)
CLEAN ENERGY:
• A Wisconsin utility regulator says the state is poised for a major transition to renewable energy and investments in demand-side resources. (Utility Dive)
• At least one Iowa community pursues solar and energy efficiency investments as a jobs program and to help low-income residents. (Yale Climate Connections)
GRID: Most of the 5.9 gigawatts of generation under construction in grid operator MISO’s service territory is wind and solar. (S&P Global)
WIND:
• A consulting firm and college partner to create a wind turbine technician training program in North Dakota. (Minot Daily News)
• Construction begins on a $300 million, 75-turbine wind project in rural northwestern Ohio. (Columbus Dispatch)
• American Electric Power still plans a $2 billion wind energy investment in Oklahoma despite a recent decision from Texas regulators related to the project. (Columbus Business First)
UTILITIES: Environmental groups push back on Minnesota Power’s request to extend the deadline for filing its long-term energy plan. (Duluth News Tribune)
NUCLEAR: A swarm of newly hatched mayflies causes a southeastern Michigan nuclear plant’s offsite power lines to shut down. (Toledo Blade)
OIL & GAS:
• Declining costs of wind and solar are setting up a new dispute between clean energy advocates and the natural gas industry. (New York Times)
• Berkshire Hathaway agrees to a $9.7 billion investment in Dominion Energy’s natural gas transmission and storage business a year after chairman and CEO Warren Buffett said he mistakenly invested in an oil company. (E&E News, subscription)
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ELECTRIC VEHICLES: Tesla “supercharger” stations are installed in four North Dakota cities, which one EV driver calls “massively transformational.” (Bismarck Tribune)
COMMENTARY: The owner of a northern Michigan ferry service says “we could never withstand the economic hit” of a potential oil pipeline spill in the Straits of Mackinac. (Crain’s Detroit Business)