COAL: A Minnesota utility announces it will shut down two coal-fired units at a power plant on Lake Superior. (Midwest Energy News)
ALSO:
• Higher coal costs lead to a rate increase for a Wisconsin utility. (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)
• A Missouri utility settles lawsuits over a proposed coal ash landfill. (St. Louis Post-Dispatch)
• A deal to sell power to a plastics company will help an Illinois town cut its losses in its contract with the Prairie State Energy Campus. (Chicago Tribune)
***SPONSORED LINK: The Illinois Renewable Energy Conference, July 16 in Normal, Illinois, will feature plenary sessions of interest to all areas of renewable energy, plus specific breakout sessions for wind, solar, biomass, geothermal, and energy efficiency.***
CLEAN POWER PLAN: Indiana Gov. Mike Pence says in a news conference that states should refuse to comply with EPA carbon rules. (Indianapolis Star)
POLITICS: The CEO of a Wisconsin utility had ties to a climate misinformation campaign earlier in his career. (Republic Report)
SOLAR:
• Did Minnesota’s largest utility “divide and conquer” developers in a recent community solar dispute? (Utility Dive)
• Incentives are helping solar power grow in Iowa. (Des Moines Register)
OIL AND GAS:
• A coalition of union groups opposes a North Dakota pipeline proposed by a company with a questionable safety record. (Bismarck Tribune)
• Opponents submit more than 2,600 comments against a proposed crude oil pipeline in Iowa. (Associated Press)
• The drilling downturn prompts an Ohio company to cut 80 jobs. (Columbus Business First)
• A trucking company could pay fines up to $950,000 for dumping violations in North Dakota. (Grand Forks Herald)
***SPONSORED LINK: Energy Transition Lab’s Energy Storage Summit, July 15 in Minneapolis, will bring together industry, academia and public leaders to develop a shared vision for energy storage in Minnesota. Registration is free and open to the public but space is limited.***
TRANSPORTATION: Iowa’s DOT director acknowledges that the road system “is going to shrink.” (CityLab)
COMMENTARY:
• FirstEnergy is “clinging to the past.” (Akron Beacon Journal)
• The Prairie State coal plant’s plea for a pass from EPA carbon rules is “transparently deceptive.” (Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis)