PIPELINES: Enbridge forecasts the Line 3 pipeline replacement project will cost nearly $1 billion more than planned based on regulatory delays, winter construction and COVID-19 protocols. (S&P Global)
ALSO:
• Two federal attorneys representing the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers withdraw from an ongoing case involving the Dakota Access pipeline. (Reuters)
• Investigations continue into the clash more than four years ago between law enforcement and Dakota Access pipeline activists. (Associated Press)
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WIND: Developers are seeking property leases with landowners for a planned 360 MW wind project in northern Ohio. (Bucyrus Telegraph Forum)
ELECTRIC VEHICLES:
• General Motors unveils two new, lower cost electric vehicle models that seek to appeal to more drivers. (Detroit News)
• St. Louis adopts a series of regulations requiring electric vehicle readiness and charging infrastructure on certain new construction and rehabilitation projects. (KSDK)
BIOFUELS: A proposal by Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds to require almost all gasoline sold to contain at least 10% ethanol raises concerns about consumer choice and added cost. (Cedar Rapids Gazette)
UTILITIES: Evergy is among Midwest utilities asking natural gas customers to conserve energy as supplies are constrained during cold weather in the Southwest Power Pool territory. (Kansas City Star)
RENEWABLES:
• Proposed legislation in Indiana would prohibit local governments from adopting stricter wind and solar regulators than statewide guidelines. (WFYI)
• A University of Wisconsin campus says it’s the first school campus in the state to achieve a 100% renewable energy portfolio. (WAOW)
OHIO: The Cleveland City Council issues two more subpoenas seeking information about nonprofits that were allegedly used to undermine the city’s utility. (Cleveland Scene)
POLICY: Minnesota legislative leaders say bipartisan agreement on a more aggressive emission-reduction plan is unlikely. (RTO Insider)
FINANCE: A northern Illinois county opts into the state’s property assessed clean energy (PACE) financing program to help facilitate private clean energy investments. (Rockford Register Star)
SOLAR:
• A University of Wisconsin campus plans to build a 2.4 MW solar project that’s expected to reduce energy costs by 17%. (Wisconsin State Farmer)
• Developers are set to provide more public information for a planned 100 MW solar project in central Ohio. (Marion Star)
• Ann Arbor, Michigan, officials discuss the growing role solar will play as part of the city’s carbon neutrality goal. (Michigan Daily)
GRID: Smart thermostats are key to Dayton Power & Light’s plan to modernize its electric grid, clean energy advocates say. (Dayton Daily News)
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OIL & GAS:
• The CEO of South Dakota-based Black Hills Corp. says he is undeterred by climate advocates pushing for natural gas bans in some areas of the country. (Natural Gas Intelligence)
• North Dakota’s oil production dipped slightly in December while officials say uncertainty remains with the pandemic and Biden administration policies. (Minot Daily News)
COMMENTARY:
• Ohio lawmakers should prioritize rewriting the state’s scandal-tainted power plant subsidy law and expel the former House Speaker at the center of the controversy, an editorial board writes. (Akron Beacon Journal)
• A planned Iowa solar project will “generate a lot of needed electricity without putting any pollution or greenhouse gases into the atmosphere,” an editorial board writes. (Fort Dodge Messenger)
• A Minnesota farmer says mandating electric vehicles would be detrimental to the state’s agriculture sector, which is a key ethanol producer. (Mankato Free Press)
• Consumers Energy is limiting itself by seeking to procure specific, existing natural gas capacity when it could explore more clean energy options, an analyst says. (Union of Concerned Scientists)