CARBON CAPTURE: The utility behind a $1 billion carbon capture and storage project planned at a North Dakota coal plant says it is having trouble attracting private investors to the project, which also faces ongoing engineering delays. (S&P Global)

ALSO: A company plans to move forward with a 1,200-mile carbon dioxide pipeline spanning five states with origin points in Illinois, Minnesota, South Dakota, Iowa and Nebraska. (KIWA)

UTILITIES:
• A proposal by an obscure, governor-appointed board to obtain more authority over Nebraska’s public power districts has raised concerns among utilities and environmental groups. (Omaha World-Herald)
• A new report by city staff and advisors lays out a path for Ann Arbor, Michigan, to create a publicly owned renewable energy utility that would supplement customers’ service by DTE Energy. (MLive)
• The Ohio Supreme Court rules that state utility regulators shouldn’t have approved a FirstEnergy affiliate to help consumers shop for electricity as a broker and aggregator. (Cincinnati Enquirer)
• Still dealing with fallout from an Illinois bribery scandal, utility ComEd names Gil Quiniones, who most recently ran New York’s largest state-owned public power organization, as its new CEO. (E&E News)

RENEWABLES: A central Ohio county begins work on local solar and wind energy regulations after a state law took effect this week giving local governments more control over renewable energy siting. (Ohio Capital Journal)

SOLAR: University of Illinois researchers receive a $10 million federal grant to study the potential of “agrivoltaics” projects that pair solar generation with certain crops. (News-Gazette)

PIPELINES:
• Two pipeline companies agreed to pay nearly $9 million to settle allegations that they violated two federal laws related to a 2010 oil spill in a Chicago suburb. (Reuters)
• Business owners in small northern Minnesota towns scale back after a rush in business during construction of the Line 3 pipeline. (MPR News)

TRANSPORTATION: A central Illinois transit agency unveils new buses that are powered by hydrogen and solar power. (WICS)

EFFICIENCY: A western Michigan architecture and engineering firm joins a national challenge by the American Institute of Architects for new developments and major renovations to be carbon neutral by 2030. (MiBiz)

NATURAL GAS: A western Illinois city plans to purchase 110% of its five-year average for natural gas through 2028 as a way to avoid anticipated price spikes. (WGEM)

COMMENTARY: The chairperson of the University of Michigan’s Department of Nuclear Engineering and Radiological Sciences says state officials can and should step in to keep a southwestern Michigan nuclear plant operating. (Bridge Michigan)