PIPELINES: Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder and Republican lawmakers scrap plans for an existing authority to oversee a potential tunnel for the Line 5 pipeline and will likely create a new entity for the project. (Detroit Free Press)
ALSO:
• Author and pipeline activist Winona LaDuke is among several applicants seeking an open seat on the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission. (Associated Press)
• The Dakota Access pipeline developer and investors may have lost billions due to the way the company managed social risks in the lead-up to construction, a new report says. (Desmog Blog)
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SOLAR:
• Wisconsin’s largest solar group-buying program is spearheaded by an all-volunteer citizen-led nonprofit in the northern, rural part of the state. (Energy News Network)
• Minnesota’s first major solar-plus-storage project is set to come online this month. (Finance & Commerce)
COAL: U.S. power plants that burned refined “clean coal” underperformed the rest of the industry in reducing nitrogen oxide emissions, an analysis finds. (Reuters)
WIND: A developer challenges an eastern Illinois township’s wind zoning regulations in court. (Champaign News-Gazette)
ELECTRIC VEHICLES:
• Missouri ratepayer advocates say Ameren’s cost recovery proposal for EV charging infrastructure should be tied to meeting adoption goals. (Utility Dive)
• President Trump’s top economic adviser says the White House will end incentives for EV purchases, though it would require an act of Congress. (Bloomberg)
UTILITIES:
• The American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) rejects a Michigan lawmaker’s proposal to endorse electric market competition. (Utility Dive)
• Utility Dive names Xcel Energy “utility of the year” for investing in renewable energy and electric vehicles “while pursuing innovative business models.”
OVERSIGHT:
• The U.S. EPA hosts a public roundtable today with representatives from North Dakota’s coal and oil industries and state officials on improving environmental outcomes. (Bismarck Tribune)
• The Wisconsin Public Service Commission has a change in leadership in the remaining weeks of Gov. Scott Walker’s administration. (Wisconsin State Journal)
POWER PLANTS: Steam released from two power plants in northeastern Nebraska cause an increase in snowfall in the area. (Motherboard)
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GRID: PJM formally integrates the Ohio Valley Electric Corp. as a new transmission zone in the grid operator’s territory. (Platts)
COMMENTARY:
• Winona LaDuke writes after state regulators approve Enbridge’s Line 3 replacement plan: “It’s time for the tribes to stand with our people and protect our water.” (The Circle)
• A Republican state senator from Ohio seeks to reform wind setback restrictions in an effort to boost the state’s advanced energy sector. (Cleveland Plain Dealer)