RENEWABLES: Environmental activists say a consultant’s presentation to a Michigan climate advisory council dismissed a 100% renewable target and suggested a path that would rely too heavily on carbon capture. (Energy News Network)

ALSO:
• Eligible customers have been notified about opting out of Columbus, Ohio’s renewable energy aggregation program, which would lock in rates for a year while standard rates can fluctuate several times. (Columbus Dispatch)
• Purdue Extension is working with renewable energy and farming advocates on a comprehensive study of local renewable energy regulations and land use policies. (Inside Indiana Business)

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GRID: Environmental groups file a federal lawsuit challenging the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ approval of a 102-mile transmission line connecting Wisconsin and Iowa. (Reuters)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES:
• A Michigan congressman co-sponsors a reintroduced bill calling for tens of billions of federal dollars for electric vehicle infrastructure within five years. (Reuters)
• The United Auto Workers says it has raised concerns with GM and Ford about the ability to represent workers at joint venture battery plants. (Reuters)

FINANCE: Missouri lawmakers advance legislation with broad support that would add more oversight and consumer protections to the state’s Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) financing program. (St. Louis Post-Dispatch)

SOLAR:
• Officials will bring online a 20 MW solar project today whose power will be purchased by the University of Notre Dame. (Inside Indiana Business)
• Nebraska county planners recommend rejecting plans for an 81 MW solar project, which would be the state’s largest, for the Omaha Public Power District. (Omaha World-Herald)

PIPELINES:
• The Biden administration’s decision allowing oil to continue to flow through the Dakota Access pipeline threatens to strain relationships with Indigenous tribes. (E&E News, subscription)
• The Biden administration asks a federal appeals court to close out a dispute over a key permit for the now-suspended Keystone XL pipeline. (E&E News, subscription)

UTILITIES: Federal prosecutors suggest more indictments might be coming in Illinois related to a corruption scandal involving ComEd lobbyists and state lawmakers. (WBEZ)

WIND: Illinois county officials pass a resolution opposing a state bill that would limit local regulations for utility-scale wind projects. (WLDS)

BIOFUELS: Farmers and ethanol producers face new short-term risks as corn prices fluctuate and input costs are likely to increase. (Quartz)

NUCLEAR: Exelon’s CEO says Illinois lawmakers need to act quickly on subsidies for its two nuclear plants and that President Biden’s plan to support U.S. nuclear plants would be too late. (RTO Insider, subscription)

CLEAN ENERGY: A new Indiana law restricts local governments’ ability to prevent the use of fossil fuels or enact other energy-reducing regulations. (Indiana Environmental Reporter)

POLICY: Missouri lawmakers continue closed door negotiations over a complex energy reform bill that includes allowing utilities to refinance debt on coal plants that retire earlier than planned. (Missouri Times)

COMMENTARY: The Missouri Farm Bureau president calls the planned Grain Belt Express an “egregious abuse of eminent domain” and urges state lawmakers to intervene. (Daily Journal)