PIPELINES:
• A Michigan agency rejects a request to halt construction of the Rover gas pipeline over environmental and safety concerns in an area of southeast Michigan. (MLive)
• Meanwhile, two U.S. senators from Michigan make a similar request to federal regulators. (MLive)
ALSO:
• New documents raise conflict-of-interest questions about whether the second company hired to study alternatives to Enbridge’s Line 5 pipeline had also done work simultaneously for Enbridge. (DeSmog Blog)
• North Dakota officials continue to explore their options for recouping costs incurred by the Dakota Access pipeline protests. (Forum News Service)
• Criminal charges are dropped against the operator of a drone who captured footage of Dakota Access pipeline security workers. (Bismarck Tribune)
GRID: Retired Minnesota utility executive Will Kaul describes the major changes he saw throughout his four-decade career siting generation and transmission projects while also helping to usher in a wave a renewable energy. (Midwest Energy News)
STORAGE: A new study by the University of Minnesota says adding more storage to the state’s grid would reduce the need for building new natural gas plants and accelerate the development of renewables. (Midwest Energy News)
SOLAR:
• Observers say the number of job opportunities in Wisconsin’s solar sector are growing. (Isthmus)
• Officials in a Minnesota town will take another week to decide whether to subscribe to a community solar project. (Northfield News)
• An organized effort to increase the number of solar installations in Bloomington, Indiana led to nearly 100 new residential projects and more than 1 megawatt of capacity within a few months. (WBIW)
COAL:
• An Ohio State University researcher is helping to reclaim abandon coal mines across the state. (WOSU)
• A public meeting on a proposed coal mine in Ohio brings near-unanimous opposition from residents. (Athens News)
EFFICIENCY: A new study gives Chicago high marks for its commitment to energy efficiency across its building stock. (Patch.com)
OIL AND GAS: To the surprise of industry officials, Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg takes a tour of oil and gas drilling operations in North Dakota. (Forum News Service)
NUCLEAR: A public forum will explore options for the safe decommissioning of a nuclear plant in southwest Michigan. Later this month, federal nuclear regulators will give an assessment of the plant’s performance. (MLive)
COMMENTARY:
• A Republican and former utility employee from Iowa counters recent claims by the Heartland Institute, saying wind energy has bipartisan support in the state and maintains grid reliability and low rates. (Des Moines Register)
• The St. Louis Post-Dispatch says for the developers of the Keystone XL pipeline, the “law of supply and demand has raised its ugly head.”