ELECTRIC VEHICLES: Five Midwestern governors form a compact to jointly develop electric vehicle charging infrastructure that supporters hope will help attract private funding and federal investments. (NPR)
ALSO:
• Struggling electric vehicle startup Lordstown Motors plans to sell its sprawling Ohio manufacturing facility to global electronics maker Foxconn, which has been seeking an entry into the electric vehicle market. (Associated Press)
• A coalition is making a sales pitch this week to northern Minnesota residents about the benefits of purchasing an electric vehicle. (MPR News)
RENEWABLES: General Motors plans to have its U.S. facilities run on renewable energy by 2025, five years ahead of its original goal. (Reuters)
COAL: Operators of a southern Illinois coal mine pumped toxic foam laden with PFAS underground in an unsuccessful attempt to extinguish a fire that idled production last month. (Chicago Tribune)
SOLAR: Today is the final day for public comments on ongoing delays by Xcel Energy in connecting customers’ solar panels to its distribution grid. (FOX 9)
UTILITIES:
• Major utilities’ positions on the clean energy plan in Democrats’ $3.5 trillion federal budget bill have varied based on location, state politics, and their ability to make clean energy investments. (Inside Climate News)
• Ohio regulators ask an independent auditor to examine whether FirstEnergy used customer money to pay for naming rights of a Cleveland stadium. (Associated Press)
• Missouri regulators will begin taking public comment next week on Ameren’s proposed $300 million rate increase to pay for grid and renewable energy investments. (St. Louis Public Radio)
GRID: Wind and nuclear power will more easily compete with other power sources in grid operator PJM’s next capacity auction after federal regulators deadlocked on a plan to alter PJM’s minimum offer price rule. (Utility Dive)
WIND:
• An Iowa wind turbine blade manufacturer could lay off nearly 800 workers by December without new orders. (WHO-TV)
• Developers install a radar-activated aircraft detection lighting system at a 150 MW wind project in North Dakota that’s meant to cut down on nighttime light pollution. (news release)
• State regulators approve Xcel Energy’s plan to repower a 100 MW wind project in Minnesota. (FOX 47)
COMMENTARY:
• An Indigenous protester describes her experience with Minnesota police before being hospitalized and jailed for protesting Line 3 pipeline construction. (Vogue)
• Asset management companies that make large investments in American Electric Power won’t say whether they support the utility’s lobbying against the Biden administration’s key clean energy and climate proposal, a watchdog group says. (Energy and Policy Institute)