MICROGRID: Engineers are developing a microgrid system to power a Minnesota winery on wind and solar. (Midwest Energy News)
OIL BY RAIL: Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton asks state regulators to swiftly inspect rails where increased amounts of oil are traveling from North Dakota. (Associated Press)
***SPONSORED LINK: Want a green energy job with a good salary? Acquire specialized training in economics and statistics through the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s unique, 10-month, professional master’s program in Resource and Energy Demand Analysis. Starting summer 2016.***
CLEAN POWER PLAN: “Well, it’s finally here.” The final rule is published, triggering what will be a flurry of legal challenges. (Greenwire)
SECURITY:
• Top-level federal regulators meet publicly and privately to discuss the latest threats to U.S. nuclear plants and its high-voltage transmission system. (EnergyWire)
• An attempted cyber attack on FirstEnergy this week highlights the need for better communication within the industry on data sharing, an executive tells lawmakers. (EnergyWire)
PIPELINE:
• An Iowa judge dismisses landowners’ lawsuit against the proposed Bakken project using eminent domain to access their property. (Sioux City Journal)
• Meanwhile, an Iowa county board of supervisors votes unanimously to oppose the project. (WHO-TV)
EFFICIENCY: Missouri regulators vote against continuing a utility’s popular efficiency rebate program, saying they want a better measurement of energy savings. (St. Louis Post-Dispatch)
BIOMASS: A New York-based company is eyeing a northern Minnesota town to build a $70 million biomass processing facility. (Duluth News Tribune)
OIL AND GAS:
• Wisconsin regulators approve We Energies’ spending $47.6 million to replace an aging natural gas pipeline. (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)
• Construction starts on a new $500 million natural gas plant near Cincinnati. (Cincinnati Business Courier)
• An Ohio legislative report finds the state’s oil and gas severance taxes are lower than other states, but there is no rush to increase it due to market volatility. (Columbus Dispatch)
• We Energies projects this winter’s heating costs will be the lowest in 14 years. (Racine Journal Times)
• A new federal study says earthquakes may have been linked to oil production in Oklahoma as early as the 1930s. (Reuters)
OHIO:
• Columbus-based utility AEP — which is seeking long-term power purchase agreements from regulators — posts quarterly profits of $519 million, up $26 million from the prior year. (Columbus Dispatch)
• AEP’s CEO tells analysts that three years won’t be long enough for a power-purchase agreement the utility is seeking for its struggling coal plants. (Columbus Business First)
• AEP’s CEO also says that if the power-purchase plan is rejected by state regulators, there may still be interested buyers if the utility sells its struggling coal plants. (Columbus Business First)
***SPONSORED LINK: Hear top executives from the area’s RTOs, utilities, transmission developers, and state regulatory agencies discuss and debate critical issues at EUCI’s Transmission Expansion in the Midwest conference November 9-10 in Indianapolis.***
TRANSMISSION: A major project through central Illinois is part of a larger plan to enhance the region’s power grid. (Decatur Herald & Review)
COMMENTARY: The presidential campaign is an opportunity for Midwest voters and businesses to promote clean energy policies on a national stage. (Midwest Energy News)
CORRECTION: An item in yesterday’s digest incorrectly identified the governor of Minnesota. It is Mark Dayton.