NOTE TO READERS: Time is running out to take our reader survey. The results are anonymous and will help us better understand our audience. Thank you!

SOLAR: A solar company in Minnesota says it will “likely” take the state’s stalled community solar program to court. (Minneapolis Star Tribune)

ALSO:
One company is leading two projects near Indianapolis totaling 14 megawatts. (PV Magazine)
The Indiana Supreme Court will hear a case involving an advocacy group seeking emails between a state legislator and a utility over a solar bill he sponsored. (Associated Press)

***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.***

STATEWIDE ENERGY PLANS:
• Clean-energy advocates are supportive of a Missouri agency’s plan to turn to more efficiency and hike the state’s renewable standard. (Midwest Energy News)
• 
Officials putting together a comprehensive energy plan for Iowa want to focus attention on reducing demand. (Midwest Energy News)

COAL:
• Former miners in southern Illinois rally against company bankruptcies that would threaten their retiree benefits. (Southern Illinoisan)
Crews work to retrofit a 100-year-old coal and gas plant at the University of Minnesota with a natural-gas turbine that will cut the campus’ emissions 10 to 12 percent. (Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal)
With coal-by-rail shipments declining, BNSF is building a freight “superhighway” between Los Angeles and Chicago for a range of other goods. (Crain’s Chicago Business)

EPA: One of the only groups praising the EPA’s new ozone rule represents investor-owned utilities across the country. (Greenwire)

OIL AND GAS: While the industry’s carbon emissions increased last year, methane emissions from leakage fell for the third consecutive year, EPA data shows. (EnergyWire)

PIPELINES:
• A tribal official in South Dakota tells state regulators that the company looking to build a major pipeline through the state did not consult with the tribe on a “cultural resources survey.” (Rapid City Journal)
Enbridge receives permission from Canada to pipe more tar sands oil along the north shore of Lake Ontario, which first passes through Michigan waterways. (MLive)

NUCLEAR: A former U.S. EPA administrator says nuclear should play a larger role in Ohio’s energy future. (Columbus Business First)

PLANT CLOSURES:
A Wisconsin town looks for relief as a coal plant closure could cause $5 million in annual local economic losses. (Winona Daily News)
• They could get it, as Gov. Scott Walker — prompted by another community’s same concern — signs a bill into law that eases revenue losses. (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)

COMMENTARY:
• Bipartisan federal legislation would help industrial users in Wisconsin through tax credits for more efficient self-generation. (Midwest Energy News)
A message for Iowans: “Corn-based ethanol … is a highly problematic candidate for membership in the renewable energy club.” (Pacific Standard)
In Patriot Coal bankruptcy, former miners’ retirement benefits are “jeopardized thanks to legal and corporate chicanery.” (St. Louis Post-Dispatch)
Shutting down units at Minnesota’s Sherco coal plant is to be lauded for cutting emissions, but what about the costs? (St. Cloud Times)

Andy compiles the Midwest Energy News digest and was a journalism fellow for Midwest Energy News from 2014-2020. He is managing editor of MiBiz in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and was formerly a reporter and editor at City Pulse, Lansing’s alternative newsweekly.

Leave a comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.