SOLAR:
• A growing backlog of applications to connect solar projects to Xcel Energy’s grid in Minnesota is prompting calls for further reforms to the utility’s interconnection process. (Energy News Network)
• Samsung plans to lease 800 acres for a utility-scale solar project in Ohio that could be among the first affected by a new state law giving local officials and residents power to block renewable energy projects. (WKSU)
• Ohio regulators approve three utility-scale solar projects totaling more than 500 MW of capacity. (Toledo Blade)
• A pair of advocates riding solar-powered bicycles on a cross-country trip stop in Iowa to promote clean energy and sustainability. (KWWL)
MICROGRIDS: City officials in Cleveland agree to move forward with plans to create one or more microgrid districts to promote grid stability for companies that constantly rely on power. (Cleveland.com)
PIPELINES:
• “Enbridge screwed up our lake.” Tribal members say a contractor for the company’s Line 3 project pumped water directly from a northern Minnesota lake amid a major drought. (The Guardian)
• Enbridge tells Minnesota regulators that it will be increasingly difficult to find insurance for Line 3 as companies limit coverage of oil and pipeline projects. (Star Tribune)
• A Minnesota state agency will no longer be a defendant in a case challenging a permit it issued for the Line 3 pipeline because the agency is protected from being sued in tribal court. (E&E News, subscription)
OIL & GAS:
• North Dakota falls to third among U.S. states for oil production, though state officials are optimistic about a burgeoning carbon storage industry. (Bismarck Tribune)
• Minnesota officials seek to use settlement funding from the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill for loon conservation in an eight-county area. (Detroit Lakes Tribune)
ELECTRIC VEHICLES: Analysts say electric vehicle startup Rivian’s status as the first to market with an electric pickup truck is “a big deal.” (E&E News, subscription)
POWER PLANTS: Nearly two decades after it was first proposed, a $1.1 billion natural gas plant in southwestern Michigan is nearing completion. (South Bend Tribune)
CLIMATE: Officials in an Iowa county pass a resolution to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 90% by 2040. (Des Moines Register)
UTILITIES: Voters in an Iowa city overwhelmingly approve the sale of their municipally owned utility, and half of the proceeds would go back to customers as rebates. (The Courier)
CLEAN ENERGY: Nearly $170,000 in federal grants will help Ohio agriculture producers and small businesses install renewable energy projects. (WTOL)