WIND: As prices continue to fall, Xcel Energy issues bill credits to customers who volunteered to pay extra to support wind energy. (Energy News Network)
ALSO:
• Federal regulators allow a developer more time to show to grid operator MISO that it has secured enough land for a proposed 600 MW wind project in Wisconsin. (RTO Insider)
• The Port of Duluth-Superior is on pace this year to set another record for wind turbine cargo shipments. (Star Tribune)
RENEWABLE GAS: Minnesota regulators approve CenterPoint Energy’s plan to create a statewide supply system that would link renewable natural gas producers with a distribution network. (Star Tribune)
UTILITIES: FirstEnergy tells federal regulators that the recent firing of top executives was tied to a $4 million payment to terminate a consulting contract with a firm apparently linked to PUCO Chairman Sam Randazzo. (Akron Beacon Journal)
ELECTRIC VEHICLES: General Motors plans to bring 30 new all-electric vehicle models to market by 2025. (Detroit Free Press)
POLICY: An Indiana task force releases a report on the state’s energy future that supports the role of renewable energy but also says fossil fuels are needed to ensure reliability. (Indianapolis Star)
COAL: Three companies will pay $370,000 to settle a lawsuit brought by Illinois after the botched demolition of a former coal plant released a dust plume in Chicago’s Little Village earlier this year. (Chicago Sun-Times)
SOLAR:
• Dane County, Wisconsin officials approve plans to lease public property to Alliant Energy for a 16.5 MW solar project, allowing the county to offset all of its operational electricity use with renewables. (Wisconsin State Journal)
• Local utility officials in Grand Rapids, Minnesota, approve plans for a 2 MW solar array equipped with 1 MW of battery storage. (Duluth News Tribune)
• One of the first community solar projects under Illinois’ Future Energy Jobs Act comes online. (Solar Industry)
POLITICS: Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker says House Speaker Michael Madigan should be more forthcoming about his alleged role in a bribery scandal involving ComEd, or step down from his position. (Chicago Sun-Times)
RENEWABLES: A former county commissioner from western Indiana who leads a clean energy advocacy group now travels the state touting the benefits of renewable energy projects for rural farmers. (Current)