COAL: A northern Minnesota utility announces that it will close its last two coal plants by 2035 as it transitions to carbon-free power by 2050. (Star Tribune)
EFFICIENCY: Months after record participation by state and local governments helped pass an ambitious building energy code update, the organization that oversees the process is taking steps that would sideline thousands of public sector members from voting on future updates. (Energy News Network)
PIPELINES:
• Enbridge tells Michigan officials that it has no intention of shutting down Line 5 in the Straits of Mackinac after the state last year announced it would revoke the company’s easement. (Bridge Michigan)
• The organization that hosts a popular ski and trail event in northwestern Wisconsin cuts sponsorship ties with Enbridge after community members scrutinized the relationship. (Star Tribune)
CLIMATE:
• Officials in Des Moines, Iowa, pass a resolution calling for 100% carbon-free electricity community-wide by 2035 and reducing carbon emissions 45% over the next decade. (Radio Iowa)
• Ann Arbor, Michigan, officials anticipate clean energy investments outside of the city in order to meet a community-wide 100% renewable energy target by 2030. (MLive)
OHIO: Consumer advocates say it’s important to fully expose FirstEnergy’s role in a dark money-funded campaign against the city of Cleveland’s public utility. (Cleveland.com)
FRAC SAND: A land conservation group says the U.S. Supreme Court “made the right decision” to uphold a Minnesota county’s ban on frac sand mining. (Winona Daily News)
ELECTRIC VEHICLES:
• General Motors is launching a commercial electric vehicle business and has locked in FedEx as the first customer of a delivery van. (Automotive News, subscription)
• GM also expects significant EV production cost declines in the coming years as it launches new EV models. (Detroit Free Press)
SOLAR:
• Advocacy group Renew Missouri partners with a solar installer to launch a solar group-buying program in the St. Louis area. (Solar Power World)
• Southwestern Indiana officials discuss potential tax incentives for a planned 300 MW solar project. (WEHT)
• Two utilities will soon bring solar projects online to serve customers in southwestern Missouri and southeastern Kansas. (Joplin Globe)
COAL: Michigan regulators approve a refinancing plan for unrecovered investments at a Consumers Energy coal plant that’s set to close in two years, a strategy that’s gaining attention across the country. (E&E News, subscription)
COMMENTARY: The Midwest automotive sector needs to adapt to shifting technology with the growth of electric and autonomous vehicles or risk losing market share to Tesla, writes a former business reporter who now leads a nonprofit. (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)