GRID: A Missouri appeals court rules in favor of the Grain Belt Express transmission project, bringing it another step closer to construction. (St. Louis Post-Dispatch)
ELECTRIC VEHICLES:
• Dutch electric vehicle charging manufacturer EVBox moves forward with establishing its first North American headquarters near Chicago. (Energy News Network)
• Commercial electric delivery vehicles gain increasing attention from major automakers hoping to gain market share as corporate demand grows. (MiBiz)
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UTILITIES:
• Major utilities including DTE Energy have used charitable donations to boost support from local groups on issues involving rooftop solar and utility-owned renewable energy. (HuffPost)
• Regulators in multiple Midwest states have rejected utility requests to recover pandemic-related revenue losses from customers, though longer term changes may be in store. (Utility Dive)
PIPELINES:
• A federal judge declines to reverse his decision ordering the Dakota Access pipeline to be shut down. (The Hill)
• Climate activists sense a turning point as three major pipeline projects are either stalled or cancelled, and environmental and Indigenous groups mount increasingly sophisticated legal attacks. (InsideClimate News, New York Times)
• Activists hope recent victories against major pipeline projects will carry momentum into Michigan as they seek to remove Line 5 from the Straits of Mackinac. (Michigan Advance)
WIND: A proposal to give Iowa officials more authority in siting wind projects may create uncertainty in a state where the sector has flourished. (E&E News, subscription)
RENEWABLES:
• A plan for community choice energy aggregation moves forward in Columbus, Ohio, which will help the city meet its 100% renewable energy goal. (Columbus Dispatch)
• A University of Minnesota campus reaches its net zero carbon emission goal through on-site wind and solar projects and power purchase agreements. (MPR News)
• Developers plan to build 1 MW of solar to accompany 9 MW of nearby hydroelectric power for a major mixed-use project in St. Paul, Minnesota. (Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal)
EFFICIENCY: Updated energy efficient building codes in St. Louis cause a political divide between environmental and homebuilders’ groups. (St. Louis Post-Dispatch)
SOLAR:
• Unlike others facing steep job losses in the clean energy sector, Minnesota’s solar industry appears to be rebounding from the pandemic with the construction of new projects. (Finance & Commerce)
• A 16 MW solar project on former farmland in northern Indiana also includes 70 different vegetation species to promote pollinator habitats, a growing trend across the state and nationally. (Indiana Environmental Reporter, Indianapolis Star)
• Developers propose a 200 MW solar project in southern Ohio. (Chillicothe Gazette)
NUCLEAR: A federal tribunal rejects activists’ attempt to reopen negotiations over a southeastern Michigan nuclear plant’s license extension. (Toledo Blade)
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OIL & GAS: North Dakota regulators reject a proposal to impose mandatory production cuts on the oil industry. (Bismarck Tribune)
COMMENTARY: Consumer advocates say Michigan continues to lag other states on electric reliability, which could be addressed with financial penalties if improvements aren’t made. (Energy News Network)