ELECTRIC VEHICLES: A new report says the grid could handle a spike in demand with rising EV ownership, though it would take utility planning and progressive rate designs. (Midwest Energy News)
REGULATION: For the second time in the past year, Michigan’s Republican governor and attorney general are at odds over pursuing legal challenges against federal pollution rules for U.S. power plants. (Midwest Energy News)
***SPONSORED LINK: Now Open: Midwest Energy News 40 Under 40 award program seeks young leaders working to transition Midwest to clean energy. Make your nomination today! ***
NUCLEAR:
• A new report says nuclear plants in Minnesota and Michigan may be at risk for early closure. (Utility Dive / SNL)
• Officials conduct an emergency drill at a Minnesota nuclear plant. (KSTP)
SOLAR:
• Dow Chemical Co. will stop manufacturing its solar roofing shingles at a plant in eastern Michigan as the company restructures. (MLive)
• The municipal utility in Marquette, Michigan begins planning for a community solar project in the Upper Peninsula community. (WLUC-TV)
OIL AND GAS:
• With slumping oil prices, North Dakota’s economy is back to the level it was before the boom. (Associated Press)
• A Texas-based company buys an unprofitable oil refinery in southwestern North Dakota. (Associated Press)
RENEWABLES: Michigan’s two major utilities rank in the middle of the pack nationally on supplying renewable energy, according to a new report. (Crain’s Detroit Business)
COAL: A public meeting gets heated among residents over an Illinois coal company’s request to expand in a southern portion of the state. (WSIL-TV)
TRANSPORTATION: Federal fuel economy standards are not meeting emission-reduction goals across the U.S. vehicle fleet. (ClimateWire)
RATES: Thirty clean energy groups send a letter to national utility regulators calling for a uniform, “holistic” approach to rate design. (Utility Dive)
POLITICS: U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown of Ohio is leading a bipartisan group of lawmakers in pushing for a vote on a coal-mine worker pension bill. (Roll Call)
VOLKSWAGEN SCANDAL: Midwest states including Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Michigan and Iowa will receive settlements ranging in the tens of millions of dollars from the Volkswagen emissions-cheating scandal. (Associated Press, Cleveland Plain Dealer, Michigan Radio, Radio Iowa)
OHIO: Developers receive historic tax credits to redevelop a 112-year-old generating station in Columbus. (Columbus Business First)
COMMENTARY: Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette continues his four-year crusade against federal mercury rules in order to “protect corporate profits.” (Eclectablog)