OIL AND GAS: A new study explores the risk of potential leaks from natural gas storage wells in Ohio following last year’s Aliso Canyon incident in California. (Midwest Energy News)
ALSO:
• An Ohio budget provision would allow park districts across the state to be included in oil and gas drilling sites, potentially against their will. (Youngstown Vindicator)
• The head of a major brewery in Michigan is one of several people who recount in a new video the 2010 pipeline spill near Kalamazoo. (MLive)
• An Upper Peninsula utility is proposing a $275 million plan for two gas-powered generators to replace an aging coal plant there. (UPMatters.com)
***SPONSORED LINK: Smart Cities Technologies in Wisconsin is taking place on June 6 in Milwaukee. Organized by the Midwest Energy Research Consortium and the City of Milwaukee, this workshop will explore how cities like Milwaukee are adopting Smart Cities Technologies. Register before June 2. ***
COAL: A proposed bill in Ohio would provide a “perpetual subsidy” for two coal plants, guaranteeing income from customers when the market price of electricity is less than the cost to operate the plants. (Columbus Dispatch)
RENEWABLES: South Dakota utility regulators suggest setting separate generation credit rates utilities pay to small power generators for wind and solar. (Watertown Public Opinion)
SOLAR: The policy debate nationwide over incentives and costs for distributed generation owners is growing more complicated and nuanced based on utility proposals. (Utility Dive)
BUDGET:
• The Trump administration’s budget proposal would cut the Interior Department’s funding by 12 percent while shifting the agency’s focus to drilling for fossil fuels on public land. (Washington Post)
• The plan also calls for a $3.1 billion, or 18 percent, reduction for federal energy innovation research programs; a 69 percent cut to the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy; and deep cuts for climate change initiatives. (New York Times, Washington Post, Climate Central)
NUCLEAR: The U.S. Department of Energy is abandoning plans to test sites in South Dakota for storing nuclear waste, citing changes in budget priorities. (Associated Press)
RATES: Based on PJM’s latest capacity auction, ratepayers in northern Illinois are set to see increasing electricity prices for several years to come. (Crain’s Chicago Business)
UTILITIES: Kansas regulators again reject a proposal to merge Great Plains Energy and Westar Energy, though utility officials say they’re exploring other options. (Lawrence Journal-World)
EMISSIONS: The U.S. government files a civil lawsuit accusing Fiat Chrysler of illegally using software to bypass emission controls in 104,000 diesel vehicles sold since 2014. (Reuters)
COMMENTARY: A Wisconsin advocate offers 12 ways to determine whether a new climate change council in Dane County will be effective at mitigating climate impacts. (Madison Capital Times)