SOLAR: A dispute over Ameren’s net metering program has left downstate Illinois solar installers and their customers with uncertainty over the financing of projects. (Energy News Network)
ALSO:
• A Michigan school district completes two solar installations that will reduce its utility costs while sending excess power to the grid. (Ludington Daily News)
• Solar is now the focus of a Wisconsin technical college’s renewable energy program after interest wanes in biofuels and wind energy. (Daily Jefferson County Union)
• The largest solar covered parking canopy at a Midwestern airport has been operating for two months in southern Indiana. (Evansville Courier & Press)
• A recent study ranks Illinois, Michigan and Ohio among the top 10 in potential for siting solar projects along interstate highways. (PV Magazine)
***SPONSORED LINK: The University of Minnesota Law, Policy, and Business Conference on Equity and Electrification of Transportation, Friday, October 23, from 10 am – 2:30 pm, will discuss broader reforms to our transportation systems through the lens of law, policy, and business. Register here. ***
EFFICIENCY: Ohio utility energy efficiency programs that have cut electric use and provided customers rebates on efficient appliances ended on Sept. 30 under the controversial HB 6. (Columbus Dispatch)
CARBON CAPTURE: A North Dakota ethanol plant becomes the third facility in the state to drill a test well for potentially storing its carbon emissions. (Bismarck Tribune)
ELECTRIC VEHICLES:
• The U.S. Energy Department awards $7 million to a Michigan cybersecurity company and others to deploy infrastructure that protects the electric grid from cyber attacks while electric vehicles are charging. (Detroit News)
• A federal agency is investigating complaints that the Chevrolet Bolt electric vehicle can catch fire. (Associated Press)
STORAGE: Developers see an increasing role for pumped hydroelectric storage as more renewables come online, though projects remain difficult to site and come with environmental challenges. (Utility Dive)
POLITICS: The Trump campaign has failed to make hydraulic fracturing a dominant issue in swing states as Joe Biden repeatedly says he would not work to ban the practice. (New York Times)
COMMENTARY:
• An editorial board says Ohio voters and ratepayers deserve better from state lawmakers who continue to stall on repealing the state’s power plant bailout law despite strong public opposition to HB 6. (Cleveland.com)
• A Cleveland pastor says thousands Christian conservatives are “calling for significant change in Ohio energy policy” that favors renewables. (Cleveland.com)
• An Illinois environmental advocate says state lawmakers should pass the Clean Energy Jobs Act “if they are serious about taking care of workers and securing a future for us.” (Daily Herald)