NUCLEAR: The proposed agreement between Entergy and Consumers Energy to close down the Palisades nuclear plant in southwest Michigan early is a vastly different approach than that taken by Exelon in Illinois. (Midwest Energy News)
ALSO:
• An Ohio utility says it would welcome support from the federal government for its Davis-Besse nuclear plant, following reports of the Trump administration’s interest in preventing more premature closures. (Toledo Blade, Bloomberg)
• A drilling project to study the potential for storing nuclear waste in South Dakota sparks concern from local residents. (Rapid City Journal)
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SOLAR: Ohio state Sen. Bill Seitz, who is leading the Republican charge against clean energy standards there, “revealed he, of all people, is getting solar panels at his house.” (Columbus Dispatch)
CARBON CAPTURE: A new report by the Great Plains Institute advocates a legislative path forward that greater incentivizes using captured carbon dioxide in enhanced oil recovery. (Midwest Energy News)
POLICY:
• Clean energy advocates in Ohio are hoping Gov. John Kasich vetoes a plan passed by lawmakers last week that would make the state’s clean energy standards voluntary for the next two years. (Midwest Energy News)
• In the remaining days of the legislative session, Michigan lawmakers are looking for a deal on comprehensive energy bills. (Associated Press)
WIND: University of Illinois officials announce a 10-year deal to get energy from the state’s largest wind project, significantly boosting renewable energy use on campus. (Champaign News-Gazette)
CLIMATE:
• Scientists report that atmospheric levels of methane are spiking. (Washington Post)
• A Trump transition team memo to the Department of Energy alarms agency employees as it seeks the names of people who have worked on various climate change-related issues. (Reuters)
OIL AND GAS:
• A new state study in Ohio shows oil production is down and gas production is up from the third quarter of last year. (Columbus Dispatch)
• Northeast Ohio residents looking to have a proposed natural gas pipeline rerouted are vowing to delay the project. (Associated Press)
• Advocates fight plans for hydraulic fracturing on national forest land in Ohio. (Columbus Dispatch)
COAL: Determining whether Missouri’s largest coal plant is in compliance with the federal sulfur dioxide emissions standard has been a drawn-out process, but officials hope to have answers in the coming years. (St. Louis Post-Dispatch)
UTILITIES: Akron, Ohio-based FirstEnergy has plans to sell four natural gas plants in Pennsylvania for $885 million, and they buyer would assume $335 million in debt. (Pittsburgh Tribune-Review)
WASTE-TO-ENERGY: A Nebraska resident displaced by hydrogen sulfide gas tied to a local waste-to-energy facility says city officials told him he could move back home before determining whether gas levels were below state-mandated levels. (Sioux City Journal)
PIPELINES:
• Veterans’ joining Dakota Access pipeline protesters “speaks to the power they may have on public opinion.” (Reuters)
• The crowd of protesters at Standing Rock is beginning to thin out. (Associated Press)
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CLEAN TECH: Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates and others announce plans for a $1 billion fund for clean energy research. (Mashable)
COMMENTARY:
• A four-month extension protecting health and pension benefits for retired coal miners “won’t get the job done when the miners were promised so much more.” (Southern Illinoisan)
• The public relations disaster that is the Dakota Access pipeline. (Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis)
• What was the rush that made an Illinois energy bill a priority over the state budget? (Belleville News-Democrat)