NUCLEAR: Federal regulators approve a 20-year extension for FirstEnergy to continue operating the Davis-Besse nuclear plant in Ohio. (Toledo Blade)
COAL:
• NRG Energy takes steps to shutter a 510-megawatt coal plant in northern Illinois. (Crain’s Chicago Business)
• Wisconsin advocacy groups assemble this week to call on the state to reduce its reliance on coal. (Isthmus)
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CLEAN POWER PLAN:
• Legislation in Ohio could thwart the state’s attempt at getting a timely compliance proposal to the U.S. EPA. (Midwest Energy News)
• Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder’s administration is moving swiftly on a statewide compliance strategy that seeks input from a diverse group of stakeholders. (Midwest Energy News)
• The EPA’s top lawyer calls for collaboration and optimism around the rules, rather than “completely unfounded” rhetoric and sound bites. (EnergyWire)
• Congressional Republicans introduce legislation that would block the EPA from enforcing the federal rules unless other developed countries made similar efforts to curb emissions. (E&E Daily)
PIPELINE: The developer behind the Dakota Access project wants Iowa regulators to move faster on its permit-approval process. (The Gazette)
RENEWABLES: Local officials in Ann Arbor, Michigan unanimously approve a resolution calling on state lawmakers to increase Michigan’s renewable portfolio standard to 30 percent by 2030. (MLive)
RESEARCH: A Greenpeace investigation shows some researchers are willing to write fossil-fuel industry-friendly papers for a fee. (Inside Higher Ed)
UTILITIES:
• Ohio-based AEP, one of the country’s largest utilities, is leaving the conservative American Legislative Exchange Council to focus its resources on working with states to implement the Clean Power Plan. (Greenwire)
• An Illinois power plant owes more than $2 million in back taxes because it says its property assessment is inaccurate. (Southern Illinoisan)
OIL AND GAS: A Denver-based company says it will return to the Utica shale to resume operations after suspending them in Ohio last year. (Columbus Business First)
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TRANSMISSION: Duke Energy’s Indiana subsidiary announces a seven-year, $1.83 billion statewide plan to upgrade infrastructure for better service and provide customers with better information about their energy use. (Transmission & Distribution World)
COMMENTARY: Minnesota’s rapid push to develop more solar energy “seems like a no-brainer.” (St. Peter Herald)