COAL:
• Vistra will close the Joppa power plant in southern Illinois next year — three years earlier than planned — as part of a settlement with the Sierra Club. (WSIL)
• Local officials that depend on tax revenue from the facility hope for a smooth transition, including for the 115 workers employed by the power plant. (WPSD)
UTILITIES:
• An investment fund seeks to buy a utility in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, but some residents are skeptical that the deal would help reduce its rates, which are some of the highest in the country. (Energy News Network)
• Three major utilities operating in Ohio haven’t paid federal income taxes since federal tax cuts in 2017, according to an analysis. (Ohio Capital Journal)
***SPONSORED LINK: On April 9, join U.S. Sen. Tina Smith and climate leaders for a conversation about how Congress can pass a meaningful climate and infrastructure package that delivers good paying clean energy jobs, and provides the path to 100% clean electricity by 2035. Presented by Fresh Energy.***
PIPELINES:
• Enbridge faces a deadline next month under a state order to shut down the Line 5 pipeline in the Straits of Mackinac, but the company appears unlikely to comply. (Grist)
• Enbridge’s CEO says the tunnel project aligns with President Biden’s broader $2 trillion infrastructure proposal. (Bloomberg)
ELECTRIC VEHICLES: General Motors announces plans to build the electric Chevrolet Silverado, which is expected to get 400 miles of range per charge, at its new Factory ZERO in Detroit. (Detroit Free Press, Associated Press)
SOLAR:
• A Duke Energy subsidiary seeks local tax incentives for a planned 175 MW solar project in western Indiana. (Terre Haute Tribune Star)
• Local officials consider plans for a 1,200-acre solar project in central Ohio. (Springfield News-Sun)
• Negotiations between a developer and local officials have stalled plans for a 49 MW solar project in Ohio. (Bryan Times)
WIND:
• An animal vaccine facility in Missouri signs a power purchase agreement with a 400 MW Kansas wind project. (ReNews)
• Clean energy advocates urge county officials in Missouri to reject proposed wind energy regulations they say would stifle development. (Missouri Times)
***SPONSORED LINK: What does the future hold as the U.S. accelerates its transition to clean energy? Join the Energy News Network on April 22 for a conversation about what’s next for coal country. Register today!***
GRID: Federal regulators seek additional input on potential capacity market rule changes for grid operator PJM. (S&P Global)
COMMENTARY: President Biden’s plan to switch at least one-fifth of the U.S. school bus fleet from diesel to electric models “may seem like a minor idea … but it’s a low-key consequential one,” a Vox writer says.