COAL: Kansas City utility Evergy could save ratepayers money by retiring two more coal plants within the next decade and replacing them with a mix of solar, wind, storage, and efficiency, according to a new Sierra Club report. (Kansas Reflector)
HYDROGEN: Xcel Energy CEO Bob Frenzel tells investors that the utility is considering up to eight hydrogen projects that could get a boost from a tax credit included in the federal budget reconciliation bill. (Star Tribune)
ELECTRIC VEHICLES: Eleven Republican governors urge Congress to reject an infrastructure bill provision that would give a $4,500 incentive for buying a union-made electric vehicle. (Detroit Free Press)
SOLAR:
• A northwestern Michigan electric cooperative says its members will benefit from a new contract with a planned 150 MW in-state solar project. (Traverse City Ticker)
• A developer expects to complete construction by the end of the year on a 50-acre solar project in central Wisconsin. (WAOW)
• County commissioners in western Ohio vote unanimously to oppose a planned 175 MW solar project, though state regulators will ultimately decide its fate. (Dayton Daily News)
• CenterPoint Energy receives state regulatory approval to acquire a 300 MW solar project in southwestern Indiana in 2023. (Inside Indiana Business)
• We Energies is leasing property from a Wisconsin manufacturer for a 2.25 MW solar project that’s part of the utility’s Solar Now program. (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)
OIL & GAS:
• Leak repairs by large U.S. gas utilities dropped 6.6% in 2020 from the prior year as leak detection technology improves and pipelines are repaired or replaced earlier. (S&P Global)
• Canadian oil producers should benefit from reversing the flow of a pipeline between central Illinois and the Gulf Coast that will likely drive up prices for the crude oil they sell into the U.S. (Financial Post)
• Local officials in Missouri will ask voters for permission to sell the city’s natural gas utility to Spire for $620,000. (Joplin Globe)
CLIMATE:
• Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker will travel to the U.K. next week to showcase the state’s clean energy policies during the United Nations’ climate change conference. (Associated Press)
• A southwestern Michigan high school teacher is in the midst of a weeklong hunger strike in an effort to bring attention to the climate crisis. (MLive)
BIOFUELS: Biofuel incentives are driving up demand for soybeans and other oil seeds, pushing up prices while squeezing supplies. (NPR)
COMMENTARY:
• A Minnesota editorial board says the “market is speaking” and demand for electric vehicles will continue to increase. (Mankato Free Press)
• Some customers are unknowingly helping to fund their electric utility’s membership dues for trade groups that have opposed action on climate change, a solar advocate writes. (Canary Media)