CLEAN ENERGY: About 4 in 5 U.S. coal plants are either scheduled to close by 2025 or now cost more to operate than new nearby wind and solar would, according to a new analysis. (Energy News Network)

ALSO: Vice President Kamala Harris tours the University of Wisconsin’s clean energy research labs during a visit to Milwaukee. (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)

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OIL & GAS: Pollution from natural gas is now responsible for more deaths and health costs in Illinois than coal, according to a new Harvard University study. (Chicago Tribune)

POLITICS:
• Minnesota Republicans threaten to shut down much of the state’s environmental program funding if Gov. Tim Walz’s administration doesn’t drop plans for transportation emission standards. (Star Tribune)
• The lone Democratic cosponsor of Ohio’s scandal-tainted power plant bailout law announces her bid to become Cleveland’s first Black woman mayor. (Associated Press)

SOLAR:
• Environmental groups call major Michigan utilities’ support for expanding access to rooftop solar programs a “smokescreen” after the companies have repeatedly opposed doing so. (MLive)
• Major solar projects are being planned at Midwestern sites with large centralized power plants that have closed or are planned to and have key interconnections to the grid. (E&E News, subscription)

BIOFUELS: The U.S. biofuels industry seeks direct support under the Biden administration’s infrastructure plan in order to compete with electric vehicles. (Politico)

NUCLEAR:
• The White House is reportedly considering production tax credits to keep existing nuclear plants from closing and help meet emission-reduction goals. (Reuters)
• Phased workforce reductions continue as part of the ongoing decommissioning of Iowa’s only nuclear plant. (KWWL)

WIND:
• About half of the University of Michigan’s purchased electricity is planned to come from renewable energy, including three new in-state wind projects. (MLive)
• Marathon signs an agreement to install 11.5 MW of wind capacity at a North Dakota renewable diesel plant. (BIC Magazine)

COAL: Peabody Energy hires a new CEO who has more than three decades of experience in the mining and fossil fuel industries. (E&E News, subscription)

EFFICIENCY: An Indiana manufacturing facility aims to save tens of thousands of dollars after switching to LED lighting. (Times of Northwest Indiana)

COMMENTARY:
• A Missouri county could be a statewide leader for wind development if local officials back off proposed restrictive siting regulations, says a municipal utility board member. (Missourian)
• Fuel efficiency standards for medium and heavy-duty trucks would help reduce emissions and “jumpstart our economy when we need it most,” says a Wisconsin-based CEO working on vehicle electrification. (MinnPost)
• A new report offers “comprehensive and affordable policies” to support coal workers and their families and communities as the Midwest and country transitions to clean energy. (Union of Concerned Scientists)

Andy compiles the Midwest Energy News digest and was a journalism fellow for Midwest Energy News from 2014-2020. He is managing editor of MiBiz in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and was formerly a reporter and editor at City Pulse, Lansing’s alternative newsweekly.