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)