SOLAR: Solar installation applications to the Omaha Public Power District skyrocketed from 60 in 2020 to 532 in 2021 after the utility changed its net metering policy to allow larger systems. (KETV)
ALSO:
• Evergy plans a 10 MW solar project near a Kansas City coal plant, and half of the project will be available for customer subscriptions. (Missouri Independent)
• State regulators will hold a public hearing in March on a proposed 350 MW solar project near Columbus, Ohio. (PV Magazine)
• Southwestern Michigan county officials delay rezoning land for a commercial solar project following pushback from local residents. (WSBT)
OHIO: The Ohio Office of Consumers’ Counsel wants state regulators to reverse an earlier decision and allow testimony from an outside advisory firm that assisted in a FirstEnergy investigation. (Toledo Blade)
WIND:
• State regulators approve two utilities’ $162 million purchase of a proposed southwestern Wisconsin wind project, the first approved under a 12-year-old state law designed to make the process easier for developers. (Wisconsin State Journal)
• Multiple Michigan townships have adopted restrictive wind zoning regulations citing studies that actually undercut claims made in support of the ordinances. (Checks and Balances Project)
CARBON CAPTURE:
• A government watchdog report finds that federal investments in carbon capture and sequestration technology at coal plants were tainted by major flaws that wasted hundreds of millions of dollars in taxpayer money. (Canary Media)
• Northwestern Iowa county officials join others in the state in asking regulators to deny the use of eminent domain for a pair of carbon dioxide pipeline projects. (Radio Iowa)
OIL & GAS: More than half of U.S. states plan to seek federal infrastructure funding to clean up abandoned oil and gas wells as federal officials report more than twice as many such wells exist than previously thought. (The Hill)
UTILITIES: Illinois business advocates raise concerns about a new $100 million ComEd rate increase that falls mostly on non-residential customers. (Crain’s Detroit Business)
CLIMATE:
• Officials in Carmel, Indiana, have used traffic roundabouts as a climate tool to help reduce tailpipe emissions and gasoline consumption. (E&E News)
• Milwaukee officials say a forthcoming citywide climate and equity plan will address policy gaps identified in a recent report by the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy. (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)
ELECTRIC VEHICLES: GM officially unveiled its electric Silverado truck model this week, signaling increased competition among automakers over electric pickup truck models. (Associated Press)