PIPELINES: “This is just the beginning,” says Indigenous activist Winona LaDuke as roughly 200 protesters are arrested while attempting to stop construction of the Line 3 pipeline in northern Minnesota. (Inside Climate News)
ALSO:
• The Department of Homeland Security used low-flying helicopters that sprayed dust and debris in an attempt to disperse Line 3 protesters. (The Intercept)
• In Michigan, Line 5 pipeline opponents launch a six-figure TV and radio advertising campaign calling for the permanent closure of the pipeline in the Straits of Mackinac. (Detroit News)
• Line 3 and Line 5 protests show that pipelines have emerged as a major political challenge for the Biden administration. (E&E News, subscription)
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SOLAR:
• First Solar announces plans for a new $680 million solar manufacturing plant in northern Ohio, which will be among the largest integrated solar manufacturing complexes in the world. (CNN)
• Board members of a municipally owned utility in northern Michigan approve contracts to purchase power from two solar projects that will push the utility’s renewable energy portfolio beyond 40%. (Traverse City Ticker)
POLICY:
• Illinois lawmakers plan to return to session next week and will likely vote on a “landmark clean energy plan,” though details had not been released. (Chicago Sun-Times)
• An Illinois lawmaker says there may be enough votes in the state Senate to save two Exelon nuclear plants from closing. (WCSJ)
OHIO:
• Utility AEP receives a subpoena from federal authorities for documents related to subsidies from the state’s power plant bailout law. (Associated Press)
• State lawmakers advance a resolution to remove former House Speaker Larry Householder from office over his alleged role in the power plant bailout scandal. (The Vindicator)
BUILDINGS: A new working group in Chicago aims to equitably reduce building emissions to meet the city’s climate change goals. (Smart Cities Dive)
GRID: North Dakota officials discuss ways to preserve the state’s fossil fuel industries to maintain grid reliability while also adapting to environmental pressures from the public. (Grand Forks Herald)
ELECTRIC VEHICLES:
• Madison, Wisconsin deploys what is believed to be the first electric fire truck in North America. (Wisconsin State Journal)
• A community in metro Kansas City offers free electric vehicle charging from stations powered by solar panels. (KCTV)
• Electric vehicle startup Lordstown Motors tells federal regulators that its financial problems may limit its ability to produce electric trucks at an Ohio facility. (Reuters)
COAL:
• Environmental activists celebrate the formal retirement of a southern Indiana coal plant that was long the source of local air pollution. (Spectrum News)
• Local officials discuss the possibility of grant funding to demolish and repurpose a former coal plant site in northern Indiana. (Pharos Tribune)
UTILITIES: Consumers Energy plans to sell a bank subsidiary for $960 million, which will allow the utility to focus on its core energy business and provide funding for its clean energy plan. (MiBiz)
COMMENTARY:
• Conservative lawmakers in Wisconsin should embrace policies that drive growth in the state’s electric vehicle market, which would benefit the state economically, a conservate clean energy advocate says. (Energy News Network)
• An Iowa climate advocate says it’s time for lawmakers to get serious about climate change policies following a new report by the International Energy Agency that underscores the global threat. (Des Moines Register)