SOLAR: Solar energy is taking off in Minnesota, including in metro suburbs, with 1,000 projects installed last year bringing the state’s total to roughly 7,500. (Star Tribune)
ALSO:
• The city council in Iowa City rejects a proposed lease agreement for a MidAmerican Energy solar project due to residents’ conservation concerns. (Daily Iowan)
• University of Wisconsin students prepare to compete in a national solar design competition. (Wisconsin Public Radio)
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POWER PLANTS: Developers of a planned 625 MW natural gas plant in Superior, Wisconsin, propose cooling the plant with air in response to concerns over potential water usage. (Superior Telegram)
PIPELINES: Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel says it’s crucial to improve the reliability of propane supplies in the Upper Peninsula with alternatives to the Line 5 pipeline. (WLUC)
ELECTRIC VEHICLES:
• Electric truck startup Rivian delays the launch of two models as the coronavirus causes a production slowdown at the company’s Illinois plant. (Chicago Tribune)
• An Ohio-based electric vehicle startup receives a letter of intent from a Florida company seeking to order 1,000 electric trucks. (WKYC)
BIOFUELS:
• South Dakota ethanol producers and the farmers who provide them with corn face a financial crisis. (KELO)
• Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa asks the Agriculture Department to help the biofuel industry weather low prices and plant closures due to the coronavirus. (E&E News, subscription)
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ADVOCACY: Illinois high school students participated in a legislative lobby day last month in Springfield on the Clean Energy Jobs Act. (RiverBender.com)
EFFICIENCY: The U.S. energy efficiency sector is experiencing mass layoffs from the coronavirus as utility and state programs shut down across the country. (E&E News)