POLICY: Illinois utilities benefited greatly from the state’s 2016 energy reforms while the law’s 2025 renewable energy target is far out of reach, jobs expectations went unmet and the solar industry is struggling as funding runs out. (Inside Climate News/Chicago Sun-Times)
CLIMATE:
• The University of Michigan pledges to spend billions of dollars on renewable energy, clean transportation and energy efficiency to meet a 2040 carbon neutrality goal. (Bridge Michigan)
• Three Michigan communities join a global campaign to cut greenhouse gas emissions in half by 2030 and to zero by 2050. (Metro Times)
***SPONSORED LINK: The Midwest Building Decarbonization Coalition via Fresh Energy is hiring for a Manager of Building Policy and Technology consultant to support policy and technology solutions. Apply before June 1.***
SOLAR:
• State regulators approve a 150 MW solar project in southeastern Wisconsin over the objections of some nearby residents. (Wisconsin State Journal)
• Developers are planning a second 150 MW solar project in central Wisconsin two years after first proposing a similar project. (Wisconsin Rapids Tribune)
• Dane County in Wisconsin is recognized by the U.S. EPA as one of the country’s leading solar energy consumers. (WMTV)
• Michigan lawmakers should remove caps on utility distributed generation programs, developers say, to ensure a “vibrant” solar industry. (Traverse City Ticker)
ELECTRIC VEHICLES:
• A joint venture between Ford and a South Korean battery maker will build two North American factories to make batteries for about 600,000 electric vehicles per year by the middle of the decade. (Associated Press)
• Analysts question whether market demand will “match the hype” surrounding Ford’s new F-150 electric pickup truck. (E&E News, subscription)
RENEWABLES: Renewable energy developers express concern over proposed Ohio legislation that could limit wind and solar development by giving additional local control over projects. (Crescent-News)
OIL & GAS:
• Some cryptocurrency miners use trailers to capture stray natural gas at oil drilling sites in the Great Plains to power operations. (Reuters)
• The North Dakota Supreme Court issues a ruling that should help resolve disputes over the amount of royalties oil companies pay landowners. (Reuters)
EMISSIONS: Environmental groups plan to sue the U.S. EPA over a lack of planning to clean up sulfur dioxide emissions in Detroit where heavy manufacturing and a coal plant operates. (Michigan Radio)
GRID: North Dakota utilities and regulators call on the regional grid operator for better reliability assurances following this winter’s widespread supply shortages. (Bismarck Tribune)
COMMENTARY: The Biden administration’s actions on clean energy and environmental justice in its first 100 days “have left me so hopeful,” says the founder and director of Wisconsin Green Muslims advocacy group. (WisPolitics.com)