UTILITIES:
• A decade-long shift from coal to wind power has helped stabilize rates for Minnesota’s largest generation and transmission cooperative, part of a trend being seen at other rural co-ops, too. (Energy News Network, MPR News)
• As part of that ongoing energy transition, Great River Energy announces a deal to build a 400 MW wind project near a large North Dakota coal plant and transmission line that it recently sold. (Star Tribune)
COAL: A municipal utility discloses that it detected elevated levels of contaminants near coal ash storage sites in Lansing, Michigan, in documents filed with the U.S. EPA as part of an appeal to keep the facilities open. (City Pulse)
WIND: The U.S. Department of Energy extends a critical grant deadline for an offshore wind pilot project near Cleveland, giving developers more time to arrange financing. (Cleveland.com)
TRANSMISSION: A new law gives Michigan utilities that own transmission lines the right of first refusal to build certain new projects, which supporters say is needed to bring projects online quicker and facilitate the clean energy transition. (MiBiz)
ELECTRIC VEHICLES:
• Ohio consumer advocates issue a report calling for more favorable policies to encourage electric vehicle adoption, which they argue would help put downward pressure on rates for all utility customers. (RTO Inside, subscription)
• Electric vehicle charging and equipment company Blink plans to supply Level 2 chargers at General Motors dealerships in the U.S. and Canada. (Reuters)
RENEWABLES: Northwestern Ohio county officials work to develop maps where utility-scale wind and solar projects could be located, if at all. (LimaOhio.com)
SOLAR:
• City officials in Missouri delay plans that call for installing solar panels on a former golf course outside of Kansas City. (KMBC)
• Ameren expects to have a 30-acre community solar project in Missouri operational by the end of March. (FOX 2)
• A developer plans a 17 MW solar project to supply power to Ohio University. (Athens News)
• South Dakota lawmakers advance legislation that would require developers to provide cost assurances for decommissioning solar projects. (KELO)
CARBON CAPTURE:
• Three proposed carbon capture pipelines, if built, could sequester roughly 40% of Iowa’s carbon emissions, according to an engineering researcher. (Cedar Rapids Gazette)
• The developer of a proposed carbon dioxide pipeline amends plans to no longer build the project in two eastern Iowa counties. (Clinton Herald)
GRID: Grid operator MISO’s proposal to ensure adequate power supply in its territory amid the shift to renewable energy draws mixed reviews from states, utilities, large power users and clean energy advocates. (Utility Dive)
BIOENERGY: An Ohio appeals court upholds a ruling that a biodigester facility is a public utility and exempt from township zoning regulations. (Dayton Daily News)
COMMENTARY: The head of the Iowa Utility Association says the state has a “phenomenal opportunity” to build a large-scale solar project at a former nuclear plant. (Cedar Rapids Gazette)