OHIO: In new filings last week, consumer advocacy groups seek stronger state regulation over submetering companies that buy and resell electricity. (Midwest Energy News)

CLEAN TECH: Eight student-led startups based at Midwest universities are selected to compete for tens of thousands of dollars in cleantech investment funding. (Midwest Energy News)

***SPONSORED LINK: Join Dairyland Power Cooperative CEO Barbara Nick and the “Michael Jordan of solar policy,” Adam Browning of Vote Solar, at RENEW Wisconsin’s “Clean Energy Goes Mainstream” Summit. Thursday, Jan. 19 in Madison. Register Today!***

PIPELINES:
• A Native American tribe takes formal action to remove Enbridge’s Line 5 from reservation land in northern Wisconsin. (Duluth News Tribune)
• The National Wildlife Federation sues multiple federal agencies over a spill response plan for the Line 5 pipeline running through the Straits of Mackinac. (Detroit News)
• The Standing Rock Sioux Tribe and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers agree in new court filings that the Dakota Access pipeline developer does not have permission to bore under a contentious section of the project. (Bismarck Tribune)

SOLAR:
• A South Dakota university plans to install solar panels on four campus buildings as a way to reduce energy costs. (Black Hills Pioneer)
• Community solar projects totaling 5 megawatts pop up in a Minnesota community. (Northfield News)

RENEWABLES: Ohio utilities AEP and FirstEnergy take different approaches to acquiring renewable energy. (Cleveland Plain Dealer)

WIND:
• A Minnesota generation and transmission cooperative signs a power purchase agreement for a new 300-megawatt wind project that will increase its wind capacity by about 65 percent. (Minneapolis Star Tribune)
• A group of investors files plans for 13 small wind projects in southeastern South Dakota. (Yankton Daily Press & Dakotan)
• A North Dakota wind project is set to expand under a new 25-year power purchase agreement. (Adams County Record)

CLIMATE: The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources scrubbed language about climate change from its website after questioning from a newspaper reporter. (Lakeland Times)

REGULATION: The Public Utilities Commission of Ohio will undergo more changes in the coming months as one member will not seek another five-year term. (Columbus Business First)

WASTE-TO-ENERGY:
• A Wisconsin county and Xcel Energy agree to extend the contract for a waste-to-energy facility through 2040. (LaCrosse Tribune)
• An Iowa city moves forward with a $9.3 million waste-to-energy project at its wastewater treatment facility. (Sioux City Journal)

***SPONSORED LINK: The Smart Cities International Symposium, January 24-25 in Chicago, examines the latest technology advances and business models for the 21st Century connected city. Explore implementation strategies, case studies, and the successful financing of key initiatives. Use discount code MWEN for 15% off. Register today! ***

OIL AND GAS: Cities in North Dakota’s oil patch are poised for more growth as oil prices rebound. (Forum News Service)

COMMENTARY:
• President Obama lays out the economic case for investing in clean energy technologies. (Science)
• Ohio state Sen. Bill Seitz, who has led the effort to end clean energy standards there, says the state’s “bountifully blessed” natural gas supplies should guide energy markets. (Cincinnati Enquirer)

Andy compiles the Midwest Energy News digest and was a journalism fellow for Midwest Energy News from 2014-2020. He is managing editor of MiBiz in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and was formerly a reporter and editor at City Pulse, Lansing’s alternative newsweekly.

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