SOLAR: Wisconsin utility regulators continue to struggle with the definition of a utility under state law, a question with high stakes for third-party solar in the state. (Wisconsin State Journal)
ALSO:
• Local officials approve plans for a 150 MW, $128 million solar project in southwestern Indiana. (Inside Indiana Business)
• The value of excess solar power sent to the grid by utility customers in southern Indiana is more than four times as valuable as Vectren is proposing to pay, says an expert witness in a rate case. (PV Magazine)
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BIOENERGY: A company plans to revive an Iowa facility to produce corn-based ethanol and renewable natural gas, though questions remain about the project’s life-cycle emissions impact. (Energy News Network)
NUCLEAR: Another standoff is unfolding in Illinois over state subsidies to keep two nuclear plants open, resembling a debate from about five years ago. (InsideClimate News)
OHIO:
• The Ohio Senate president, who voted for the state’s power plant bailout law, now supports a “straight repeal” and says there’s little need for ongoing discussion. (WKSU)
• An attack ad by a Dayton Republican falsely suggests that his Democratic opponent has ties to the state’s power plant bribery scandal. (Cleveland.com)
COAL: Indiana environmental groups are skeptical about a proposed settlement over emission violations at an Indianapolis Power and Light coal plant. (E&E News, subscription)
ELECTRIC VEHICLES: General Motors and Honda agree to a strategic alliance that includes more collaboration on electric vehicles. (Detroit News)
PIPELINES: A federal judge denies North Dakota’s request to dismiss a lawsuit involving the five-month shutdown of a stretch of highway, which tribes say restricted travel, commerce, free speech and religious rights. (Associated Press)
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GRID: An environmental group releases an interactive map of grid operator MISO’s interconnection queue to showcase renewable energy projects stalled because of a lack of transmission. (RTO Insider, subscription)
COMMENTARY:
• Ohio state Rep. Bill Seitz responds to a recent op-ed by renewable energy financier Jigar Shah by claiming that repealing the state’s power plant bailout law will lead to higher costs for consumers. (Cincinnati Enquirer)
• A former Ohio utility regulator says the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio should intervene in the HB 6 scandal to determine whether ratepayer funds were used for lobbying and finding “deficiencies in corporate governance.” (Cleveland.com)
• An Ohio editorial board says House lawmakers are “dawdling” over the repeal of HB 6. (Cleveland.com)