POLITICS: All three coalitions pushing for Illinois clean energy legislation say equity needs to play a role, though the approaches and accountability measures vary. (Energy News Network)
SOLAR:
• Xcel Energy looks to buy a 74 MW solar project in northwestern Wisconsin for about $100 million, which would be the utility’s first large-scale solar project in the state. (Wisconsin State Journal)
• An American Electric Power affiliate is finalizing a long-term agreement to buy all of the power to be produced at a 50 MW solar project in central Ohio. (Columbus Business First)
WIND:
• A developer cancels plans for a 65 MW wind project in southern Wisconsin but does not say why. (Wisconsin State Journal)
• A central Illinois county planning board advances new regulations that expand setback distances required for wind turbines, though not as large as originally proposed. (Piatt County Journal-Republican)
COAL: Peabody Energy appoints a new chief operating officer who will focus on Australian operations serving Asian markets as coal demand declines in the U.S. (St. Louis Post-Dispatch)
ELECTRIC VEHICLES: Lordstown Motors seeks to beat its competition to market by delivering its Endurance electric truck by September 2021. (Detroit News)
PIPELINES: An administrative law judge’s ruling on Line 5 brought mixed reactions from environmental groups as regulators must consider a proposed tunnel as part of relocating the pipeline but won’t have to account for climate effects. (Michigan Radio)
BIOENERGY: Officials in South Sioux City, Nebraska, deny a $3.3 million claim filed by a trustee involved in a financing agreement for a former waste-to-energy plant. (Sioux City Journal)
HYDROELECTRIC: A western Minnesota hydroelectric plant receives $2.75 million in state funding for upgrades and a new turbine that will increase generation capacity. (Redwood Falls Gazette)
COMMENTARY:
• A Minnesota transportation advocate says the state’s planned clean car standards would give consumers more options and have broad public support. (MinnPost)
• Clean energy advocates reach an agreement with Dayton Power & Light that includes funding for smart meters and electric vehicle charging rebates. (Natural Resources Defense Council)