EMISSIONS: In contrast with progress in other sectors, greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture continue to grow, with Iowa, Kansas, Illinois and Nebraskas the biggest contributors after Texas. (Gazette/Investigate Midwest)
OHIO:
• Secret recordings and other evidence introduced in federal court Wednesday link huge political contributions by FirstEnergy between 2017 and 2019 with Ohio’s giant power plant bailout law. (Capital Journal)
• A company lobbyist testifies that a FirstEnergy Solutions executive stood to personally gain $100 million from the sale of two nuclear power plants that benefited from the state bailout. (Cleveland.com)
UTILITIES:
• Michigan’s attorney general asks state utility regulators to demand more transparency on political spending by gas and electric companies. (Detroit News)
• Missouri utility regulators will hold two public meetings today on a proposed Ameren rate increase to pay for grid infrastructure and clean energy. (KMOV-TV)
• Nebraska utility regulators hear arguments for and against a proposed merger between two public power and water districts. (Nebraska Examiner)
PIPELINES:
• The site of Keystone pipeline rupture in Kansas is still a mess two months later as crews continue hauling oil-drenched soil to a landfill near Omaha. (KMUW)
• A CO2 pipeline developer releases data on voluntary easements, showing that they now cover 60% of its route across five Upper Midwest states. (KCRG-TV)
• A North Dakota county increases setbacks for liquid CO2 pipelines, which must now be 2 miles from city limits and 1.5 miles from any residence. (AgWeek)
SOLAR:
• Iowa State University researchers will raise bees and plant vegetables within the footprint of a solar array as part of a federally funded study. (news release)
• A central Illinois man learns how to install solar panels on his home and then starts a solar business to help others do the same. (WCIA-TV)
• A solar company faces lawsuits in Wisconsin and Minnesota amid accusations that it abandoned customers’ projects and hasn’t paid employees. (TMJ4-TV)
• An Ohio county holds a public hearing on a proposed solar farm that has drawn opposition from a citizen group claiming over 400 members. (WFMJ-TV)
WIND:
• Oral arguments last week suggest the Ohio Supreme Court is nearing a decision on a contested wind farm proposal that opponents say is in a “uniquely bad location” for migratory birds. (Sandusky Register)
• A renewable energy company takes an Illinois wind turbine offline and is investigating what caused it to begin leaning at an angle. (Ford County Chronicle)
• MidAmerican Energy is investigating after a blade fell off a wind turbine Sunday at an Iowa wind farm; no one was injured. (KCCI-TV)
GRID:
• States in the MISO region are beginning to consider aggregated demand response as a potential asset to improve grid reliability. (Utility Dive)
• An Indiana county official says there is not much the county can do about a planned high-voltage transmission line, which is exempt from its zoning regulations. (Great Bend Tribune)
COAL:
• Indiana House Republicans advance a bill that would block state regulators from imposing rules on coal-fired power plants that are stricter than federal requirements. (Capital Chronicle)
• As part of a legal settlement, the U.S. EPA is reconsidering how to regulate coal ash landfills inactive before 2015, including 21 landfills in Indiana. (WFYI)
COMMENTARY: The public corruption trial of former Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder is showcasing “gargantuan levels of arrogance, corruption, and enabling among energy executives and Ohio’s most powerful Republican politicians,” an editor writes. (Capital Journal)
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