EQUITY: A University of Michigan professor serving as the U.S. Department of Energy’s deputy director for energy justice says the agency is serious about its renewed focus on equity but that change won’t happen overnight. (Energy News Network)
ELECTRIC VEHICLES:
• Electric vehicle drivers in Kansas City still face barriers to fast-charging infrastructure as regulators limit incentives for utilities to participate in the charging market. (Flatland)
• Minnesota-based recreational vehicle producer Winnebago buys a lithium-ion battery maker as it ramps up production of electric RVs. (Des Moines Register)
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UTILITIES:
• Missouri lawmakers advance a bill that would allow utilities to add the cost of a new nuclear plant or renewable energy to customer rates while the facilities are under construction. (St. Louis Post-Dispatch)
• FirstEnergy announces a new president and CEO, about two weeks after former state House Speaker Larry Householder was found guilty in a corruption scandal that involved the utility. (Akron Beacon Journal)
COAL: Residents in a southwestern Ohio town will vote in May whether to formally dissolve the village and incorporate into a surrounding township after a coal plant closure sapped 90% of the village’s revenue. (WCPO)
WIND: The Illinois House passes a bipartisan bill to authorize a pilot offshore wind project in Lake Michigan. (Crain’s Chicago Business, subscription)
SOLAR: Iowa’s second-most populous county will likely extend a moratorium on utility-scale solar projects amid an ongoing review of zoning regulations. (Cedar Rapids Gazette)
NUCLEAR:
• Siting small modular nuclear facilities at former coal plants could reduce construction costs by up to 35% by utilizing existing generation and transmission infrastructure, according to recent research. (Utility Dive)
• The temporary shutdown of a Minnesota nuclear plant last week caused an abrupt change in water temperature in the Mississippi River that killed more than 200 fish. (WCCO)
CARBON CAPTURE:
• CenterPoint Energy is piloting a technology that captures carbon dioxide from flue exhaust in gas-powered water heaters and boilers to produce grist for making soap. (Star Tribune)
• A carbon pipeline developer says it has secured 70% of the right-of-way needs in North Dakota for a proposed project. (Inforum)
RENEWABLES: The Indiana House unanimously passes a bill calling for a study on how to best recycle decommissioned wind turbines and solar panels. (Lakeshore Public Radio)
EFFICIENCY: ComEd completes a five-year project to replace nearly 132,000 northern Illinois streetlights with more energy-efficient LED fixtures. (Daily Energy Insider)
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PIPELINES: Federal authorities are offering a $5,000 reward for information about an arson seven months ago at an Enbridge pipeline maintenance and storage facility in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. (MLive)
COMMENTARY:
• The Republican-led Iowa Senate is considering a carbon pipeline eminent domain bill that will determine whether they side with ethanol interests or landowners, a columnist writes. (Iowa Capital Dispatch)
• A Minnesota climate activist says the next federal Farm Bill should emphasize more solar and less ethanol production on agricultural land. (Duluth News Tribune)
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