POLITICS: Former ComEd CEO Anne Pramaggiore testifies that she maintained a professional relationship with former House Speaker Michael Madigan but denied allegations of a bribery scheme between the utility and Madigan associates. (Chicago Sun-Times)
PIPELINES: Newly released documents show how a private security firm hired to control Dakota Access pipeline protests used social media monitoring, aerial surveillance and radio eavesdropping to build watch lists and dossiers on activists. (Grist/The Intercept)
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WIND:
• Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly signs a bill requiring the installation of systems that reduce the use of blinking red lights on wind turbines. (Kansas Reflector)
• A 92 MW, 28-turbine wind project comes online in rural Wisconsin. (Wisconsin Public Radio)
SOLAR:
• The developer of a large solar project near Lawrence, Kansas, expects the project to contribute $110 million in property and business tax revenue over 25 years. (Lawrence Times)
• A central Indiana county continues to debate utility-scale solar regulations as a previously approved project raises concerns about removing productive farmland. (Herald Bulletin)
• A Kansas City nonprofit will provide no-cost solar panels to low-income households as a way to reduce their electricity costs. (KSHB)
• A Nebraska city considers tripling the size of a local community solar project after subscriptions to the original project sell out. (Hastings Tribune)
CARBON CAPTURE:
• None of the roughly two dozen bills filed in six Midwest states this year affecting carbon capture and storage projects have passed, allowing pipeline developers to move forward with planned projects. (E&E News)
• Peoria, Illinois, officials seek more details about an ethanol company’s plan to capture its carbon emissions and potentially transport them to a pipeline for eventual underground storage. (WCBU)
UTILITIES: The Cleveland Browns NFL team and FirstEnergy agree to end a stadium naming rights deal, which had come under scrutiny in recent years because of the utility’s involvement in a corruption scandal. (Akron Beacon Journal)
HYDROELECTRIC: A startup company raises $18.4 million to help scale up technology that generates carbon-free power from turbines in irrigation drainage canals. (Associated Press)
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RENEWABLES: A central Michigan county considers a moratorium on utility-scale wind and solar projects as residents raise concerns about developments planned on farmland. (Lansing State Journal)
ELECTRIC VEHICLES: Experts say cities should focus on ways to bolster electric vehicle charging infrastructure as vehicle adoption rates are expected to climb in the coming years. (Smart Cities Dive)
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