COAL ASH:
• Experts fear that plans to cap and leave a Joliet, Illinois, coal ash storage site in place could further threaten the community’s drinking water sources. (Energy News Network/Chicago Investigative Project)
• More frequent flooding is amplifying the risk that coal ash will contaminate rivers, lakes, and groundwater, with 172 impoundments sitting in 100-year floodplains. (Energy News Network/Chicago Investigative Project)
PIPELINES:
• Nearly 200 criminal cases against pipeline protesters are still open from a long series of Line 3 protests in Minnesota last year. (Star Tribune)
• An Ohio county will appeal an agreement between the state and a natural gas pipeline owner over the pipeline’s value, which determines how much money the county gets to collect in property taxes. (Morning Journal)
RENEWABLES: State regulators approve plans for a hybrid renewable energy project in southwestern Minnesota that will produce 300 MW of wind power and up to 60 MW of solar. (MPR News)
OHIO: While serving as chief financial officer in 2019, current FirstEnergy CEO Steven Strah acknowledged an “under the radar” decoupling provision in HB 6 that ended up costing ratepayers millions of dollars. (Energy and Policy Institute)
POLITICS: Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker defends the pace of the state’s solar build out and blames grid operator MISO for rising electricity costs and brownout risk during a gubernatorial debate. (State Journal-Register)
SOLAR: Utility officials complete the installation of a parking lot solar canopy at Southeast Missouri State University. (Southeast Missourian)
GRID: A new study by grid operator MISO says utility decarbonization goals could require 200 gigawatts of new capacity by 2041 while also highlighting the ongoing risk of capacity shortfalls in its territory. (S&P Global)
ELECTRIC VEHICLES: Michigan officials approve $5 million to prepare “mega sites” for future industrial development, including properties that could lure large electric vehicle and battery manufacturers. (Bridge Michigan)
TRANSPORTATION: U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg visited Minneapolis Thursday to highlight federal funding for bus rapid transit and other public transit projects. (Star Tribune)
UTILITIES: Michigan utilities outline plans with state regulators for how they could spend federal infrastructure funding, including on rural grid improvements and electric vehicle infrastructure. (Daily Energy Insider)
EFFICIENCY: Energy efficiency upgrades are poised to save an Indiana charter school more than $26,000 in rebates and incentives as well as more than $22,000 in annual energy costs. (WISH)
COMMENTARY: A recent report on the public health effects of fossil fuel-generating plants in Minnesota underscores the need to shut down a coal and biomass plant in Duluth, a consultant and adjunct professor writes. (MinnPost)
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