SOLAR: Minnesota’s attorney general files suit claiming four Utah-based companies violated consumer protection laws and used deceitful practices to push Minnesota residents into expensive solar contracts. (Star Tribune)
ALSO:
• State regulators will hold a hearing next week on a proposed 129 MW solar project in northwestern Ohio. (Toledo Blade)
• An Illinois school district’s new solar array is expected to save it about $16,000 a year and provide educational opportunities for students. (WCBU)
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BIOFUELS: Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds plans to sign legislation requiring year-round sales of gasoline with higher blends of ethanol. (Iowa Capital Dispatch)
UTILITIES:
• Four people, including two former ComEd executives, charged in connection to a bribery scheme involving the utility and former House Speaker Michael Madigan’s inner circle will face a jury trial later this year. (Chicago Tribune)
• Negotiating a new franchise agreement with MidAmerican Energy could give Des Moines, Iowa, leverage to help reach a 24/7 renewable energy goal. (Axios)
PIPELINES:
• Documents show the lengths that Spire officials went last year to build support for its St. Louis-area natural gas pipeline after a court ordered it to temporarily close. (Missouri Independent)
• The North Dakota Farm Bureau president says carbon capture pipeline proposals have generated more concern from landowners than any other issue he’s seen while leading the organization for nearly seven years. (Bismarck Tribune)
• More than 20 Iowa counties have now passed formal resolutions opposing the use of eminent domain for carbon capture pipelines. (WHO13)
HYDROGEN: Ohio economic development organizations say the state’s geography and access to diverse energy sources make it an optimal location to develop hydrogen manufacturing facilities. (Canton Repository)
ELECTRIC VEHICLES:
• An aluminum recycling company plans a $150 million expansion in southwestern Michigan to develop a new product line for electric vehicles. (MLive)
• Michigan State University begins plans to convert nearly 370 campus fleet vehicles to electric models over the next decade. (MLive)
STORAGE: Planned expansions at battery storage manufacturing facilities in Michigan and Ohio are part of LG Energy Solution’s broader, $5.5 billion growth plan in the coming years. (S&P Global)
CLEAN ENERGY: A net-zero housing community in northwestern Michigan can serve as a model for other housing developers as the state pursues a 2050 carbon-neutral target. (9&10 News)
GRID: North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum declares a statewide emergency and plans to seek federal aid following a blizzard that caused widespread grid infrastructure damage. (Associated Press)
COMMENTARY: The president and CEO of Chicago natural gas provider Peoples Gas says reports that higher heating bills are because of the company’s infrastructure upgrades are “completely false.” (Chicago Sun-Times)
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