CLEAN POWER: Minnesota’s new 100% carbon-free electricity law is expected to spur tens of billions of dollars in investments in wind, solar, and storage projects, bolstered by last year’s federal Inflation Reduction Act. (Star Tribune)
ALSO:
• More Wisconsin farmers are deciding to lease land for solar, wind and battery projects, bringing in valuable revenue to support family farms but also raising concerns about the loss of prime farmland. (APG)
• County officials vent about a new Illinois law that created uniform, statewide zoning standards for utility-scale wind and solar projects. (The Pantagraph)
ELECTRIC VEHICLES:
• Ford is expected to announce as soon as today plans to build a $3.5 billion lithium iron phosphate battery plant on a 1,900-acre “megasite” about 100 miles west of Detroit. (Reuters)
• The University of Michigan will roll out its first four electric buses in June with plans for an all-electric bus fleet by 2035. (Capital News Service)
• A new report suggests that Michigan is behind the curve when it comes to installing electric vehicle fast-charging stations. (Bridge)
BUILDINGS:
• Ann Arbor, Michigan, contractors and homeowners consider electric radiant heat systems under floors as a clean alternative to gas heat. (MLive)
• Michigan officials promote geothermal energy as a potential linchpin for helping the state achieve its carbon reduction goals. (Michigan Radio)
PIPELINES:
• A proposed CO2 pipeline still faces resistance in western Illinois despite the developer’s offer of up to $18.9 million for county support. (Inside Climate News)
• Iowa landowners and environmental advocates lobbied state legislators last week to restrict the use of eminent domain for CO2 pipelines. (Gazette)
• Local officials in southeastern Iowa continue to hear from residents with concerns about proposed CO2 pipeline developments. (KWQC-TV)
SOLAR:
• An Ohio county board adopts a resolution opposing a proposed 68 MW solar project, saying it is incompatible with its land use plan. (Marion Star)
• A 75-year-old woman uses Facebook to organize residents of a rural Missouri county against planned commercial solar and transmission projects. (Fulton Sun)
• Ameren Missouri will acquire a 200 MW solar project that will be its largest solar facility when it is completed in late 2024. (Daily Energy Insider)
WIND: North Dakota regulators approve siting for a 209 MW wind farm in the state’s southwest corner, with construction planned later this year. (Renewables Now)
OHIO: Attorneys for former House Speaker Larry Householder argue his actions were business as usual in state government, highlighting a senior regulator who in 2019 sent a resume to a utility company lobbyist. (Ohio Capital Journal)
TRANSMISSION: An Omaha homeowner objects to a power company’s plans to remove trees on his lot to accommodate an upgraded transmission line. (Norfolk Daily News)
COMMENTARY: “North Dakota is betting on the horse-and-buggy” as it pours money into coal carbon-capture technology and a lawsuit with Minnesota over that state’s new clean power law, a columnist writes. (The Forum)
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