POLITICS: An Ohio higher education bill could bar instructors from teaching climate science without also including false or misleading counterpoints. (Energy News Network)
ALSO: The Kansas House passes a bill forcing state retirement system managers to focus solely on maximizing financial gains and forbidding the state, local governments and school boards from considering environmental, social or governance criteria when signing contracts. (Kansas Reflector)
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NUCLEAR: Xcel Energy will shut down a Minnesota nuclear plant for repairs following a second leak of water contaminated with radioactive material, though officials say there is no danger to the public. (Associated Press)
PIPELINES: Federal regulators say they need more time to scrutinize the potential environmental impacts of a Great Lakes tunnel for Line 5 in the Straits of Mackinac, which could delay the project by at least another 18 months. (Bridge Michigan)
SOLAR:
• A Minnesota bill would scrap the state’s subscription-based community solar program in favor of a new model as Senate and House lawmakers resolve differences in how to expand and improve the program. (Star Tribune)
• A central Michigan township enacts a six-month moratorium on commercial solar projects to consider local zoning regulations. (Livingston Daily)
GRID:
• After a decade of setbacks, the four-state Grain Belt Express clean energy transmission project is poised to receive key approvals in Kansas and Missouri this year. (St. Louis Post-Dispatch)
• Michigan’s top energy regulator says the state is facing more frequent and intense storms, challenging utilities’ ability to keep up with grid maintenance and prevent outages. (Crain’s Detroit Business, subscription)
• An eastern Kansas county considers submitting input to state regulators on setback distances for a proposed 94-mile transmission line. (Iola Register)
• Southwest Michigan residents raise concerns about a utility’s plan for a 20-mile high-voltage transmission line, though its final route is still undetermined. (FOX 17)
CARBON CAPTURE: A carbon pipeline developer is exploring a larger swath of central Illinois for storing carbon emissions underground than previously understood. (Northern Public Radio)
ELECTRIC VEHICLES:
• Ford expects its electric vehicle business to lose $3 billion this year, though the company also expects its first generation of EVs to be profitable by the end of 2024. (Reuters)
• A proposed electric vehicle battery plant in Michigan is facing growing scrutiny from state lawmakers and local residents over the company’s ties to a Chinese corporation. (Bridge Michigan)
RENEWABLES: A southwestern Indiana county prepares to craft solar and wind siting rules as developers approach local officials and landowners with project plans. (CNHI News)
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ELECTRIFICATION:
• Wisconsin Republicans join a national trend of introducing legislation to preempt local governments from enacting bans on gas connections in new construction projects. (Tone)
• Heat pumps are getting a new look in cold weather climates such as Michigan as electrification is increasingly important to fight climate change. (Planet Detroit)
COMMENTARY: The Illinois leader of The Nature Conservancy says renewable energy development should be properly planned to protect the climate, biodiversity and communities. (Chicago Sun-Times)
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