RENEWABLES: At least 10 Ohio counties have passed resolutions blocking commercial wind and solar projects in all or part of their jurisdictions since a state law last year gave communities veto power over projects. (Ohio Capital Journal)
COAL: Four of the country’s 10 most-polluting power plants are located in the Midwest, representing large outliers in a power system that is shifting to natural gas and renewables. (E&E News)
ELECTRIC VEHICLES: Michigan launches a public-private partnership to deploy electric vehicle chargers in metro Detroit to ensure charging equipment is “more accessible and equitable for all.” (Detroit News)
OHIO:
• A Cleveland restaurateur with close financial ties to FirstEnergy acted as an intermediary between the utility and former House Speaker Larry Householder in the power plant bailout bribery scheme, new documents show. (Cleveland.com)
• Former Public Utilities Commission Chair Sam Randazzo wasn’t FirstEnergy’s first pick for the position, but found him to back the company’s priorities after being appointed by Gov. Mike DeWine, new text messages show. (Cleveland.com)
SOLAR:
• Xcel Energy expects tax credits in the Inflation Reduction Act to reduce the price of a $575 million solar project at a Minnesota coal plant by about 20%. (MPR News)
• A scheduling error delays an Iowa county board’s vote on zoning changes for a major solar project near a former nuclear plant. (Radio Iowa)
• State regulators approve plans for two Ohio solar projects totaling 250 MW of capacity. (Paulding County Progress)
MINING: The developer of a proposed copper-nickel mine in northeastern Minnesota sues the Biden administration to seek the reinstatement of federal mining rights leases that are critical for the $1.7 billion project. (Associated Press)
OIL & GAS: North Dakota regulators are investigating a large oilfield wastewater spill from a broken pipeline that they say could take a year to clean up. (Associated Press)
PIPELINES: Hundreds of Iowa landowners and other community members attend a public hearing on a planned carbon capture pipeline, with many expressing safety concerns about living near the project. (Telegraph Herald)
UTILITIES:
• A federal appeals court judge dismisses a $150 million class action lawsuit against ComEd and parent company Exelon over a bribery scandal involving former House Speaker Michael Madigan. (WTVO)
• Opponents of DTE Energy’s latest rate increase proposal cite ongoing reliability problems and the company’s recent profits as reasons that Michigan regulators should deny the request. (Michigan Radio)
• Unionized Evergy employees in Kansas protest at the utility’s offices, saying they are not receiving equal pay as their peers in Missouri. (Topeka Capital-Journal)
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