UTILITIES: Ohio nonprofit executives praise a natural gas supplier as it seeks to raise rates and fixed charges, which often disproportionately affect people who rely on the nonprofits for services. (Energy News Network)
SOLAR:
• Ohio added 879 solar industry jobs last year, which experts attribute to the rise in installations there as well as an existing solar manufacturing base. (WKSU)
• Developers plan a 200 MW solar project in southeastern Iowa that’s expected to come online in 2025. (Southeast Iowa Union)
• County officials will decide later this month whether to approve a pair of projects totaling 200 MW of solar power and 75 MW of battery storage in eastern Iowa. (Cedar Rapids Gazette)
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POLITICS: Out-of-state utility interests pump tens of thousands of dollars into a Minnesota state Senate race to back a first-time GOP candidate who is the wife of Xcel Energy’s former CEO. (Energy and Policy Institute)
ELECTRIC VEHICLES:
• An Indiana coalition says businesses such as gas stations and retail stores will be unable to pay for electric vehicle charging stations at their properties without additional state or utility funding support. (WFYI)
• Ohio plans to spend $100 million in federal funding over the next five years on high-speed electric vehicle charging stations along highways. (Canton Repository)
• A southeastern Missouri regional planning agency will soon discuss a consultant’s electric vehicle-readiness plan to prepare local governments for electric vehicle adoption in the region. (Southeast Missourian)
CLEAN ENERGY:
• Illinois is a national leader on clean energy thanks to a large nuclear energy portfolio, but lags in other sectors such as buildings and transportation, according to a clean energy group’s study. (Daily Herald)
• A Nebraska community college provides students with hands-on training in solar, wind and battery storage technologies. (KMALand)
• An agreement reached on a federal climate spending bill could spur clean energy investments in Michigan, advocates say. (Michigan Radio)
PIPELINES: Plans for carbon capture pipelines to make the ethanol industry more competitive are poised to divide South Dakota Republicans in the next legislative session over the use of eminent domain for the projects. (Mitchell Republic)
WIND: County voters in northern Ohio may have a chance to vote this fall on a wind energy moratorium as developers plan a 300 MW project there. (Telegraph Forum)
CLIMATE: A group of Wisconsin climate activists traveling to Washington D.C. to call for climate change legislation say a newly reached agreement in the U.S. Senate is a “tremendous opportunity.” (Wisconsin Public Radio)
GRID:
• A recent batch of regional transmission projects approved by grid operator MISO includes a $689 million line from southern Minnesota into western Wisconsin. (Mankato Free Press)
• Invenergy formally asks Illinois regulators to build a section of the Grain Belt Express transmission line across the state. (FarmWeek)
OIL & GAS: A geology expert says North Dakota is rich with a “jackpot” of geological formations that could be used for storing carbon dioxide and other gasses. (Williston Herald)
COMMENTARY: The president of the Wisconsin Technology Council says building transmission lines along existing highway rights-of-way would help to deliver clean energy to millions of homes, schools and businesses. (Wisconsin State Journal)
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