ELECTRIC VEHICLES: Groups representing Ohio consumers and manufacturers are trying to stop legislation that would allow utilities to charge ratepayers to install electric vehicle charging stations. (Ohio Capital Journal)
COAL:
•Indiana lawmakers send Gov. Eric Holcomb a bill that prevents the state from making coal ash regulations stricter than federal rules, which critics say would hamstring efforts to handle the contaminated waste. (Indiana Public Media)
• CenterPoint Energy announces that it will go coal-free in Indiana by 2027, replacing it with a mix of renewables and natural gas. (Indianapolis Star)
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POLITICS: A jury deliberated for a third day without reaching a verdict in the “ComEd Four” trial involving an alleged bribery scheme between former top utility executives and political figures linked to former House Speaker Michael Madigan. (Chicago Tribune)
UTILITIES: An investor lawsuit says Exelon and its top executives are to blame for the $200 million expense incurred to settle bribery charges against its subsidiary ComEd. (Bloomberg Law, subscription)
PIPELINES:
• The Keystone pipeline operator is investigating sections with similar characteristics to the site of a major spill in northern Kansas late last year, but it is unclear how many or where they exist. (Topeka Capital-Journal)
• Sen. John Hoeven of North Dakota presses the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to complete an environmental review of the Dakota Access pipeline that was ordered in 2020. (KVRR)
• Enbridge similarly claims that the agency’s review of a tunnel for Line 5 in the Great Lakes is taking too long. (WJRT)
• Federal pipeline regulators will hold public meetings in the coming weeks in Iowa to hear public concerns on carbon pipeline developments. (Des Moines Register)
CLIMATE: Environmental groups urge Wisconsin’s Democratic attorney general to join states and municipalities that are suing oil companies for climate damages. (E&E News, subscription)
SOLAR: A Minneapolis group-buying program helps homeowners install solar projects at reduced costs. (WCCO)
GRID:
• U.S. Rep. Sean Casten of Illinois and former federal regulators say a paradigm shift is needed to bring more competition to the power sector and allow more distributed generation resources. (Utility Dive)
• Michigan utility Consumers Energy says it will find a new route for a 20-mile transmission line that previously faced pushback from residents. (WKZO)
HYDROGEN:
• Michigan and neighboring states seek federal funding to establish a hub that would produce hydrogen fuel from nuclear power, renewables and fossil fuels when the carbon emissions could be captured. (Detroit News, subscription)
• Iowa, Nebraska and Missouri are angling for the same federal funding to support five hydrogen projects spread across the states. (Cedar Rapids Gazette)
COMMENTARY:
• Michigan environmental justice advocates call on state lawmakers to hold major utilities accountable for repeated power outages that have spanned days. (Planet Detroit)
• U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson’s argument that his home state of Wisconsin will have fewer climate-related deaths ignores climate change’s uneven and disproportionate impacts on populations, a columnist writes. (Washington Post)
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