SOLAR: Solar developers have started negotiating deals with Wisconsin farmers for third-party-owned solar projects following a favorable ruling from state regulators and as lawmakers propose a third-party community solar bill. (Energy News Network)
ALSO:
• A western Illinois board advances plans to lease 40 acres at a county landfill for a 13 MW solar project. (Tri States Public Radio)
• An Iowa county seeks to revisit local solar regulations to make it easier for homeowners to install projects. (KCAU)
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COAL:
• Environmental groups say Ohio regulators have failed to perform legally required audits to determine whether hundreds of millions of dollars in coal plant subsidies under House Bill 6 benefit ratepayers. (Ohio Capital Journal)
• Minnesota utility Otter Tail Power reverses its decision to divest from a large North Dakota coal plant, citing growing load from new customers and regional grid disruptions. (Star Tribune)
ELECTRIFICATION: Smart panels that help manage electric loads can be a solution to electrify older residential buildings and apartments that rely on natural gas in states like Minnesota, experts say. (Energy News Network)
POLITICS: Prosecutors have presented nearly all of their evidence and expect to rest their case Tuesday in the corruption trial of former ComEd executives and associates of former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan. (Chicago Sun-Times)
GRID:
• Years-long lines and steep fees are hindering wind and solar developers’ ability to connect new projects to the U.S. power grid. (CNBC)
• Ann Arbor, Michigan, officials approve a list of requested actions by its utility, DTE Energy, to improve grid reliability after recent extended outages. (MLive)
UTILITIES:
• Indiana consumer advocates blast a new state law allowing utilities to recoup unexpected costs from ratepayers, which critics call an end-around recent court rulings prohibiting the practice. (Indianapolis Star)
• North Dakota residents on fixed incomes raise concerns about a utility’s proposed $25.4 million rate increase to offset the costs of converting a coal plant to natural gas. (Bismarck Tribune)
• Six central Ohio communities that last year approved joining an energy aggregation program will experience cheaper electricity and gas in the coming years than a neighboring community that rejected the proposal. (Newark Advocate)
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ELECTRIC VEHICLES:
• Minnesota’s rollout of a statewide electric vehicle charging network is a work in progress amid unresolved questions about final locations needs of medium and heavy-duty electric vehicles. (MinnPost)
• Plans for a $2.4 billion electric vehicle battery manufacturing plant divide a western Michigan town where residents dispute the potential for economic development and environmental damage. (Bridge Michigan)
HYDROGEN: A Nebraska lawmaker wants the state, along with neighboring Iowa and Missouri, to invest in engineering and other work necessary to establish the region as a hydrogen hub and access more than $1 billion in federal funding. (Nebraska Examiner)
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