ELECTRIC VEHICLES: Xcel Energy moves to withdraw its proposal to build the country’s largest utility-owned electric vehicle charging network after Minnesota regulators approve less than half of the utility’s rate increase request. (Star Tribune)
CLEAN ENERGY:
• Business incubators in Ohio and Michigan launch a joint program to help clean energy startups commercialize their products faster and recruit people of color, women, veterans and people with disabilities. (Energy News Network)
• A partnership between a Minnesota agency and cooperative and municipal utilities seeks $240 million in federal funding to pay for small-scale clean energy and electrification projects across the state. (Finance & Commerce)
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CARBON CAPTURE:
• Public meetings with federal regulators grew tense this week as Iowa residents demanded a moratorium on carbon pipeline projects until new safety rules are finalized. (Iowa Public Radio)
• Modeling where a carbon dioxide release from a pipeline would go can be a costly and time-consuming venture, experts say. (Iowa Capital Dispatch)
AIR POLLUTION: A federal appeals court halts a U.S. EPA regulation requiring Missouri to address power plant emissions that drift to neighboring states. (Associated Press)
RENEWABLES:
• Supply chain constraints, policy uncertainty and interconnection issues contributed to a 15% decline in U.S. renewable energy installations last year compared to 2022, according to a new report. (Politico)
• A Chicago suburb launches a renewable power aggregation program that allows residents to offset their electricity use with up to 100% renewables. (Daily Herald)
OIL & GAS: Industry groups praise a new Ohio program that opens state lands for oil and gas drilling, while environmental groups say it’s not compatible with climate and public health. (Ohio Capital Journal)
SOLAR: A new southern Illinois plant that will manufacture components for solar panels and electric vehicles also will be powered by a 15-acre onsite solar project. (Belleville News-Democrat)
HYDROGEN: Environmental groups say a new $8 billion federal program to promote hydrogen development is leaving communities in the dark without opportunities to weigh in on projects. (Inside Climate News)
COAL: Kansas will receive more than $4.8 million in federal funding to remediate pollution from past coal mining. (KSNT)
BIOENERGY: A southeastern Michigan landfill receives permits to produce renewable natural gas from waste, a step outlined to settle alleged air pollution violations at the facility. (MLive)
UTILITIES: Ameren Illinois scales up a program that recycles old or broken utility poles for new purposes. (Journal Gazette & Times-Courier)
OVERSIGHT: Missouri Gov. Mike Parson selects his policy director to replace an outgoing member of the state’s Public Service Commission. (Missouri Independent)
COMMENTARY: A suite of legislation passed by Minnesota lawmakers this session will be “nothing short of transformative” for the state’s energy industry, says the head of a statewide clean energy group. (Minnesota Reformer)
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