UTILITIES: An Xcel Energy time-of-us pilot program launched in November 2020 in two Twin Cities neighborhoods has slightly reduced electricity usage during peak hours but is not producing meaningful savings for customers so far. (Energy News Network)
ALSO:
• Michigan consumer advocates join a petition calling for a federal investigation into utilities, including DTE Energy and Consumers Energy, for allegedly unfair business practices involving access to renewable energy. (Michigan Radio)
• Federal recordings show the maneuvers that former longtime Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan made with a close confidant to have a favored member appointed to ComEd’s board of directors in 2018. (WBEZ)
• Des Moines, Iowa, extends by 13 years its gas and electric franchise agreements with MidAmerican Energy after negotiating a side agreement that will track the utility’s renewable energy usage. (Des Moines Register)
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COAL:
• Missouri environmental groups build opposition to state regulators’ proposed coal ash rules, which would authorize the discharge of water impacted by coal ash sites into underground waterways. (St. Louis Post-Dispatch)
• The Biden administration releases initial guidance for states and some Indigenous communities seeking grant funding to clean up abandoned coal mining sites. (E&E News)
GRID:
• Utilities building the controversial Cardinal-Hickory Creek transmission line through southwestern Wisconsin say supply chain issues and ongoing litigation have added nearly $50 million to the project cost. (Wisconsin State Journal)
• Consumers Energy plans to spend $100 million to upgrade its electric distribution system in Michigan as it expects more severe weather in the coming years. (Michigan Radio)
CARBON CAPTURE: A North Dakota board approves $115 million in loans for two carbon capture and storage projects. (Bismarck Tribune)
CLEAN ENERGY: U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota is the lead author of a bill that seeks to boost the domestic production of heat pumps in hopes of lowering costs for consumers. (HuffPost)
PIPELINES:
• North Dakota regulators extend the deadline for proposals to build a cross-state natural gas pipeline. (Associated Press)
• A central Iowa farmer experiences “deja vu” as developers seek to build a carbon capture pipeline across a portion of his land years after the Dakota Access pipeline caused a decline in his crop yields. (Nebraska Public Media)
ELECTRIC VEHICLES:
• Kansas City clean air advocates seek to ensure equitable access to electric vehicle charging stations throughout the city. (Kansas City Beacon)
• Automaker Stellantis is set to make an announcement from Kokomo, Indiana, today that could involve the company’s latest electric vehicle battery manufacturing plant. (Associated Press)
OIL & GAS: State officials say about $5 billion in investments are planned in northwestern North Dakota that would provide add-on value to the state’s oil and gas industry. (KFYR)
POLITICS: Some clean energy advocates lament the upcoming retirement of U.S. Sen. Rob Portman of Ohio, who helped pass several notable conservation and energy efficiency laws. (E&E News, subscription)
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