Midwest Energy News Archives | Energy News Network

Minnesota gas utilities will need to disclose long-term plans

Andy Balaskovitz — Mon, 18 Mar 2024 13:01:31 +0000

UTILITIES: Minnesota regulators will soon require the state’s three largest gas utilities to file long-term plans that forecast how they will meet demand while aligning with state policy priorities. (Energy News Network)

OIL & GAS: Ohio regulators received a request last week to open a second state wildlife area for oil and gas extraction. (Cleveland.com)

STORAGE: Michigan regulators approve DTE Energy’s plan for a $460 million, 220 MW battery storage project at the site of a former coal plant that was just demolished. (Detroit News)

PIPELINES:

The director of a documentary about the Line 5 pipeline says a tribe is putting up opposition to the project “for all of us, and really at considerable cost to themselves.” (Wisconsin Public Radio)
Summit Carbon Solutions changes a proposed carbon pipeline’s route through North Dakota to avoid areas prone to landslides and to move farther from the city of Bismarck. (North Dakota Monitor)
A trial over who’s responsible for policing costs related to the Dakota Access pipeline protests featured testimony from more than 30 witnesses over 18 days. (North Dakota Monitor)

EMISSIONS: Republican attorneys general from 24 states suing over the Biden administration’s new rule to limit methane emissions says the policy is a “blatant attack on America’s oil and gas industry.” (E&E News, subscription)

GRID: Wisconsin lawmakers adjourn for the year without taking action on a bill that would have given incumbent utilities first rights to build transmission projects in the state. (Wisconsin Examiner)

BIOMASS: Michigan regulators reject Consumers Energy’s request to replace two biomass contracts with solar and market purchases, citing costs and supply concerns. (Crain’s Grand Rapids Business)

BATTERIES:

A company looking to build a $2.4 billion battery manufacturing plant in central Michigan sues the local township alleging a breach of contract as newly elected officials work to halt the project. (Detroit News)
The township is simultaneously scrambling to establish its own zoning code and planning commission to stop the county from reviewing the project. (WOOD-TV8)

BIOGAS: Officials in Springfield, Missouri, are in the beginning stages of determining the biogas production potential at a local landfill. (KSMU)

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Minnesota gas utilities will need to disclose long-term plans is an article from Energy News Network, a nonprofit news service covering the clean energy transition. If you would like to support us please make a donation.

Ohio set to consider massive, Bill Gates-backed solar project

Andy Balaskovitz — Fri, 15 Mar 2024 12:58:17 +0000

SOLAR: Ohio regulators are scheduled to consider plans next week for a $1 billion, 800 MW solar project with 300 MW of storage on thousands of acres partially owned by Bill Gates. (Columbus Dispatch)

ALSO:

A conservative lawmaker from Michigan’s Upper Peninsula joins an Ann Arbor Democrat to sponsor community solar legislation they say would ultimately benefit ratepayers. (WMUK)
A U.S. solar manufacturing executive urges congressional lawmakers to make tax code changes that prevent Chinese solar companies from benefiting from Inflation Reduction Act incentives. (Utility Dive)

RENEWABLES: Nebraska clean energy supporters cry foul over a bill that would require wind and solar projects to receive approval from a siting board appointed by the governor. (Nebraska News Connection)

PIPELINES:

A four-week trial ends in North Dakota, in a case to determine whether the state or federal government should pay $38 million in policing costs for Dakota Access pipeline protests, though a judgment isn’t expected for weeks . (North Dakota Monitor)
Court documents in the Dakota Access case show that up to 10 FBI informants were embedded during the protests in late 2016 and early 2017, far more than the single one that had been confirmed until now. (Grist)
Great Lakes tribal leaders, along with federal judges, are waiting for the Biden administration to state its position on whether the Line 5 pipeline should be shut down on tribal land in northern Wisconsin. (Michigan Advance)

OIL & GAS: North Dakota’s oil and gas production has fully recovered from double-digit declines during a cold weather snap in January. (S&P Global)

BIOMASS: Environmental groups are concerned that the federal Inflation Reduction Act could create tax incentives for wood-to-energy biomass projects and potentially worsen climate emissions. (Inside Climate News)

CARBON CAPTURE: Western Michigan University lands a $2.25 million federal grant to advance research to capture and store carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. (WOOD-TV8)

OVERSIGHT: Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers appoints a regional grid expert and a former engineer to a vacancy on the state’s Public Service Commission. (Journal Sentinel)

EFFICIENCY: An Ohio college receives $250,000 in state energy efficiency funding to install new heating and cooling systems in residence halls and cut utility costs in half. (News Journal)

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Ohio set to consider massive, Bill Gates-backed solar project is an article from Energy News Network, a nonprofit news service covering the clean energy transition. If you would like to support us please make a donation.

AES looks to be first Indiana utility off coal

Andy Balaskovitz — Thu, 14 Mar 2024 13:03:39 +0000

UTILITIES: AES Indiana announces plans to convert its remaining coal units to run on natural gas and add up to 1,300 MW of renewables by 2027, becoming the state’s first investor-owned utility to stop burning coal. (Indiana Capital Chronicle)

ELECTRIFICATION: A GOP-backed bill in Minnesota to prevent municipalities from banning gas stoves gets a hearing in a Democratic-led committee, though its chances of advancing are unlikely. (Star Tribune)

POLITICS: A bipartisan bill would require more extensive federal national security reviews of certain real estate purchases by foreign countries of concern in response to a debate over a proposed Michigan battery manufacturing plant. (E&E News, subscription)

GRID:

A new scorecard says most regional grid operators have been too slow to adapt to market conditions with dysfunctional interconnection processes that slow clean energy projects. (States Newsroom)
A Minnesota bill aiming to streamline clean energy and transmission permitting was spurred by a work group that built consensus among local governments, clean energy businesses and advocates, utilities, farmers and landowners. (MPR News)

PIPELINES:

North Dakota regulators will meet on Monday to set a schedule for hearings on Summit Carbon Solutions’ proposed carbon pipeline and storage project. (North Dakota Monitor)
A federal appeals court in Cincinnati will hear arguments next week over whether Michigan’s lawsuit to decommission Line 5 should be in state or federal court. (Journal Sentinel)

OIL & GAS: A new study finds U.S. oil and gas producers may be emitting three times more methane than EPA estimates. (E&E News, subscription)

SOLAR: A northern Michigan utility signs a 20-year, $14.3 million contract to purchase power from a 140 MW solar project near Ann Arbor. (Record-Eagle)

CLIMATE: Iowa and South Dakota are among just five states that declined to participate in a federal program that will provide $4.6 billion to cities, states, and tribes to implement local climate plans. (CBS News)

BIOENERGY: An Iowa city explores partnering with a California firm to generate electricity from methane captured at a local landfill and sell the power back to the grid. (KYOU)

COMMENTARY: An electric vehicle rideshare company representative calls for federal incentives that encourage EV charging stations in cities and that cover both upfront costs and maintenance. (Utility Dive)

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AES looks to be first Indiana utility off coal is an article from Energy News Network, a nonprofit news service covering the clean energy transition. If you would like to support us please make a donation.

N.D. utility all in on carbon capture

Andy Balaskovitz — Wed, 13 Mar 2024 13:07:00 +0000

CARBON CAPTURE: A North Dakota electric cooperative is betting a $2 billion carbon capture project will allow a coal-fired power plant to comply with Minnesota’s law requiring carbon-free electricity by 2040, but critics say the plan is absurdly complicated and expensive compared to alternatives. (MPR News)

CLEAN ENERGY:

Minnesota’s outdated permitting process for renewable energy and transmission is slowing the state’s clean energy transition relative to neighboring states, according to an independent research firm. (Finance & Commerce)
A federal rural clean energy program has helped more than 300 small businesses and agriculture operations in Kansas invest in renewable energy and efficiency projects. (Flatland)

MATERIALS: The closure of three U.S. aluminum manufacturing plants, including one in Missouri, could threaten the transition to clean energy and electrification, experts say. (E&E News)

SOLAR: South Dakota’s largest solar project, a 128 MW installation near Rapid City, is scheduled to come online ahead of schedule. (South Dakota Searchlight)

CLIMATE: Nebraska’s 76-page climate action plan includes incentives for a host of energy efficiency, solar and regenerative agriculture projects. (Nebraska Examiner)

EMISSIONS: A new report calls on Chicago to set limits on emissions from certain commercial buildings that could grow stricter over time. (Chicago Tribune)

PIPELINES: Indigenous author and advocate Winona LaDuke says both North Dakota and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers are to blame for the policing costs and handling of Dakota Access pipeline protests in late 2016. (North Dakota Monitor)

BIOENERGY: An Irish company plans to invest $400 million at a Wisconsin ethanol plant to include a new large plant-based renewable natural gas production facility. (Journal Sentinel)

NUCLEAR: South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem signs a bill into law that updates legal language and allows the state to potentially enter into agreements for nuclear power projects. (SDPB)

COAL:

A large southeastern Michigan coal plant that was idled in 2022 is set to be demolished Friday in preparation for redevelopment. (Detroit Free Press)
AES Indiana files a request with state regulators to convert a coal plant to run on natural gas, which executives say would save customers $280 million over 20 years. (WTHR)

UTILITIES: WEC Energy Group taps Indiana utility NIPSCO’s president and COO to lead We Energies and Wisconsin Public Service Corp. (Journal Sentinel)

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N.D. utility all in on carbon capture is an article from Energy News Network, a nonprofit news service covering the clean energy transition. If you would like to support us please make a donation.

Semantics dominate Ohio coal ash lawsuit

Andy Balaskovitz — Tue, 12 Mar 2024 13:03:57 +0000

COAL: Industry groups argue in court that the U.S. EPA’s 2015 coal ash rules don’t specifically bar coal ash at an Ohio power plant from contact with groundwater, and that the agency’s enforcement efforts amount to new federal rulemaking. (Energy News Network)

CLEAN ENERGY: Minnesota lawmakers start hearings on legislation aimed at streamlining renewable energy and transmission permitting in an effort to speed up the clean energy transition. (Inside Climate News)

PIPELINES: An Indigenous attorney recounts a frustrating experience testifying in a case between North Dakota and the federal government over Dakota Access pipeline costs, noting tribal sovereignty is at the heart of the case. (North Dakota Monitor)

OIL & GAS: An unidentified gas driller applies to open another Ohio protected wildlife area to oil and gas extraction. (Cleveland.com, subscription)

GEOTHERMAL: A Minneapolis community center seeks $10 million in state funding to help pay for a geothermal heat pump system to replace aging gas-fired boilers that heat the 100-year-old building. (Star Tribune)

SOLAR:

A renewable energy developer will contract with Facebook’s parent company on a new 349 MW solar project in Missouri. (The Telegraph)
Division among Detroit residents over siting several city-backed solar projects reflects statewide disputes over where to put renewable energy projects. (Detroit News, subscription)
A vacant house in a Detroit neighborhood is being converted into a solar workforce training site that hosts various community events and services. (Model D)

CLIMATE:

A Biden administration official notes the significance of states and cities covering more than 96% of the U.S. population crafting climate action plans to compete for Inflation Reduction Act funding. (CNN)
Indiana’s attorney general joins a lawsuit seeking to block the SEC’s climate disclosure rule shortly after it was finalized last week. (Utility Dive)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES:

Manufacturing electric vehicles initially creates more carbon emissions than making gasoline-powered cars, though EVs overcome the emissions difference within roughly two years, a new report finds. (E&E News, subscription)
The cost of charging an electric vehicle varies widely by state, with most of the Midwest below the national average. (Axios)

GRID: Ameren plans to install more than 42,000 smart meters in southeastern Missouri by the end of this summer. (KFVS)

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Semantics dominate Ohio coal ash lawsuit is an article from Energy News Network, a nonprofit news service covering the clean energy transition. If you would like to support us please make a donation.