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ELECTRIC VEHICLES: Illinois officials award $2.2 million in tax incentives to a Decatur auto parts manufacturer that will retool a factory to make compressors for electric vehicles. (Pantagraph)
ALSO: • After a yearslong political fight over vehicle emission standards, Minnesota will soon be forced to choose whether to revert to weaker federal standards or join California in phasing out gas-powered car sales by 2035. (MinnPost) • President Biden plans to highlight America’s “electric vehicle manufacturing boom” during a trip to next week’s Detroit Auto Show. (E&E News) • North Dakota businesses and communities have been slow to prioritize electric vehicle infrastructure, leaving large gaps between charging stations that complicate travel in rural areas. (North Dakota News Cooperative)
Sponsored Link Fresh Energy is hiring Fresh Energy, a Minnesota-based clean energy nonprofit, is hiring a Digital Communications Associate to help advance Fresh Energy’s policy, program, and fundraising-related work.
CLIMATE: • Madison, Wisconsin’s mayor unveils a capital budget that includes major investments in flood mitigation and transit electrification. (WMTV) • The historic drought plaguing the western U.S. has recharged the controversial debate about rerouting water from the Midwest to the Southwest. (MPR News)
RENEWABLES: • Ann Arbor, Michigan’s city council agrees to hire consultants to help it analyze options for achieving 100% renewable energy. (Michigan Daily) • Comcast says it has entered utility agreements to source half of its electricity in Michigan from wind and solar power. (Grand Rapids Business Journal) • A Japanese company signs a memorandum of understanding with the state of North Dakota to explore development of clean energy projects. (news release)
SOLAR: • County officials in central Illinois receive applications to build two solar farms, including a 5 MW project east of Bloomington-Normal’s airport. (WGLT) • At a tense meeting, an Iowa county board approves rezoning for a major solar project despite public concerns about its impact on property values. (KCRG) • An Alabama startup resurrects a shuttered Minnesota solar company’s module and racking technology five years after it went out of business. (Solar Power World) • A Minnesota solar installer is sentenced to six months and ordered to pay restitution after admitting to swindling dozens of customers. (Star Tribune)
WIND: • South Dakota utility regulators ask Xcel Energy for an additional sound study for a wind farm following complaints from nearby residents. (Public Opinion) • An Iowa county board advances a proposal to update wind turbine permitting rules ahead of a planned NextEra wind farm. (Bulletin Journal)
OIL & GAS: Construction is ramping up on Omaha Public Power District’s new natural gas plant that is part of the utility’s plan to phase out coal power. (KETV)
GRID: • Nebraska Public Power District crews are scouting potential routes for a 115kV transmission line to improve reliability in the Scottsbluff area. (Star Herald) • As heat waves become more common, Kansas City utility Evergy says it has plans and backup power plants in place to respond to spikes in demand. (KMBC)
PIPELINES: • An Iowa county board sends a letter to state utility regulators opposing a planned CO2 pipeline, citing health, safety, and crop impacts. (Manchester Press) • Michigan’s attorney general appeals a judge’s decision to keep the state’s challenge to the Line 5 pipeline in federal court. (Canadian Press)
POLITICS: Wisconsin is among the states where energy and climate have emerged as issues in a U.S. Senate race; incumbent U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson, a climate denier, is running against Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes, who leads a state task force on climate change. (E&E News)
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Dan has two decades' experience working in print, digital and broadcast media. Prior to joining the Energy News Network as managing editor in December 2017, he oversaw watchdog reporting at the Sioux Falls Argus Leader, part of the USA Today Network, and before that spent several years as a freelance journalist covering energy, business and technology. Dan is a former Midwest Energy News journalism fellow and a member of Investigative Reporters and Editors. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in journalism and mass communications from University of Minnesota-Twin Cities.
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