SOLAR: An Illinois bill has developed into a comprehensive “Solar Bill of Rights” to protect rural electric co-op customers who often face arbitrary and changing rules when seeking to install solar panels. (Energy News Network)
ALSO: Missouri, Nebraska, and the Dakotas are among the states that will have funding for low-income solar for the first time as a result of the Biden administration’s $7 billion Solar for All program. (Canary Media)
WIND:
- A North Dakota county commission denies a preliminary permit for what would be the state’s largest wind farm, citing concerns about its potential impact on roads, farming, wildlife and a local airport. (Bismarck Tribune)
- A North Dakota economic development fund awards a $2.5 million grant to a Grand Forks company that makes software to help automate inspections of wind turbines and transmission lines. (North Dakota Monitor)
OHIO:
- The recent revelation of FirstEnergy dark money donations to influence the 2018 governor’s race has renewed calls for tougher disclosure requirements, but state lawmakers say they are limited by the First Amendment and federal Supreme Court decisions. (Statehouse News)
- An Ohio Democrat sponsors legislation that would prohibit utilities from collecting money from ratepayers for political spending. (Capital Journal)
- Ohio’s current top utility regulator says she and her colleagues need to focus on rebuilding public trust in the wake of the state’s largest ever public corruption scandal. (WVXU)
STORAGE: A University of Michigan study finds that adding battery storage to the grid can encourage markets to favor coal over natural gas. (Utility Dive)
CO2 PIPELINES: Summit Carbon Solutions discusses its proposed carbon sequestration pipeline with officials in a South Dakota county where it seeks to connect to a local ethanol plant. (Mitchell Republic)
ELECTRIC VEHICLES:
- Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s proposed $25 million electric vehicle rebate program is among the spending priorities left out of budget bills advancing in the Democratic-led Legislature. (Bridge)
- General Motors introduces a vehicle-to-home charging system that would allow customers to use their electric vehicle batteries as a backup energy source. (Utility Dive)
COMMENTARY: Ohioans must stop thinking of natural gas as an economic asset and wake up to the environmental and public health dangers that fracking brings, a conservation group writes. (Columbus Dispatch)
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