CLEAN ENERGY: DTE Energy submits a revised long-term energy plan to state regulators that includes higher energy efficiency targets and more solar generation. (Crain’s Detroit Business)

ALSO: The power sector, including clean energy, could play a critical role as the world recovers from the coronavirus pandemic, experts say. (Utility Dive)

COAL:
• A St. Louis company is among those looking for opportunity in redeveloping retired coal plant properties. (Energy News Network)
• The U.S. coal industry asks for hundreds of millions of dollars in royalty relief, tax cuts and other breaks to help companies weather the recession spurred by the coronavirus. (Associated Press)
• An energy consultant calls carbon capture projects, including one in North Dakota, that require millions in public funding “expensive greenwashing.” (DeSmog Blog)

SOLAR:
• Developers file plans with state regulators for a 150 MW solar project in central Wisconsin. (Wisconsin Rapids Tribune)
• Final approval is granted for a 16 MW solar project in eastern Indiana. (Richmond Palladium-Item)
• Local officials approve easements for a solar project planned at a former hay and straw mill in southeastern Michigan. (Monroe News)
• The second phase of a community solar project at a capped mid-Michigan landfill involves planting native plants for pollinators. (East Lansing Info)

EMISSIONS: Illinois closes vehicle emissions-testing stations through at least April 7 to comply with Gov. Pritzker’s stay-at-home directive. (Associated Press)

BIOFUELS: Ethanol producers consider switching from making fuel to alcohol that can be the basis for sanitizers, though regulatory hurdles remain. (E&E News, subscription)

COMMENTARY:
• Leading advocacy groups for the U.S. wind and solar industries submit potential actions for Congress to “keep U.S. workers busy building the clean energy grid of the future.” (American Wind Energy Association)
• A Minnesota bill that was initially meant to prioritize clean energy spending instead “reads like a love letter to fossil fuels and the utilities that burn them,” a climate activist says. (Duluth News Tribune)
• Analysts say a “Low-Cost Peak Program” in Michigan meant to reduce electricity costs during peak demand could help reduce emissions and retire uneconomic fossil fuel plants early. (Utility Dive)

Andy compiles the Midwest Energy News digest and was a journalism fellow for Midwest Energy News from 2014-2020. He is managing editor of MiBiz in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and was formerly a reporter and editor at City Pulse, Lansing’s alternative newsweekly.