SOLAR: Minnesota solar developers hope that a newly created interconnection ombudsperson role will help ease frustrations and delays related to connecting projects to utilities’ power grids. (Energy News Network)
ALSO: South Dakota’s largest solar farm, a 128 MW project east of Rapid City, comes online after a year of construction. (Dakota Scout)
STORAGE:
- A former coal-fired power plant south of Detroit is set to become the largest stand-alone energy storage site in the Great Lakes region. (Fast Company)
- Critics say battery storage fire safety legislation awaiting the governor’s signature in Illinois could burden small businesses by requiring them to register as automotive parts recyclers in order to store used batteries. (The Center Square)
BUILDINGS: Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signs legislation prohibiting homeowner associations from blocking clean energy-related improvements, including solar panels, heat pumps, and vehicle charging equipment. (MLive)
OIL & GAS: The U.S. Justice Department proposes changes to its consent decree with Enbridge over the 2010 Kalamazoo River oil spill that could require the company to repair previously identified cracks in its Midwest pipeline system. (Detroit News)
PIPELINES:
- An aviation biofuels company contributed $167,000 to a South Dakota political committee defending the state’s new carbon pipeline law against a potential ballot referendum. (South Dakota Searchlight)
- Iowa regulators approve a public meeting schedule to consider the proposed expansion of Summit Carbon Solutions’ planned carbon dioxide pipeline to connect it to ethanol plants in the state. (Iowa Capital Dispatch)
ELECTRIC VEHICLES:
- Consumers Energy announces plans to help build 1,500 public fast chargers by 2030, part of an effort by Michigan utilities to build up the state’s electric vehicle charging network. (Bridge Michigan)
- Nearly two years after Nebraska received more than $30 million in federal funding for electric vehicle charging stations, none of the money has been disbursed. (Nebraska Public Media)
CLEAN ENERGY: A forthcoming paper in a Minnesota law journal proposes that clean energy developers should prioritize projects on marginal land such as retired mines, closed landfills, and brownfields, to avoid public opposition. (Heatmap)
HYDROPOWER: A Minnesota hydropower dam will double its generating capacity after a $48 million renovation project by a county and Xcel Energy. (Pioneer Press)
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