Incentives could give energy storage leading role in Illinois

ELECTRIC VEHICLES: 

• More than $7.8 billion in private investment has come to Indiana since the Inflation Reduction Act passed, mostly for electric vehicle battery manufacturing plants. (Indiana Public Radio)
• Ford’s plan to scrap its next lineup of all-electric SUVs for more hybrids and focus on smaller, more affordable models could cost the company upwards of $1.5 billion. (CNN)
• Plans for a $2.4 billion battery manufacturing plant in western Michigan becomes a political football as candidates rally at the site both in support and against the project on the same day. (Bridge Michigan)

CLEAN ENERGY: 

• Nearly 120,000 Michigan households claimed $54 million in clean energy tax credits and $79 million for efficiency upgrades last year under the Inflation Reduction Act, according to the IRS. (Michigan Public)
• The Inflation Reduction Act helped Minnesota draw hundreds of millions of dollars in federal funding for clean energy projects, which Democrats hope can boost the Harris-Walz ticket this November. (Politico)
• Ameren Missouri plans to invest an additional $1 million in its customer weatherization assistance program, which provides improvements for no cost to qualifying customers. (Daily Energy Insider)

GRID: 

• Ameren is replacing wooden power line poles in Missouri with “superstorm poles” made of composite that are capable of withstanding 300 mph winds. (KFVS)
• Federal regulators reject a request from a North Dakota-based electric cooperative to create special rates for cryptocurrency operations and other large loads, saying the utility failed to show it was not discriminatory or preferential. (Utility Dive)

WORKFORCE: 

• Interest in a Kansas City-area electrician job-training program has exceeded capacity in recent years as demand for the skilled trade grows with the clean energy transition. (Flatland) 
• A new Michigan office created to help businesses and workers affected by the clean energy transition has sent representatives to visit a dozen communities where a coal plant is set to close or the auto sector has a large presence. (Mining Journal)

COMMENTARY: 

• The Treasury Department’s proposed standards for hydrogen production tax credits are overly restrictive and threaten to stifle the green hydrogen industry, according to a finance executive and environmental writer. (Energy News Network)
• A Michigan Republican candidate for Congress says the state’s plan to incentivize large electric vehicle and battery manufacturing plants has failed, as evidenced by automakers scaling back plans for new facilities. (Bridge Michigan)