Keep up with energy-related developments in the Great Lakes area with Great Lakes Now’s biweekly headline roundup.
Click on the headline to read the full story:
Illinois
Byron nuclear station, 12 taxing bodies reach settlement on EAV — Ogle County News
The owner of an Illinois nuclear plant reaches an agreement with surrounding taxing entities on how much it owes in property taxes, settling years of ongoing appeals.
At rules hearing, U.S. EPA hears human toll of unaddressed coal ash pollution — Energy News Network
At a federal hearing in Chicago, residents and advocates plead with U.S. EPA officials to further expand the agency’s proposed coal ash storage rules and step up enforcement of existing regulations.
Citing racial disparities and rising gas rates, Illinois groups call for building electrification — Energy News Network
Consumer and environmental groups urge Illinois regulators to pursue “restorative justice” in a Peoples Gas rate case to address alleged environmental racism in the utility’s record of customer disconnections.
Indiana
Sulfur smell covering northwest Indiana believed to be caused by BP Whiting Refinery — Indiana Public Radio
Recent severe weather caused power outages and unplanned gas flaring at a northwestern Indiana oil refinery, where surrounding neighbors complained of sulfur smells.
Michigan
Trump says EVs will ‘decimate’ Michigan in Novi speech — MLive
Former President Donald Trump claims during a rally in Michigan that electric vehicles will topple the state’s economy, though studies have shown that such job loss claims are inflated and not backed by evidence.
Rep. Tsernoglou urges lawmakers to leverage federal funds by passing community solar bills — Michigan Advance
Michigan lawmakers say adopting bills to allow for community solar projects will also help attract federal funding to projects.
Republicans deny climate science in Michigan clean energy hearing — MLive
Michigan Republicans dismiss climate change as a “theory,” rejecting established science as they attacked proposed clean energy targets.
Opponents sue to stop Marshall Megasite — WOOD-TV8
Opponents of Ford’s massive proposed electric vehicle battery manufacturing plant in Michigan sue to stop the project based on zoning grounds.
Ford cutting several hundred white-collar jobs to reduce cost amid transition to electric vehicles — Associated Press
Ford is cutting hundreds of white-collar engineering and other salaried jobs as it seeks to trim costs amid a transition to electric vehicles.
Sheep become eco-friendly landscapers at Western Michigan University’s solar garden — WWMT
A Michigan utility introduces sheep at an 8.5-acre solar installation to help manage vegetation.
Montrose Township residents seek removal of solar farm ordinance — WJRT
Residents in an eastern Michigan township seek to overturn an ordinance that they view as too friendly to commercial solar development.
Grand Rapids getting 11 natural gas buses through $6.2M federal grant — MLive
Michigan’s second-largest city receives a $6.2 million federal grant to purchase 11 compressed natural gas-powered buses.
Michigan reps to DTE Energy CEO: Why do you deserve $10M in pay? — Bridge
The head of Detroit-based DTE Energy faces more scrutiny from state lawmakers questioning his $10 million salary and the utility’s ongoing grid reliability problems.
New state budget includes money to restart Palisades — WSJM
Michigan lawmakers pass a new state budget that includes $150 million to help restart a shuttered nuclear plant along Lake Michigan.
Protesters scuffle with organizers of Line 5 lecture in Petoskey — Interlochen Public Radio
A scuffle ensued at a northern Michigan college as protesters attempted to disrupt an Enbridge official’s Line 5 pipeline lecture.
A Climate Laggard in America’s Industrial Heartland Has a Plan to Change, Fast — New York Times
Michigan Democrats seek to shed the state’s reputation as a climate laggard dependent on auto manufacturing with an aggressive clean energy strategy calling for 100% carbon-free power by 2035.
Michigan funneled $2B into luring big business. Here’s where it went. — MLive
An economic development fund to help lure electric vehicle and battery manufacturers to Michigan has ballooned to $2 billion.
Tribal leaders, environmental advocates decry Enbridge appeal of Line 5 ruling — Michigan Advance
Environmental groups and tribal leaders criticize Enbridge for appealing a court ruling ordering the company to shut down a segment of Line 5 in Wisconsin in the coming years.
Minnesota
Rooftop solar atop affordable apartments in Minneapolis connects residents to savings — Sahan Journal
A new partnership is bringing rooftop solar installations to multifamily affordable housing buildings in the Twin Cities, creating opportunities for tenants to reduce electricity bills.
Minnesota Power launches new Sylvan solar project — Daily Energy Insider
Minnesota Power completes a 15.2 MW solar project, one of three recent installations using panels manufactured by an in-state company.
Minnesota is the Midwest leader on electric vehicles, report says — Minnesota Reformer
Minnesota leads the Midwest with supportive policies to expand electric vehicle ownership, according to a new scorecard grading incentives, charging infrastructure and grid optimization.
Centerpoint proposes 106 million plan to cut cardon emissions from gas system public utilities commission — Star Tribune
Minnesota’s largest gas utility proposes a five-year, $106 million plan to cut carbon emissions through a series of clean energy pilot projects, including geothermal and renewable natural gas.
Plans for new EV chargers form in Washington County — Star Tribune
A gas station chain seeks to install a series of fast-charging electric vehicle stations in a county outside of Minneapolis where drivers currently have few options to charge.
Ohio
Lordstown Motors files for bankruptcy and sues former partner Foxconn — CNN
Ohio-based electric vehicle startup Lordstown Motors files for bankruptcy and sues its former partner Foxconn, accusing the company of fraud and not following through on promises to invest.
Ohio utilities could resume energy efficiency programs under bipartisan bill — Energy News Network
Bipartisan legislation advancing in the GOP-controlled Ohio House would allow utilities to voluntarily reintroduce energy efficiency programs, which were eliminated in 2019 as part of House Bill 6.
Ex-Ohio GOP chair, lobbyist Matt Borges shows remorse, gets 5 years for role in $60M bribery scheme — Associated Press
An Ohio lobbyist and former chairman of the state GOP was sentenced to five years in prison for his role in a $60 million corruption scheme that resulted in favorable legislation for FirstEnergy.
State budget could spawn hundreds of millions in new charges on Ohioans’ electric, gas bills — Cleveland.com
The latest draft of Ohio’s state budget would allow utilities to add bill surcharges to support infrastructure for speculative economic development sites and electric vehicle charging stations.
Ex-Ohio House speaker gets max sentence in corruption case, blasted as ‘bully with a lust for power’ — Ideastream
A federal judge sentences former Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder to 20 years in prison for his role in a $61 million bribery and corruption scheme that resulted in legislation to benefit FirstEnergy.
Federal judge blasts disgraced Ohio House speaker as a “bully,” sends him straight to jail — Ohio Capital Journal
The judge during sentencing called Householder a “bully,” accusing him of perjury during the trial and taking money that belonged to ratepayers and handing it to “suits in private jets.”
Ohio froze an ex-utility regulator’s $8 million in assets. Lawyers disagree over whether it’s legal — Associated Press
Ohio’s attorney general continues an effort to freeze the assets of former top energy regulator Sam Randazzo, claiming he was spending down bribe money from FirstEnergy.
FirstEnergy dark money payments included over $550,000 for ‘consumers’ group’s campaign against Cleveland Public Power — Energy and Policy Institute
FirstEnergy secretly paid more than $550,000 to a front group and its campaign against Cleveland Public Power, a publicly owned nonprofit utility that competes with a FirstEnergy subsidiary, bank records show.
Don’t be an ash: Court says coal companies must follow state regulations — Ideastream
An Ohio appeals court rules that coal companies must follow state coal ash regulations even if they are more stringent than federal rules.
Johnson Run strip mine mineral rights under unusual new ownership — Athens County Independent
An Ohio conservation group recently acquired the mineral rights of a strip mine with intentions to leave the coal resources in the ground.
Wisconsin
Wildfire smoke prompts health warnings, calls for climate action and for public health response — Wisconsin Examiner
Unhealthy air quality across the Midwest caused by Canadian wildfires prompts Wisconsin clean energy advocates to call for a swift transition to renewable energy to address the underlying climate issues.
National
Republican attacks on ESG aren’t stopping companies in red states from going green — NPR
Large industrial companies operating in red states where lawmakers have sought to crack down on environmental, social and governance investment policies still find that ESG practices are good for business.
Infrastructure funding is bringing zero-emission buses to communities that need them most — Grist
The 2021 federal infrastructure law has already added 1,800 no-emission buses to U.S. roadways, more than doubling the number of such vehicles in use.
Midwest states, often billed as climate havens, suffer summer of smoke, drought, heat — Investigate Midwest
Recent drought and poor air quality from wildfires are challenging the perception of the Midwest as a climate refuge, experts say.
Who decides where we get electricity and how much we pay? Mostly White, politically connected men — Energy News Network
Recent studies find that most public utility commissions, which make key decisions on states’ transition to clean energy and set electricity rates for customers, largely lack diversity of life and professional experience.
Catch more news at Great Lakes Now:
Energy News Roundup: Ohio law blocks solar energy development, Line 5 fight in Michigan continues
Energy News Roundup: Minnesota leading in clean energy, coal plant closing in Michigan
