Midwest Energy News Archives | Energy News Network

Can federal incentives bring solar cell manufacturing to the U.S.?

Andy Balaskovitz — Fri, 06 Sep 2024 13:01:34 +0000

SOLAR: A Canadian solar manufacturer’s plan to build a U.S. solar cell factory in Minnesota shows the Inflation Reduction Act is working as intended, clean energy and economic development officials say. (Energy News Network)

ALSO:

Two solar companies are partnering again to develop community solar projects in Illinois, this time totaling 21 MW of capacity. (Solar Industry)
A developer starts construction on a 117 MW solar project in southern Ohio. (Solar Power World)

CLEAN ENERGY:

Wisconsin clean energy advocates liken the Inflation Reduction Act to the New Deal for its potential to spur private-sector investments to address climate change. (Wisconsin Examiner)
Three North Dakota utilities and one in South Dakota are among the recipients of $7.3 billion in federal grants and loans to spur rural clean energy projects. (North Dakota Monitor; South Dakota Searchlight)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES: The Rosebud Sioux Tribe in South Dakota will receive a nearly $8 million grant, which the state declined to apply for, to buy electric buses and charging stations. (South Dakota Searchlight)

PIPELINES: Iowa carbon pipeline opponents point to a new poll they commissioned that found 81% respondents oppose the use of eminent domain for private projects, including pipelines. (Cedar Rapids Gazette)

POLITICS: A proposed $2.4 billion battery plant in western Michigan has grown from a local issue to the national political stage as Republicans attack the project for its ties to China. (NBC News)

COAL: An Illinois scholarship program is helping former coal industry workers transition into new careers. (WSIU)

WIND: A large renewable energy developer pledges to remove used wind turbine blades from a Minnesota town after recycling companies recently failed to take on the task. (Star Tribune)

GRID:

Grid operator PJM is considering a new plan that would fast-track shovel-ready generation projects through the interconnection process to boost power supplies. (Utility Dive)
Ameren held 20 public meetings in northeastern Missouri last month to present plans for 200 miles of transmission lines across the region. (NEMO News)
Xcel Energy proposes a new transmission line in western Wisconsin that it says will improve reliability and move renewable energy coming on the grid. (news release)

COMMENTARY: The head of a Wisconsin dairy cooperative says the dairy industry can play a key role in producing sustainable aviation fuels. (Star Tribune)

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Can federal incentives bring solar cell manufacturing to the U.S.? is an article from Energy News Network, a nonprofit news service covering the clean energy transition. If you would like to support us please make a donation.

Rural co-ops set for clean energy boost

Andy Balaskovitz — Thu, 05 Sep 2024 13:04:13 +0000

CLEAN ENERGY: President Biden is set to announce $7.3 billion in Inflation Reduction Act clean energy financing for rural co-ops today, including $573 million for a Wisconsin electric co-op. (Wisconsin Examiner)

ALSO: An Indiana co-op will use the funding to buy renewable energy as well as power from a shuttered Michigan nuclear plant planned to come back online. (Indiana Capital Chronicle)

GRID: Investor-owned utilities in deregulated states like Illinois and Ohio say they could help bring new generation online to ensure adequate supplies in PJM’s territory following a recent spike in capacity prices. (Utility Dive)

SOLAR:

A Minnesota solar project with pollinator-friendly habitat is part of a growing effort to use solar not just to fight climate change but also prevent a collapse in biodiversity. (New York Times)
Iowa State University researchers say an agrivoltaics pilot project with Alliant Energy is demonstrating that certain crops can be grown at a commercial scale beneath solar panels. (Iowa Capital Dispatch)
A Michigan solar project that’s among the first to use a new state program providing direct payments to communities instead of taxes secures a power purchase agreement with an in-state energy company. (Solar Industry)
A Wisconsin car dealership plans to offset more than 50% of its power usage with rooftop solar at multiple buildings. (Solar Power World)

PIPELINES: The Sierra Club asks Iowa regulators to dismiss permit requests for Summit Carbon Solutions’ carbon pipeline expansion, claiming the company acquired land easements too early. (Cedar Rapids Gazette)

BATTERIES: A German automotive company plans a $105 million battery components production plant in western Michigan that will supply Ford electric transit vans. (WOOD-TV8)

BIOGAS: A water conservation group sues an Iowa county for allegedly failing to allow enough public input before approving a rezoning for a renewable natural gas plant. (Cedar Rapids Gazette)

UTILITIES: Ohio FirstEnergy customers can expect higher electric bills next year as the utility seeks higher charges but multiple cases tied to the utility’s corruption scandal remain unresolved. (Energy News Network)

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Rural co-ops set for clean energy boost is an article from Energy News Network, a nonprofit news service covering the clean energy transition. If you would like to support us please make a donation.

The case for building highly efficient affordable housing

Andy Balaskovitz — Wed, 04 Sep 2024 12:58:24 +0000

EFFICIENCY: Some affordable housing developers, including in Illinois, embrace Passive House building standards that make homes highly energy-efficient with only slightly higher upfront costs. (Energy News Network)

HYDROGEN: North Dakota officials are working to secure a new partner for a hydrogen production hub project after a key player withdrew from plans last month amid fertilizer market challenges. (North Dakota Monitor)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES:

Minnesota will soon have about 100 electric school buses statewide with the help of state, federal and private funding. (Sahan Journal)
ComEd awards a $45,000 rebate to a Chicago suburb that plans to electrify its public works, police and fire department fleet vehicles. (WLS)

SOLAR:

A southern Indiana city council rejects rezoning for a utility-scale solar project that faced pushback from some neighbors. (WHAS)
Retail grocery chain Hy-Vee completes the first phase of a solar project in Iowa that’s part of the company’s broader sustainability goals. (Progressive Grocer)

GRID: Ameren Missouri’s calls to speed up the regulatory process for building new power plants to meet anticipated load growth face skepticism by some who question the necessity of new projects and are concerned about fast-tracking utility spending. (St. Louis Post-Dispatch, subscription)

PIPELINES: Iowa regulators will start public hearings next week on Summit Carbon Solution’s plan to expand the route of its proposed multi-state carbon pipeline. (The Courier, subscription)

WIND:

A North Dakota labor union accuses a wind energy developer of hiring out-of-state workers to build a project after promising to use local labor during the approval process. (North Dakota Monitor)
A company that pledged to remove used wind turbine blades from a vacant Minnesota property to have them recycled in Ohio abruptly went out of business, leaving state regulators to decide whether to intervene. (Star Tribune)

UTILITIES: Ohio consumer advocates raise concerns about Duke Energy’s request to raise average electric bills by $11 a month over the coming years to pay for grid modernization and energy efficiency projects. (WLWT)

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The case for building highly efficient affordable housing is an article from Energy News Network, a nonprofit news service covering the clean energy transition. If you would like to support us please make a donation.

Dozens of Wisconsin clean energy projects poised for savings

Andy Balaskovitz — Tue, 03 Sep 2024 13:05:18 +0000

CLEAN ENERGY: A national report identifies thousands of planned, under construction and recently completed clean energy projects that could be eligible for labor-related Inflation Reduction Act incentives, including more than 80 in Wisconsin. (WPR)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES:

A used car dealer in northwestern Ohio specializes in used electric vehicles, which executives call an underserved market in Ohio. (Toledo Blade)
The University of Iowa will have six new electric buses on campus in 2026 thanks to a $16.4 million federal grant. (Daily Iowan)

WIND: Researchers at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory are developing wind turbines made from recyclable plant material that would avoid the need to send them to landfills. (New York Times)

GRID: A University of Minnesota professor says grid reliability measures like underground power lines, energy storage systems and climate resilience hubs are needed amid aging grid infrastructure and more extreme weather. (MPR)

CARBON CAPTURE: Western Michigan University receives a $5 million federal grant to advance research on commercial-scale carbon capture and storage. (WOOD-TV8)

BIOGAS: Michigan clean water advocates call on state regulators to deny a permit for a biogas production plant that an owner says is needed to remain profitable. (Michigan Advance)

EFFICIENCY: Kansas City, Missouri, receives a $9 million federal Inflation Reduction Act grant to improve energy efficiency in city buildings. (KCTV)

SOLAR:

AES Indiana seeks regulatory permission to buy an 85 MW solar project with energy storage to boost the company’s clean energy portfolio. (Inside Indiana Business)
An Illinois group-buying program has helped hundreds of residents not only save costs on solar installations but also wade through aggressive sales tactics. (Chicago Tribune, subscription)
A Michigan contractor is selected to build an advanced research vessel with onboard solar power for a state department to gather more precise fisheries data. (News-Review)

BIOFUELS: Minnesota will award more than $3.3 million to gas stations to upgrade or replace gas infrastructure to support biofuels with higher levels of ethanol. (Center Square)

COMMENTARY: A Minnesota columnist says it would be easier and cheaper for taxpayers to phase out ethanol plants and grow less corn than building billions of dollars in carbon pipelines to bury emissions underground. (Star Tribune)

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Dozens of Wisconsin clean energy projects poised for savings is an article from Energy News Network, a nonprofit news service covering the clean energy transition. If you would like to support us please make a donation.

Lawsuit challenging massive Illinois coal plant will proceed

Andy Balaskovitz — Fri, 30 Aug 2024 12:55:33 +0000

COAL: A federal judge allows a Sierra Club lawsuit, which claims a large southern Illinois coal plant is violating the Clean Air Act, to move forward as the plant operator seeks to dismiss the suit. (St. Louis Public Radio)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES:

Production is delayed until 2027 at an Indiana electric vehicle battery plant jointly run by GM and Samsung as EV sales slow and the companies finalize contract details. (Associated Press)
General Motors will bring its electric commercial van startup BrightDrop under the Chevrolet brand in an effort to expand sales beyond delivery companies. (Detroit News, subscription)

SOLAR:

Construction has started on an 800 MW solar project 30 miles west of Springfield, Illinois, that the developer says will contribute $100 million in tax revenue. (Newsweek)
A developer breaks ground on a 251 MW solar project in southwestern Indiana. (Solar Industry)
A central Ohio city council votes down proposed commercial solar regulations that would have accommodated a potential 200-acre project. (Peak of Ohio)

PIPELINES: A carbon pipeline development official tells Iowa landowners that its proposed project is less of a hazard than gas pipelines that already traverse the state. (KCCI)

RENEWABLES: U.S. renewable energy investment is up 63% from pre-Inflation Reduction Act levels, as developers target large wind projects while investment wanes in solar. (Utility Dive)

NUCLEAR: A Michigan electric cooperative says a contract to buy electricity from a reopened nuclear plant will help get it to 100% carbon-free power by 2030, as opponents seek to block the reopening plan. (Crain’s, subscription)

COMMENTARY:

A Natural Resources Defense Council official says updating Michigan’s building codes can make homes more resilient to extreme weather and save homeowners money on utility bills. (Bridge)
The mayor of Michigan’s capital city hits back at a GOP congressional candidate’s claims that public electric vehicle investments have failed, saying that the state risks ceding jobs and market share to China by not supporting the industry. (Bridge)
PJM’s latest capacity auction with sky-high prices should not be a cause for panic and shows that the grid operator’s market is catching up to the rest of the country in needing to manage supply changes, a former regulator writes. (Utility Dive)

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Lawsuit challenging massive Illinois coal plant will proceed is an article from Energy News Network, a nonprofit news service covering the clean energy transition. If you would like to support us please make a donation.