Climate change complicates air quality efforts

AIR POLLUTION: Several Missouri counties receive poor or failing grades in a new air pollution scorecard that tracks ozone and particulate pollution, including from burning fossil fuels. (St. Louis Post-Dispatch)

‍

ALSO:

• More broadly, the air pollution scorecard shows improvement in parts of the Upper Midwest where coal plants are closing, vehicles are more fuel-efficient and industry is cleaning up operations. (CNN)
• Minnesota clean air advocates say that despite slight improvements in air quality in the Twin Cities region, climate change is making air pollution more common and harder to clean up. (MPR News)

‍

SOLAR:

• A large Michigan auto supplier will install onsite solar and offset the rest of its power needs through utility contracts to meet a 100% renewable energy goal. (Jackson TV)
• Tribal and rural areas in the Dakotas will benefit from roughly $260 million in federal funding to support low-income solar projects. (North Dakota Monitor)
• Seven leading U.S. solar manufacturers ask the Biden administration to expand tariffs on Southeast Asia solar imports to protect domestic manufacturing. (E&E News, subscription)

‍

PIPELINES: Michigan environmental activists say building a tunnel for Line 5 in the Straits of Mackinac poses serious risks during construction while the tunnel’s ongoing operation violates tribal treaty rights. (9&10 News)

‍

BIOFUELS: As commodity prices decline and operating costs rise, Ohio farmers hope new markets for ethanol will provide financial stability. (Columbus Dispatch)

‍

WIND:

• A proposed northwestern Iowa wind project has been scaled back in one county where local officials prepare to adopt zoning restrictions on wind development. (Radio Iowa)
• A developer secures $437 million in financing for two wind repowering projects in Iowa and equipment replacement in Minnesota that were made possible through the federal Inflation Reduction Act. (North American Windpower)

‍

NUCLEAR: A retired physicist tells a northern Minnesota climate advocacy group that nuclear power will play a key role in the state’s energy future that includes a carbon-free power mandate by 2040. (The Timberjay)

‍

CLEAN ENERGY: The U.S. Department of Labor releases an interactive map showing tens of thousands of jobs created by clean energy projects across the country. (Daily Reporter)

‍

COMMENTARY:

• The U.S. Supreme Court’s “disastrous” Citizens United ruling paved the way for Ohio’s largest corruption scandal in state history as dark-money groups shielded FirstEnergy campaign contributions to lawmakers. (Ohio Capital Journal)
• The head of a coal-backed trade group says Indiana is retiring coal plants prematurely as the state seeks to attract energy-intensive industries like data centers. (Indiana Capital Chronicle)

‍