Critics question carbon pipeline lobbying blitz by S.D. ethanol industry

PIPELINES: South Dakota ethanol companies offered meals, swag, and other perks to busloads of people to influence lawmakers on carbon pipeline legislation last month, raising legal and ethical questions from critics. (Argus Leader)

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ALSO:

• The CEO of a carbon pipeline developer says safety concerns based on a previous pipeline break in Mississippi are unfounded and that opponents represent a loud minority. (Globe Gazette)
• The North Dakota Republican Party will vote on a resolution objecting to the use of eminent domain for carbon capture pipelines, targeting a project GOP Gov. Doug Burghum and other Republicans support. (North Dakota Monitor)
• A South Dakota group made up mostly of landowners considers launching a petition to overturn a new state law that strips local control over pipeline siting decisions. (KELO)

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ELECTRIC VEHICLES: Purdue University partners with an Indiana agency and the private sector to build the country’s first highway segment that could wirelessly charge electric vehicles as they travel. (Indianapolis Star)

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BATTERIES:

• Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm joins Michigan labor leaders in announcing a new battery manufacturing workforce development program and to tour a major plant expansion near Lake Michigan. (Michigan Advance, MLive)
• Illinois lawmakers are set to consider bills that would regulate facilities that store electric vehicle batteries. (Capital News Illinois)
• A Michigan panel approves a $50 million grant for a proposed Upper Peninsula copper mine that could provide materials for electric vehicle batteries. (WOOD-TV8)

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SOLAR:

• After adopting zoning restrictions that effectively ban large-scale wind projects, an eastern Nebraska county is now set to consider rules for large solar projects. (News Channel Nebraska)
• Two Ohio Power Siting Board members claim that the board’s approval of an 800 MW solar project was unprecedented because of local opposition to the project. (WYSO)

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UTILITIES: AEP Ohio residential customers will pay about $10 more per month in higher transmission fees while those same rates for businesses and large industrial users will go down. (Columbus Dispatch)

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NUCLEAR: Momentum is building behind nuclear energy in Michigan as lawmakers seek to support the industry, regulators study the benefits and risks, and top state and federal officials plan to reopen a shuttered plant. (Michigan Advance)

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GRID:

• A Chicago suburb plans to join nearly 300 Illinois towns that impose a municipal electricity tax, with the purpose of improving grid infrastructure and burying power lines. (Daily Herald)
• Grid operators PJM and MISO consider whether to launch an interregional transmission study this year amid mounting pressure from interested groups to improve planning. (RTO Insider, subscription)

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COMMENTARY: A University of Kansas doctoral student says boosting energy efficiency in rental housing would deliver environmental, economic and social benefits. (Kansas Reflector)

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