Geothermal continues to gain ground

GEOTHERMAL: Improved technology and federal incentives spur St. Paul, Minnesota’s school district to pursue geothermal heating and cooling as a way to cut emissions and building costs. (Energy News Network)

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ALSO: The Potawatomi Tribe is installing a geothermal system at a Milwaukee casino and hotel to meet more than a quarter of the facility’s heating and cooling needs and reduce its carbon footprint. (Journal Sentinel)

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SOLAR:

• Ohio regulators approve a massive 800 MW solar project with 300 MW of storage near Columbus on land partially owned by Bill Gates. (Columbus Dispatch)
• Missouri regulators approve Ameren’s request to build three large solar projects with a combined capacity of 400 MW. (Post-Dispatch)

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POWER PLANTS: Plans for a roughly $1 billion natural gas plant in far northwestern Wisconsin grow uncertain after a local planning board denies a land use request meant to advance the project. (Star Tribune)

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PIPELINES: Michigan’s attorney general says a federal appeals court should send a pipeline dispute back to state court where the state can resume its case to shut down Line 5 in the Great Lakes. (MLive)

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POLITICS: Republicans pounce on the U.S. EPA’s new tailpipe emission rules as a way to drive  politically divided culture wars, accusing the Biden administration of taking away personal driving choices. (New York Times)

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WIND: MidAmerican Energy installs sensors at three wind farms that flash red lights on turbines only when low-flying planes are nearby instead of continuously. (Yale Climate Connections)

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GRID:

• A Minnesota electric cooperative plans to install 52 sensors on transmission lines across the state that help determine how much power lines can handle. (Inside Climate News)
• U.S. utilities are causing a growing number of wildfires across the country, prompting criticism from homeowners and others that the industry isn’t doing enough to stop the man-made disasters. (New York Times)

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AIR POLLUTION: Chicago ranked second among U.S. cities for air pollution last year as dangerous fine particulate matter continued to exceed global guidelines and were made worse by Canadian wildfires. (Chicago Tribune)

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COMMENTARY: Local restrictions on clean energy development deny communities a variety of social and economic benefits, a former law professor and clean energy advocate write. (Cleveland.com)

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