Hydrogen hub concerns emerge in Northwest Indiana

HYDROGEN: Indiana advocates worry that federally funded plans to create a Midwest hydrogen production hub built around natural gas and carbon sequestration could perpetuate local pollution. (Energy News Network)

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NUCLEAR: The Biden administration is reportedly preparing to offer a conditional $1.5 billion loan to reopen a shuttered nuclear plant in southwestern Michigan. (Reuters)

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MINING: A Michigan panel delays voting on a $50 million grant for a copper mining project in the far western Upper Peninsula, which the developer says would provide key materials for electric vehicles. (Bridge)

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PIPELINES:

• An Illinois Republican introduces legislation that would prohibit companies from seeking eminent domain for carbon pipelines. (WLDS)
• South Dakota lawmakers advance a bill to create a regulatory structure and state permitting requirements for hydrogen pipelines. (KELO)
• An Ohio protester and author is arrested in Virginia for chaining herself to equipment and halting construction on the Mountain Valley pipeline for about seven hours. (Franklin News-Post)

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ELECTRIC VEHICLES: A new report finds electric vehicles account for about 4.5% of new vehicle sales in Indiana, which is less than half the national rate. (Times of Northwest Indiana)

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COAL: More than $3.1 million in federal funding is available this budget cycle to reclaim abandoned coal mines in North Dakota. (KXNET)

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SOLAR: Two small manufacturers in Missouri receive a total of $90,000 in federal funding for onsite solar installations. (KBIA)

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ELECTRIFICATION: A coalition of Minnesota advocacy groups seeks participants to help draft a roadmap for expanding home electrification as a climate strategy. (Spokesman-Recorder)

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TRANSPORTATION: Michigan officials begin surveying residents on their attitudes toward replacing a gasoline tax with a road usage charge as more fuel efficient and electric vehicles are adopted. (WOOD-TV8)

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GRID: Ameren completes upgrades to a 140-mile transmission line that utility officials say will improve reliability for seven southern Illinois counties. (KFVS)

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CLIMATE: A community mapping project supported by NOAA scientists identifies the urban cores of Cedar Rapids and Iowa City as more vulnerable to dangerous heat than surrounding areas. (Gazette)

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