Illinois ranks highest for community-owned clean energy

CLEAN ENERGY: A new report ranks Illinois best in the country for state policy that supports community ownership of clean energy, while most states earn failing grades. (Canary Media)

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PIPELINES:

• Iowa House lawmakers pass a bill that would allow landowners to challenge eminent domain requests from carbon pipeline developers in court. (Iowa Capital Dispatch)
• A carbon pipeline developer has submitted nearly 2,000 pages of additional information on ways to address North Dakota regulators’ concerns as the project is up for reconsideration. (Bismarck Tribune)

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COAL: A federal judge criticizes Ameren for drawn-out legal proceedings involving remedies for a Missouri coal plant that repeatedly violated the Clean Air Act. (St. Louis Post-Dispatch)

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RENEWABLES:

• A $50,000 Farm Bureau donation to a ballot initiative seeking to overturn Michigan’s new renewable energy siting law angers some members who say the group is acting against their interests. (Planet Detroit)
• Onsite wind and solar installations help an Iowa farm meet nearly all of its power needs from renewables. (We Are Iowa)
• Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack was in Nebraska to announce $124 million in federal Inflation Reduction Act funding to help farms and ranches install renewable energy. (KETV)

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OIL & GAS: An Ohio agency has investigated 26 oil and gas incidents over the past five years in a single county, and more than 1,500 incidents statewide over the same period. (Athens County Independent)

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ELECTRIC VEHICLES:

• Electric vehicles’ share of new car purchases in Minnesota jumped from 3.5% in 2022 to 5.4% in 2023, which still lags behind the national rate. (Star Tribune)
• More than two years after Congress allocated $7.5 billion to build 500,000 electric vehicle charging stations across the country, just seven stations have been built in four states. (Washington Post)
• Minnesota regulators approve Xcel Energy’s $44.5 million plan to eliminate barriers to electric vehicle charging, a fraction of the company’s previous $330 million plan. (E&E News, subscription)

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BIOFUELS: Minnesota biofuel advocates are still waiting on the Biden administration’s analysis of which fuel stocks could capture lucrative tax credits to produce sustainable jet fuel. (Star Tribune)

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EFFICIENCY: At a stop in Madison, Wisconsin, Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm and residents tout the benefits of energy efficiency and federal clean energy investments. (Wisconsin Examiner)

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COMMENTARY: Former Ohio U.S. Senate candidate Tim Ryan abandons his populist brand as a spokesperson for big oil and gas companies that are opposed to halting liquefied natural gas exports, a Sierra Club leader writes. (Columbus Dispatch)

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