Life of large Indiana coal plant could be extended

COAL: Clean energy advocates push back on Duke Energy’s new plan to extend the life of the country’s second-largest coal plant, the Gibson plant in Indiana, by three years to 2038 to meet rising electricity demand. (Inside Climate News)

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CLEAN ENERGY:

• Xcel Energy agrees to drop plans for a new North Dakota gas plant and invest in more renewables and battery storage under a settlement with environmental, labor and other groups over the utility’s long-term energy plans. (E&E News, subscription)
• The USDA announces $1.4 million in grants to support rural solar, wind and storage projects in Minnesota. (KTTC)

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UTILITIES: Protesters outside We Energies’ headquarters in Milwaukee call on the utility to invest in more renewable energy instead of gas plants, and to limit requests for rate increases. (Wisconsin Public Radio)

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GRID: A new U.S. Energy Department study identifies parts of U.S. grid territories that could be suitable for new transmission interconnections. (Utility Dive)

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OIL & GAS: The Ohio Supreme Court rejects a company’s effort to block a gas pipeline from traversing its property in Maumee after raising safety and environmental concerns. (Ohio Capital Journal)

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ELECTRIC VEHICLES:

• Republican vice presidential candidate JD Vance’s remarks about declining to commit federal funds to convert a Michigan GM plant to make electric vehicles were a “middle finger to Michigan auto workers,” Gov. Gretchen Whitmer says. (Michigan Advance)
• Chicago utility ComEd announces a $90 million rebate program aimed at providing instant savings for customers converting fleet vehicles to electric models. (Electrek)

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CLIMATE: Researchers in northern Minnesota are testing different formulations for biochar, a charcoal-like material that advocates say stores carbon dioxide that would have otherwise been released into the atmosphere. (MPR News)

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NUCLEAR: Regulators and lawmakers should do more to make nuclear reactor licensing more accessible and craft regulations that allow existing reactors to support data centers and hydrogen producers, panelists say during a clean energy conference. (Utility Dive)

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COMMENTARY: Advocates continue to see longstanding failures in enforcing groundwater protections from the widespread injection of oil and gas drilling wastewater, including in Ohio. (Natural Resources Defense Council)

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