Missouri rep: Address waste before expanding nuclear

NUCLEAR: U.S. Rep. Cori Bush of Missouri says the country should not expand nuclear power until it can address the health and environmental harms caused by existing nuclear waste, including in her predominantly Black St. Louis-area district. (Missouri Independent)

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SOLAR:

• Eight veteran analysts at a Minnesota agency file conflict of interest complaints against a fellow staffer who recommended a more supportive approach to community solar while her husband worked as a solar industry lobbyist. (Star Tribune)
• Ohio regulators will hold a public hearing in late April on plans for a 68 MW solar project in central Ohio. (Marion Star)

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WIND: Last week’s high winds that accompanied winter storms created record output for MidAmerican Energy’s Iowa wind farms. (Radio Iowa)

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OIL & GAS:

• A North Dakota county’s oil-driven population boom between 2010-2019 was accompanied by a spike in evictions as rent went up for other residents, researchers find. (Grist)
• Seven separate incidents from Jan. 11-18 leaked thousands of barrels of oil and produced water in parts of four North Dakota counties. (Inforum)

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UTILITIES:

• Two Ohio utilities oppose attempts by ratepayer advocates to seek more information on the operations and finances of two money-losing coal plants that are receiving support from HB 6. (Checks and Balances Project)
• American Electric Power is laying off 270 workers, mostly in Ohio, as it contends with “higher costs of providing reliable service.” (Columbus Dispatch)

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AIR QUALITY: Michigan environmental justice and health care groups back a lawsuit challenging the U.S. EPA’s decision to label metro Detroit in compliance with federal ozone standards. (Michigan Advance)

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RENEWABLES: Michigan’s top energy regulator downplays concerns about a new law allowing state approval of renewable energy projects, saying local input will still play a key role in decision making. (9&10 News)

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ELECTRIC VEHICLES:

• Ford is cutting back production of its F-150 Lightning electric truck upon lower-than-forecasted electric vehicle sales. (Associated Press)
• Experts say electric vehicle drivers can take simple measures to prepare their homes for chargers and reduce reliance on public stations. (Star Tribune)
• Four electric vehicle charging stations have been removed from South Dakota’s plan for publicly available stations funded by Volkswagen settlement funds. (South Dakota Searchlight)
• South Dakota lawmakers advance legislation to impose a tax on the mining of lithium, a key metal in electric vehicle batteries. (South Dakota Searchlight)

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GRID: Omaha Public Power District customers played a key role by conserving energy this week as the utility’s four coal units were offline during frigid weather. (World-Herald)

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CLEAN ENERGY: A new report challenges assumptions that the global cost of the clean energy transition will be astronomical, but rather much less when accounting for the loss in fossil fuel spending. (Inside Climate News)

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BIOFUELS: Iowa’s congressional delegation joins eight Midwestern governors in a letter calling on the Biden administration to allow year-round sales of higher blends of ethanol. (Cedar Rapids Gazette)

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COMMENTARY: A researcher says the U.S. corn belt would be better served by large solar installations to power electric vehicles than inefficient ethanol production to power internal combustion vehicles. (The New Republic)

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