St. Louis leads the way on building energy use

EFFICIENCY: St. Louis is the first large Midwest city with building performance standards that will reach initial deadlines this year and determine whether building owners are penalized for noncompliance. (Canary Media)

‍

ELECTRIC VEHICLES:

• The Pentagon announces plans to blacklist Chinese company CATL, the world’s largest EV battery maker that supplies Tesla and is partnering with Ford on a $3.5 billion Michigan battery plant. (Washington Post)
• A state audit finds Kansas is the only state that has enacted and then eliminated tax credits for individuals buying electric vehicles as the incentives remain available to corporations. (Kansas Reflector)

‍

SOLAR:

• A solar developer says it’s no longer interested in leasing 420 acres of Michigan-owned forest land for development, which state officials say would have been a valid use similar to prior leases for mining, logging and oil and gas production. (Bridge)
• Ohio’s largest solar project, a 577 MW project developed by EDF Renewables and Enbridge for Amazon, is now online. (PV Magazine)

‍

OIL & GAS: Ohio’s new General Assembly leaders signal an interest in taking up energy-related policies in the new session, including making it easier to drill for gas in the state. (Ohio Capital Journal)

‍

GRID:

• Residential electricity prices rose faster than inflation from 2019-2023 as utilities increased spending on grid infrastructure, a federal lab’s new report finds. (E&E News, subscription)
• North Dakota fire officials say a wildfire that killed two people in October was caused by tree limbs falling on power lines. (North Dakota Monitor)

‍

UTILITIES: Missouri lawmakers are set to consider legislation that would allow gas utilities to base customer rates on projected expenses rather than actual costs, which critics say could increase bills. (Missouri Independent)

‍

BIOGAS: An Illinois natural gas provider is now operating its first renewable gas interconnection in the state at a facility that produces biogas from methane and carbon dioxide from landfill waste. (Pipeline and Gas Journal)

‍

OVERSIGHT: North Dakota Gov. Kelly Armstrong names the director of business for the state’s Public Service Commission to fill a vacancy on the regulatory board. (North Dakota Monitor)

‍

BIOFUELS: A Missouri agency invests $3.4 million on fuel distribution upgrades to expand the availability of higher blends of ethanol and biodiesel. (KMZU)

‍

COMMENTARY: Big tech companies should be required to shoulder the costs of new generation to power their data centers so that costs aren’t shifted on to utility ratepayers, an economist and author writes. (Utility Dive)

‍