Study questions economics of Line 5 tunnel

PIPELINES: Declining residential demand for propane and escalating costs of a tunnel in the Straits of Mackinac cast doubt on the future of Line 5, according to a new study by an energy economics organization. (Michigan Advance)

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ALSO:

• Landowners expect to rally at the South Dakota capital today to call on lawmakers to adopt tighter restrictions on eminent domain for pipelines in the new legislative session. (South Dakota News Watch)
• Iowa House lawmakers anticipate revisiting legislation to tighten eminent domain restrictions, though Senate support remains unclear after unsuccessful efforts in the past two years. (KCCI)
• The Summit carbon pipeline developer faces ongoing legal challenges in Iowa, North and South Dakota as it hopes to bring the $8 billion project online in 2026 at the earliest. (Cedar Rapids Gazette)

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RENEWABLES: Two North Dakota utilities receive a combined $1.57 billion to add thousands of megawatts of renewable energy under an Inflation Reduction Act program. (KXNET)

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CLIMATE: The future of Des Moines, Iowa’s climate change programs are uncertain after officials eliminated the city’s office of sustainability to help plug a $17 million budget deficit. (KCCI)

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NUCLEAR:

• The owner of a Wisconsin nuclear plant along Lake Michigan continues to seek a 20-year extension to operate the plant as nuclear energy critics raise concerns about the plant’s safety. (WUWM)
• Federal regulators will hold a public meeting this week on plans to replace about 1,400 cracked cooling tubes at a shuttered Michigan nuclear plant that seeks to reopen. (Michigan Public)

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SOLAR: The Ohio Supreme Court is weighing the fate of four utility-scale solar projects as the state faces a spike in electricity demand from data centers. (Cleveland.com, subscription)

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GRID: American Electric Power will sell a nearly 20% stake in two Midwest transmission subsidiaries for $2.82 billion to fund investments in transmission, distribution and generation projects. (Utility Dive)

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EMISSIONS: Efforts to decarbonize large commercial vehicles like semi-trucks and school buses could be in jeopardy under the Trump administration, creating public health risks and derailing climate measures, advocates say. (Inside Climate News)

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BIOFUELS: Iowa biofuel advocates say the Biden administration’s failure to finalize sustainable aviation fuels tax credits leaves the guidelines unclear as the Trump administration takes over. (Iowa Capital Dispatch)

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ELECTRIC VEHICLES:

• Michigan’s second-largest city receives $1.5 million in federal funding to add eight electric vehicle charging stations. (WOOD-TV8)
• The Biden administration announces $635 million for electric vehicle charging stations in 27 states as it races to commit funding for a $2.5 billion program before the Trump administration takes over. (E&E News, subscription)

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COMMENTARY: Minnesota should lift its moratorium on new nuclear plant construction to help attract large data centers, writes the head of a Minnesota private equity firm. (Star Tribune)

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