Tribal microgrid project targets energy burden, resilience

SOLAR: Developers hope to finish construction next year on a solar-powered microgrid on the White Earth Reservation in northern Minnesota that aims to reduce energy costs and provide backup power to the small community. (Energy News Network)

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ALSO:

• A solar developer that has pursued a southern Indiana project for years says new countywide size restrictions and setback distances will discourage future projects. (WHAS)
• Major U.S. coal producer Peabody Energy is collaborating with a large renewable energy developer to put solar and battery solar installations on reclaimed mine land in Illinois and Indiana. (Power Magazine)

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PIPELINES: The Iowa Supreme Court affirms a lower court ruling that Summit Carbon Solutions has temporary access to private property owners’ land for surveying despite claims that the practice is “invasive.” (Iowa Capital Dispatch)

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COAL:

• Advocates push back on Indiana Michigan Power’s attempt to charge southwestern Michigan customers for power costs associated with aging coal plants that critics say should be shouldered by the utility. (MLive)
• New federal funding helps Iowa reclaim a growing number of its more than 300 for coal mines into new uses. (Cedar Rapids Gazette, subscription)

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ELECTRIC VEHICLES: President-elect Trump’s potential to withdraw $7,500 federal tax credits on electric vehicles could result in a 27% drop in sales for electric cars and trucks, experts say. (New York Times)

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NUCLEAR: Data center developers’ interest in both large and small-scale nuclear reactors to meet their power needs is creating opportunities for contractors with specialized experience in the field. (Construction Dive)

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GRID: A clean energy analyst says federal regulators’ decision to give states more of a say in transmission cost planning was a “Kumbaya moment” that will hopefully prevent court challenges to the federal rule. (Utility Dive)

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BATTERIES: Federal energy officials finalize a $1.3 billion loan for a company to finance an Indiana plant that will make lithium-ion battery separators used mostly in electric vehicles. (Reuters)

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CLEAN ENERGY: A Nebraska village receives $100,000 in federal clean energy funding to install a solar project at a wastewater treatment facility. (High Plains Journal)

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