U.S. Supreme Court orders climate case to stay in Minnesota

CLIMATE: The U.S. Supreme Court denies six fossil fuel companies’ request to move the Minnesota attorney general’s climate lawsuit to federal court, keeping the case at the state level. (Star Tribune)

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CLEAN ENERGY:

• After passing sweeping clean energy bills last year, Minnesota lawmakers expect to temper their climate policy ambitions this year as advocates hope for pragmatic solutions to build clean energy projects. (MPR)
• A group of clean energy workers in southern Minnesota volunteer on a board that helps promote the region’s transition to clean energy. (Mankato Free Press)

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POLITICS: The former Ohio Republican Party chairman wants to have his conviction in the state’s largest bribery scandal thrown out, saying government officials abused their charging and prosecuting power. (Cincinnati Enquirer)

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PIPELINES: About 200 landowners gather in South Dakota’s capital to call on lawmakers to pass bills preventing the use of eminent domain for carbon pipelines and allowing counties to set local siting restrictions. (South Dakota Searchlight)

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GRID: Indiana utility NIPSCO and a chemical company will pay $66.7 million to settle charges related to manipulating grid operator MISO’s demand response program. (Utility Dive)

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SOLAR:

• A developer is in the early stages of pitching plans for a utility-scale solar project in eastern Iowa. (KWQC)
• A nearly 4.4 MW Nebraska Public Power District community solar project that was damaged in a June 2023 hail storm is back online. (Star-Herald)

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POWER PLANTS:

• The mayor of Superior, Wisconsin, asks state regulators to revisit their approval and conduct a new review of plans for a $700 million gas plant in the city along Lake Superior. (Wisconsin Public Radio)
• Wisconsin regulators are reviewing We Energies’ request to purchase a 100 MW share of a natural gas plant in Beloit owned by Alliant Energy for $94.5 million. (Journal Sentinel)

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OIL & GAS: Longtime scientist and advocate Sandra Steingraber says researchers have an obligation to speak on hydraulic fracking’s links to environmental health problems, and likens well sites as “these sort of giant cigarettes in the earth.” (Inside Climate News)

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STORAGE: A subsidiary of LG Energy Solution plans to build 10 grid-scale battery storage projects in the U.S. this year following the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act. (Utility Dive)

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HYDROGEN: Industry groups say the Biden administration’s proposed rules for a hydrogen production tax credit would kneecap the nascent industry while environmental groups say they are needed to keep emissions in check. (States Newsroom)

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