What’s next for Wisconsin coal plants?

COAL: Wisconsin utilities are in the process of determining what’s next for the sites of the state’s large coal plants as just a few will still be producing power in the coming years. (Wisconsin Public Radio)

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GEOTHERMAL: Minnesota lawmakers introduce legislation to support the development of networked geothermal systems, a technology that is already taking off in the state to reduce buildings’ emissions. (Energy News Network)

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POWER PLANTS: Local officials in northern Wisconsin decline to set public hearings for a proposed 625 MW gas plant near Lake Superior, delaying the project that has divided local opponents and labor groups. (Forum News Service)

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CLIMATE: A Chicago neighborhood group pushes for more affordable housing development near transit stops, an approach leaders say combats both climate change and gentrification. (Grist)

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ELECTRIC VEHICLES:

• Ford announces it will delay the launch of an electric truck and an electric SUV to focus on gas-electric hybrids as sales expectations decline. (Associated Press)
• A Minnesota logistics company is piloting a program to determine whether electric semi-trucks can be a viable alternative to diesel-powered trucks. (WCCO)
• A tribe in Michigan receives a $4 million grant through the Bureau of Indian Affairs to replace gas-powered fleet vehicles with electric cars and install solar. (Crain’s Grand Rapids Business)

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OHIO: A federal judge denies a request to move former Public Utilities Commission Chairperson Sam Randazzo’s corruption trial to Columbus from Cincinnati, where it is likely to start this summer. (Statehouse News Bureau)

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SOLAR: Energy experts broadly expect natural gas to replace most of the solar output, which could top 40 GWh total, lost during Monday’s eclipse. (Utility Dive)

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OIL & GAS: Officials believe oil leaking from containers on private property and into a storm drainage system caused a spill into a river in Flint, Michigan. (WJRT)

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COMMENTARY:

• Legal and energy scholars write that the biggest threat to U.S. grid reliability is not a growing portfolio of renewable energy, but rather an outdated and parochial oversight system. (Utility Dive)

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Ohio ratepayer advocates say proposed state legislation would “rein in utility greed,” reduce shutoffs and prioritize customers in the wake of a historic utility bribery scandal. (Columbus Dispatch)

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