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EFFICIENCY: A new report finds utilities in Tennessee and other Southeast states have the lowest energy efficiency ranking of any region in the U.S. (Tennessee Lookout)
OIL & GAS: Texas regulators adopt updated oilfield waste rules that now cover drill cuttings, mud that oozes from wells and the wastewater that comes to the surface during fracking. (Inside Climate News)
SOLAR: A 900 MW Texas solar farm uses roughly 3,000 sheep to maintain vegetation at its 4,000-acre site, illustrating a broader trend pairing livestock with solar energy development across the U.S. (Associated Press)
POLITICS:
COAL:
ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE:
GRID:
CARBON CAPTURE: The U.S. EPA approves West Virginia’s request for primary enforcement authority for the drilling of injection wells for carbon capture projects. (Charleston Gazette-Mail)
EMISSIONS:
COMMENTARY:
POLITICS: On his first day in office, President Trump declares a national energy emergency to give himself broad powers to encourage fossil fuel production to meet growing power demand, though the move could face legal challenges. (The Guardian, The Hill)
ALSO:
ELECTRIC VEHICLES:
WIND: Trump orders a stop to new permitting for onshore and offshore wind projects and directs the Interior Department to find out whether it can end or amend existing leases. (E&E News)
OIL & GAS: Trump issues executive orders aimed at spurring more oil & gas drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and revoking policies that “burden the development of domestic energy resources.” (The Hill)
OVERSIGHT: President Trump names a longtime Virginia utility regulator to lead the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. (Cardinal News)
SOLAR:
CLIMATE: A study shows how fossil fuel companies collaboratively used Twitter to seed doubt about international climate action. (Grist)
GRID: Illinois lawmakers and advocates are drafting legislation that would allow merchant transmission line developers to access subsidies under the state’s renewable energy credits program to help remove cost barriers for wind and solar developers. (Energy News Network)
EFFICIENCY: A new report finds utilities in Tennessee and other Southeast states have the lowest energy efficiency ranking of any region in the U.S. (Tennessee Lookout)
As long-distance transmission line capacity emerges as a bottleneck for Illinois’ clean energy transition, state lawmakers and advocates are drafting legislation to establish state incentives for power line projects.
One proposal under consideration would allow independent transmission developers to access subsidies through the state’s Renewable Energy Credit (RECs) program, the same mechanism that has fueled the state’s solar boom.
“Merchant transmission developers are essentially building a road — generators pay to put their electricity on that road and send it to customers,” said James Gignac, Midwest senior policy manager for the Union of Concerned Scientists, a member of the coalition working with legislators on an energy bill building on 2017’s Climate & Equitable Jobs Act, or CEJA.
The Illinois legislation being prepared for this spring’s session would create another source of revenue for such projects, lowering the cost burden on wind and solar developers looking for a more direct route to power customers. Unlike projects funded by utility ratepayers, merchant lines do not need to go through the lengthy planning and financing process overseen by regional grid operators such as MISO and PJM.
“These [high voltage, direct current] lines can serve a different purpose,” Gignac said. “It’s an overlay or additional feature of the transmission system. They can provide important benefits that supplement the [regional transmission organization] plan.”
CEJA mandates that almost all of the state’s fossil fuel generation cease by 2045. Especially with the boom in data centers, some are worried Illinois won’t be able to meet its energy needs with renewables and nuclear if coal and gas plants close.
“Transmission is a huge part of the equation, it will be important in helping us take inefficient coal and gas plants off-line, and it will help bring on extraordinary amounts of clean energy,” said Christine Nannicelli, Sierra Club Beyond Coal senior campaign representative.
In December, MISO, which manages the grid for most of Illinois and a large part of the central U.S. spanning from the Dakotas to the Gulf Coast, approved a batch of 24 long-distance transmission projects on top of 18 interregional transmission lines approved in 2022. But these lines will likely take a decade or more to build, given lengthy bureaucratic processes.
Merchant lines can be constructed much more quickly, as they do not need to be studied and deemed necessary through the regional transmission organization process. They just need to be interconnected to the regional grid system, as well as receive certain approvals in the states they pass through. Illinois advocates have also proposed that legislation designate merchant lines as public utilities, giving them an easier path to eminent domain powers.
Merchant lines including the Grain Belt Express, which would stretch from Kansas through Missouri to the Illinois-Indiana border, have faced opposition from landowners concerned about the routes and eminent domain. Merchant lines also introduce competition for utility companies, which have pushed for legislation in various states to limit such competition.
Some advocates argue competition can be good for ratepayers and the environment. Merchant lines could bring renewable power into Illinois from other states, and also make it easier for new renewables to be built in Illinois and connected to the grid. There can be long delays for new wind and solar farms to get approval to be connected to the MISO grid. These renewables could connect to merchant lines without delay.
Grain Belt Express developer Invenergy, based in Chicago, is among the backers of a transmission incentive bill.
Another merchant transmission line seeking to deliver power to Illinois is SOO Green, a proposed 350-mile underground cable between Iowa and Illinois following a railroad right-of-way.
Both projects would facilitate sharing power between MISO and PJM grids, a necessity especially as extreme weather events increase, experts say. Last May, the two organizations for the first time agreed to coordinate on their long-range planning,
The Clean Grid Alliance, a national organization, advocates for grid expansion both through the regional transmission organizations’ planning processes, and through merchant lines. The alliance supported a proposal during the last Illinois legislative session that would have created RECs for merchant transmission. Clean Grid Alliance vice president of advocacy Jeff Danielson said he does not know of any other states that have created RECs for this purpose.
“We encourage states to help in any way possible to get the electric interstate superhighway built,” said Danielson. “It really is up to the states to secure their own economic future around a resilient and commerce-friendly grid. Whether it’s a REC concept, direct power purchase agreements, permitting reform, we encourage all of it. We literally need to build the transmission everywhere all at once.”
Since projects like Grain Belt Express and SOO Green cover multiple states, it may seem unfair for one state to carry more of the financial burden by offering subsidies. But Danielson said that may be necessary to tip the balance and make sure transmission gets built; and other states should follow Illinois’s lead.
“There’s the idea it will just get built,” without state action, Danielson said. “But it won’t, it hasn’t. Merchant lines are incredibly difficult to build. A governor has to understand the value to his state, his colleagues in other states have to understand this is what’s going to drive economic growth. Every time they’re in a meeting they should be saying, ‘We have to get to yes.’ It’s a shared opportunity and shared responsibility.”
A March 2024 study by the Illinois Power Agency estimated that credits for the SOO Green line would cost ratepayers $430 million per year, while reducing utility bills to save them $178 million per year. The line would also add $414 million in economic benefit to the state’s economy, the agency found.
The Laborers’ International Union of North America is among the labor unions supporting a transmission-incentives bill. The union’s Midwest governmental affairs director, Sean Stott, noted that Invenergy’s Grain Belt Express, for example, is projected to create 1,500 construction jobs in central Illinois.
“They’ve made a commitment to employing residents of central Illinois to do that work, including members of the Laborers union,” he said. “Any time you do that, you’ll have money in the pockets of workers. It would definitely generate a significant amount of economic activity in the local community.”
He doesn’t think union members would resent the additional charges on electric bills to fund transmission incentives.
“There are no free lunches in life, there would be a small charge, however they would receive by virtue of an influx of lower-cost power, downward pressure on their electric bills,” he said.
The Illinois Manufacturers’ Association also supports such legislation.
“We’ve seen warnings for the last couple years both in PJM and MISO of potential brown-outs,” said association president Mark Denzler. “When there are challenges, the first folks they ask to reduce load are industries. Transmission projects are one place where the state has the ability to work on making sure we have reliability.”
The legislation might also include a component known as “next generation highways,” allowing transmission lines to be co-located with highways, a situation currently prohibited under Illinois law. Minnesota last year passed similar legislation.
“We want to at least allow utilities the option to consider that,” said Gignac. “It’s something states can do, allowing some flexibility in the location of transmission lines.”
Danielson framed the relationship to highways as symbolic on a larger level.
“We have never thought about our grid in an integrated interstate commerce way like we thought about the highway system in the 1950s, and we really need to,” he said. “Because resilience to weather events and connecting economies through clean energy and 24-7 internet commerce are going to be the reasons Midwest states and the U.S. in general are going to be an economic leader in the future.”
SOLAR: A virtual power plant startup offers free solar panels and battery systems to thousands of Texas homeowners that would provide backup power during outages but otherwise be used by the company as a grid resource. (Canary Media)
ALSO:
EFFICIENCY: Advocates are “crossing their fingers” that the incoming Trump administration won’t revoke $208 million in federal funding for a residential energy efficiency rebate program announced yesterday in North Carolina. (WSOC)
ELECTRIC VEHICLES:
GRID:
OIL & GAS: Texas joins a 22-state coalition suing the U.S. EPA to block implementation of a methane emission tax created under the Inflation Reduction Act. (Texas Tribune)
PIPELINES: An open house for a planned natural gas pipeline expansion project in Alabama draws hundreds of residents and property owners. (Elmore Autauga News)
NUCLEAR: A company hopes to build the world’s first commercial nuclear fusion energy plant in Chesterfield County, Virginia, by the early 2030s. (WRAL)
UTILITIES:
COAL: A West Virginia coal mine will be idled for at least three months so that the operator can extinguish an underground mine fire. (MetroNews)
CLIMATE: For much of central Appalachia, 2024 was the hottest year on record, driven by a mild winter and warm overnight temperatures that scientists say are signs of human-caused climate change. (Louisville Public Media)
COMMENTARY: Duke and Southern Co. are among the utilities postponing coal plant retirements ahead of President-elect Trump’s second term, but a journalist concludes the changes are mostly stopgap moves that do not signal a reversing tide in coal’s favor. (Inside Climate News)
GRID: Utilities in Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, Iowa and Wisconsin are among the recipients of $22.4 billion in conditional loan guarantees announced by the U.S. Department of Energy for renewable energy and gas modernization projects, but it’s unclear if the Trump administration will finalize them. (Canary Media)
COAL:
SOLAR: A Michigan researcher says the controversy over leasing state-owned land for solar is unsurprising because “we haven’t really come to terms with” the land use implications of renewable energy. (Bridge)
PIPELINES: Cleaning up a recent spill from the Line 6 pipeline in Wisconsin will cost more than $1 million, Enbridge tells federal regulators. (Wisconsin State Journal, subscription)
FOSSIL FUELS: During his confirmation hearing for interior secretary, former North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum says the U.S. should leverage fossil fuel development for “energy dominance” and questions the reliability of renewable energy. (Associated Press)
CLIMATE: A national nonprofit formed by college students to make the conservative case for climate action hopes to convince the Trump administration to pursue an “America-first climate strategy.” (Grist)
NUCLEAR: North Dakota lawmakers consider the potential of building new nuclear or coal plants with carbon capture technology to meet future electricity needs, though experts say both options would be expensive. (Bismarck Tribune)
ELECTRIC VEHICLES: Illinois officials say a $114 million federal grant 14 electric truck charging hubs will position the state as a leader in electrified freight transportation. (FOX 2)
COMMENTARY: Ohio’s economy has benefited from wind and solar development, though that progress could be in jeopardy if the Inflation Reduction Act is scaled back, clean energy advocates say. (Natural Resources Defense Council)
POLITICS: A group of young conservative climate advocates say President-elect Trump’s return to office creates an opportunity for an “America-First” climate strategy to “win the clean energy arms race.” (Grist)
OVERSIGHT:
TRANSITION:
ELECTRIC VEHICLES:
GRID:
ELECTRIFICATION: Massachusetts could have a hard time reaching its goals for heat pump adoption, as the state’s high electricity prices make operating the systems too costly for many households. (Boston Globe)
CLEAN ENERGY: Advocates say community benefits agreements are an effective way of garnering local residents’ support for proposed clean energy developments. (High Country News)
PIPELINES: Federal pipeline regulators for the first time propose guidelines for pipelines transporting gaseous carbon dioxide, including a requirement that operators prepare first responders for emergencies. (Iowa Capital Dispatch)
ALSO: Public safety and agriculture concerns competed with economic development arguments as hundreds of people, mostly opponents, packed a South Dakota hearing on a CO2 pipeline permit. (South Dakota Searchlight)
SOLAR:
FOSSIL FUELS: Michigan House Republicans propose legislation to exempt 13 Upper Peninsula gas plants from the state’s clean energy law, claiming they’re needed for reliability. (WEMU)
CLIMATE: An Iowa Department of Education committee tasked with updating science standards says terms related to climate change were watered down from what they proposed before being released for public comment. (Cedar Rapids Gazette)
NUCLEAR: Federal regulators express concerns over a plant owner’s “very, very demanding” schedule to reopen its shuttered Michigan nuclear plant by this fall. (Michigan Public)
BIOGAS: Iowa regulators fine a dairy farm $20,000 for starting construction without a permit on portions of a manure digester system that would produce biogas from methane. (Cedar Rapids Gazette)
WIND: Utility officials say a planned 112-turbine wind project in North Dakota would provide a $100 million boost to the local economy. (Grand Forks Herald)
RENEWABLES: Michigan rules shifting authority over wind and solar projects to state regulators will remain in effect as dozens of local governments challenge the new law, a state appeals court rules. (MLive, subscription)
GRID:
COMMENTARY:
INDUSTRY: Low-carbon solar components, zinc batteries, and refurbished, cleaner diesel engines are among the products coming out of southwestern Pennsylvania as the region experiences a manufacturing resurgence driven by federal stimulus money. (WESA)
OFFSHORE WIND: Federal regulators announce the start of the environmental review process for a new offshore wind development, less than a week before President-elect Trump takes office. (Maritime Executive)
CLIMATE:
TRANSMISSION: A proposed transmission line in Maryland may be widely opposed, but is necessary to avoid rolling blackouts that could be a possibility as soon as 2027, experts say. (Baltimore Banner)
SOLAR: Vermont plans, in late 2025, to launch a $62 million program to provide solar power to low-income households using funds from the federal Solar for All program. (Burlington Free Press)
NATURAL GAS: Developers and real estate interests file a lawsuit challenging a Maryland regulation aimed at phasing out the use of natural gas appliances in large buildings. (Baltimore Banner)
NUCLEAR: Constellation Energy has New York Gov. Kathy Hochul’s support as it applies for federal funding to assess the potential for building a small modular reactor in the state. (Syracuse.com)
ELECTRIC VEHICLES: A Maine town plans to put four electric school buses on the road this month, working with a different supplier than the company that provided problem-plagued buses to other Maine districts. (Portland Press Herald, subscription)
GRID: Grid operator PJM proposes changes making it easier to take advantage of underused interconnection capacity, potentially unlocking as much as 26 GW of new capacity, supporters say. (Utility Dive)
TRANSPORTATION: As New York and New Jersey start to assess the impact of congestion pricing in Manhattan, London’s experience with a similar program suggests the controversy will subside but the traffic might return. (NJ Spotlight News)
AFFORDABILITY: A Maine legislative committee approves Gov. Janet Mills’ nominee for the role of public advocate for utility ratepayers, who says she will “zealously represent” the interests of low-income residents. (Maine Morning Star)
COAL: Despite touting investments in renewable energy, Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway owns 12 of the dirtiest coal plants in the country, including in Nebraska and Iowa, an analysis of federal emissions data finds. (Reuters)
CLEAN ENERGY:
PIPELINES: The Michigan Court of Appeals hears arguments from tribes and environmental groups challenging a state permit allowing Enbridge to build a tunnel for Line 5 in the Straits of Mackinac. (Michigan Advance)
CLIMATE:
SOLAR:
GRID:
POLITICS: Former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan concludes 12 hours of testimony over four days in his corruption trial that addressed quid-pro-quo allegations involving jobs with associates at ComEd. (Chicago Sun-Times)
BIOFUELS: Some Iowa biodiesel plants have at least temporarily shut down after the Biden administration failed to finalize guidance on a new tax incentives program. (Des Moines Register)
TRANSPORTATION: California abandons regulations aimed at phasing out diesel trucks and requiring cleaner locomotives, saying the incoming Trump administration is unlikely to issue waivers allowing the rules’ implementation. (CalMatters)
ALSO:
PUBLIC LAND:
NUCLEAR: Wyoming regulators greenlight construction of non-nuclear portions of TerraPower’s proposed advanced reactor facility in the southwestern part of the state. (WyoFile)
CLIMATE:
UTILITIES:
GRID: Federal data show utility equipment has sparked more than 3,600 California wildfires since 1992, but the cause of the deadly Los Angeles blazes remains under investigation. (New York Times)
OIL & GAS: Colorado advocates push back on proposed natural gas and produced water pipelines on federal land in the western part of the state. (Post-Independent)
SOLAR: Washington state officials say a 2017 law aimed at encouraging solar panel recycling has yet to be enforced and has driven some manufacturers from doing business in the state. (Seattle Times)
HYDROGEN: A report finds California lost a net total of three light-duty hydrogen fueling stations last year, casting doubt on the state’s ability to meet targets. (RTO Insider, subscription)
OVERSIGHT: A Utah city considers revising its land-use code to encourage solar, energy storage, natural gas and small modular nuclear reactor development. (Deseret News)
POLITICS: Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte announces a new task force aimed at developing ways to “unleash” energy development and production. (Montana Free Press)
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