A clean energy vision for proposed Minnesota mine site

RENEWABLES: An environmental group pitches an alternative vision for the site of a proposed copper-nickel mine in northern Minnesota that includes renewable energy generation to power carbon-free steel production. (MPR News)

ALSO:
• Local officials in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula consider regulations that would prohibit utility-scale wind projects and limit large solar projects to industrially zoned land. (Daily Mining Gazette)
• A central Iowa county considers a six-month moratorium on commercial wind projects and a year-long moratorium on solar projects as it considers local siting regulations and community opposition. (Times-Republican)
• A growing number of townships in a central Ohio county have adopted significant restrictions on utility-scale wind and solar projects. (Marion Star)

UTILITIES:
• Indiana consumer advocates say utility customers there are particularly exposed to rising costs as utilities rely on coal and gas for power. (Indianapolis Star)
• Ohio regulators consider whether to renew a permit for a Cleveland area electricity aggregator that this summer had to drop more than 500,000 customers as prices spiked. (Cleveland.com)

GRID: Grid operator MISO issues a report discussing the challenges ahead with managing a grid with higher proportions of renewable energy. (Cedar Rapids Gazette)

PIPELINES: Iowa regulators and a carbon pipeline developer prepare for a second round of public meetings for a proposed project that would store carbon emissions underground in Illinois. (Quad-City Times)

SOLAR:
• A new solar cooperative in Ohio’s second-most populous county will help to install solar panels on low- to moderate-income households. (Cleveland.com)
• Central Illinois residents debate the growing interest in converting prime farmland into solar production sites. (Illinois Times)
• A multi-state solar company’s North Carolina bankruptcy filing shows how financially exposed creditors are in Michigan and other states. (Crain’s Detroit Business, subscription)

OIL & GAS: With help from federal infrastructure funding, states have documented more than 120,000 abandoned oil and gas wells, a nearly 50% increase from the number of wells reported last year. (Washington Post)

TRANSPORTATION:
• Honda announces plans to begin producing a hydrogen fuel cell-powered vehicle in Ohio. (Tribune News Service)
• Electric vehicles and renewable energy were among top issues lawmakers discussed during an interstate planning group’s event involving Nebraska, South Dakota and Iowa. (Sioux City Journal)

WIND: A divided Iowa county board approves a developer’s request to repower a wind project with some conditions. (Telegraph Herald)

COMMENTARY:
• A coalition of advocacy groups says three new federal laws will help transition the Appalachian region to a clean energy economy. (Route Fifty)
• A Michigan manufacturing trade group says stall tactics have prevented construction on an underground tunnel for the Line 5 pipeline. (Traverse City Record-Eagle)