Advocates call for just transition as nuclear plants close

NUCLEAR: An Illinois town underscores the need for a just transition when closing nuclear facilities, which typically pay more in taxes, employ more people and leave behind more hazardous waste than coal plants. (Energy News Network)

ALSO: An Indiana-based steel manufacturer will invest $25 million in a U.S. nuclear technology firm as the company seeks to decarbonize the steelmaking process. (Times of Northwest Indiana)

UTILITIES:
• Minnesota Power reaches an agreement with clean energy groups to add up to 700 MW of renewable energy and close two coal plants by 2035 under its long-term energy plan. (Star Tribune)
• An attorney representing large Kansas energy users seeks further investigation of natural gas price spikes that were forced onto customers following a 2021 cold weather snap. (Kansas Reflector)

COAL: Michigan state and utility officials say they are taking corrective actions at several coal ash storage sites that a recent report shows are contaminating groundwater. (Michigan Radio)

BIOGAS: Minnesota’s first renewable natural gas plant is operating at a landfill, converting biogases produced from trash into fuel for heavy-duty vehicles. (Star Tribune)

SOLAR:
• County officials in Kansas delay a vote on an 18-month moratorium on utility-scale solar projects as some residents speak out against a 2,000-acre proposal. (Kansas Reflector)
• Minnesota regulators approve an Xcel Energy cost-sharing program that aims to lower interconnection costs for customer solar projects. (Solar Power World)
• An Ohio village will soon consider a revised ordinance with fewer restrictions on residents seeking to install solar projects. (Newark Advocate)

PIPELINES:
• U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth of Illinois calls on federal regulators to ensure Spire restores property damage from construction of a St. Louis-area gas pipeline. (E&E News, subscription)
• The Republican candidate for Michigan attorney general has vowed to halt litigation over the Line 5 pipeline and allow it to continue operating if elected. (E&E News, subscription)

STORAGE: South Dakota regulators say they have no jurisdiction in the licensing process of a proposed hydroelectric pumped storage project, which would fall under federal oversight. (Mitchell Republic)

TRANSPORTATION: A hydrogen cell-powered sailing vessel could be a future alternative for decarbonizing Great Lake shipping, a startup founder says. (Great Lakes Echo)

GRID: Some grid experts say the federal transmission permitting process needs to evolve to more efficiently build grid infrastructure that can support clean energy. (Utility Dive)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES:
• Global contract electronics maker Foxconn will acquire a nearly 20% stake in Ohio electric vehicle startup Lordstown Motors for up to $170 million. (Reuters)
• An Illinois high school receives a $50,000 grant from ComED to help offset the costs of an electric vehicle and two charging stations for its drivers education program. (Daily Chronicle)
• Nearly 30 rural Missouri school districts receive almost $22 million in federal grant funding to buy electric school buses. (St. Louis Post-Dispatch)