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Advocates continue effort to stop northern Wisconsin gas plant

By Andy Balaskovitz

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FOSSIL FUELS: Clean energy advocates say Wisconsin regulators should withdraw their prior approval for a 625 MW natural gas plant, citing the availability of new federal clean energy incentives and expected new battery storage capacity. (Energy News Network)

ALSO: Michigan regulators expect the state’s natural gas use to increase 7.6% in 2023 amid a large uptick in demand for power generation. (MLive)

COAL: After contributing $250,000 to the fund used to bribe former Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder, a coal company was overpaid $12.6 million for the coal it supplied to two plants that received subsidies under the tainted legislation. (Checks and Balances Project)

SOLAR:

  • Ohio farmers see new opportunities for grazing sheep as more commercial solar projects come online across the state. (WYSO)
  • Iowa City installs a rooftop solar project on a public works building to meet the facility’s power needs and achieve targets in the city’s climate action plan. (Daily Iowan)

EMISSIONS: Minnesota-based food giant Hormel plans to cut its greenhouse gas emissions in half by 2030, bringing online renewable energy projects for environmental and economic reasons. (Star Tribune)

BATTERIES: Michigan’s offer of up to $1 billion in incentives to Stellantis was not enough to lure the automaker to build an electric vehicle battery plant in the state. (Crain’s Detroit Business, subscription)

NUCLEAR: An Illinois state senator says he backed a bill to lift the state’s nuclear moratorium to advance modular reactor research and ​“provide a bridge” during the renewable energy transition. (Local 4 News)

GRID: Michigan utility Consumers Energy launches several pilot projects to bury power lines as part of a broader $5.4 billion grid reliability plan. (NBC 25)

CLIMATE: The University of Iowa receives a $6 million federal grant to fund a new research center focused on climate adaptation planning. (Daily Iowan)

BIOFUELS:

  • South Dakota’s congressional delegation supports bipartisan legislation that would require the U.S. EPA to use a particular model for assessing the environmental impact of biofuel production. (South Dakota Searchlight)
  • University of Nebraska students and researchers study the lingering environmental effects of contamination from a former ethanol plant that produced biofuel from pesticide-coated seeds. (Lincoln Journal Star)

PIPELINES:

  • Carbon pipeline opponents say proposed projects would support enhanced oil recovery and lead to more oil extraction. (South Dakota Searchlight)
  • Illinois Farm Bureau delegates continue to debate support for a temporary moratorium as well as more safety measures on carbon capture pipelines. (FarmWeekNow)

COMMENTARY:

  • A GOP Congress member from Iowa backs a pair of bills to incentivize domestic production of biofuels and sustainable aviation fuel. (Times-Republican)
  • The leader of a new Wisconsin organization says a cooperative-based investment model will deliver more community solar projects as state legislation stalls. (Capital Times)

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