Agriculture emissions growing unchecked

EMISSIONS: In contrast with progress in other sectors, greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture continue to grow, with Iowa, Kansas, Illinois and Nebraskas the biggest contributors after Texas. (Gazette/​Investigate Midwest)

OHIO:
• Secret recordings and other evidence introduced in federal court Wednesday link huge political contributions by FirstEnergy between 2017 and 2019 with Ohio’s giant power plant bailout law. (Capital Journal)
• A company lobbyist testifies that a FirstEnergy Solutions executive stood to personally gain $100 million from the sale of two nuclear power plants that benefited from the state bailout. (Cleveland.com)

UTILITIES:
• Michigan’s attorney general asks state utility regulators to demand more transparency on political spending by gas and electric companies. (Detroit News)
• Missouri utility regulators will hold two public meetings today on a proposed Ameren rate increase to pay for grid infrastructure and clean energy. (KMOV-TV)
• Nebraska utility regulators hear arguments for and against a proposed merger between two public power and water districts. (Nebraska Examiner)

PIPELINES:
• The site of Keystone pipeline rupture in Kansas is still a mess two months later as crews continue hauling oil-drenched soil to a landfill near Omaha. (KMUW)
• A CO2 pipeline developer releases data on voluntary easements, showing that they now cover 60% of its route across five Upper Midwest states. (KCRG-TV)
• A North Dakota county increases setbacks for liquid CO2 pipelines, which must now be 2 miles from city limits and 1.5 miles from any residence. (AgWeek)

SOLAR:
• Iowa State University researchers will raise bees and plant vegetables within the footprint of a solar array as part of a federally funded study. (news release)
• A central Illinois man learns how to install solar panels on his home and then starts a solar business to help others do the same. (WCIA-TV)
• A solar company faces lawsuits in Wisconsin and Minnesota amid accusations that it abandoned customers’ projects and hasn’t paid employees. (TMJ4-TV)
• An Ohio county holds a public hearing on a proposed solar farm that has drawn opposition from a citizen group claiming over 400 members. (WFMJ-TV)

WIND:
• Oral arguments last week suggest the Ohio Supreme Court is nearing a decision on a contested wind farm proposal that opponents say is in a ​“uniquely bad location” for migratory birds. (Sandusky Register)
• A renewable energy company takes an Illinois wind turbine offline and is investigating what caused it to begin leaning at an angle. (Ford County Chronicle)
• MidAmerican Energy is investigating after a blade fell off a wind turbine Sunday at an Iowa wind farm; no one was injured. (KCCI-TV)

GRID:
• States in the MISO region are beginning to consider aggregated demand response as a potential asset to improve grid reliability. (Utility Dive)
• An Indiana county official says there is not much the county can do about a planned high-voltage transmission line, which is exempt from its zoning regulations. (Great Bend Tribune)

COAL:
• Indiana House Republicans advance a bill that would block state regulators from imposing rules on coal-fired power plants that are stricter than federal requirements. (Capital Chronicle)
• As part of a legal settlement, the U.S. EPA is reconsidering how to regulate coal ash landfills inactive before 2015, including 21 landfills in Indiana. (WFYI)

COMMENTARY: The public corruption trial of former Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder is showcasing ​“gargantuan levels of arrogance, corruption, and enabling among energy executives and Ohio’s most powerful Republican politicians,” an editor writes. (Capital Journal)