Carbon pipeline developer sues another Iowa county

PIPELINES: Summit Carbon Solutions sues a fourth Iowa county, claiming local officials lack the authority to restrict where the company’s carbon pipeline could be built. (Iowa Capital Dispatch)

ALSO: A Michigan environmental group appealing state regulators’ approval of an underground tunnel for Line 5 in the Straits of Mackinac claims the board violated state law by dismissing alternative options. (9&10 News)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES:

• Kansas officials announce strategic locations for six fast-charging electric vehicle stations across the state. (Kansas Reflector)
• Iowa auto dealers expect electric vehicle sales to gradually increase despite the recent end of a $7,500 federal tax credit. (Radio Iowa)

POLITICS: A federal judge delays the trial of former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan, who faces charges of running a ​“criminal enterprise” to enhance his political power after former associates were convicted in a separate case involving former ComEd officials. (Sun-Times)

OVERSIGHT: Often considered an obscure agency, the Michigan Public Service Commission has been thrust into the public spotlight by recent widespread grid failures and pipeline regulatory decisions. (MLive)

SOLAR:

• Despite lagging neighboring states on solar installations, advocates say expanding community solar and allowing third-party financing could make Wisconsin a regional clean energy leader. (Wisconsin Public Radio)
• Michigan farmers are pursuing larger onsite solar installations after a new state law allows for compensation for a larger amount of excess power they send back to the grid. (Brownfield Ag News)
• A southern Indiana city will take bids from developers on 33 acres of city-owned land that could be developed with solar. (Inside Indiana Business)
• A study underway at Iowa State University aims to determine the potential for utility-scale agrivoltaics, when solar projects coexist with crop production. (Modern Farmer)

BATTERIES: Construction continues on Panasonic’s $4 billion lithium-ion battery manufacturing plant in eastern Kansas. (Kansas City Star)

OIL & GAS: A large Indiana soybean processing plant expects to reopen soon after temporarily closing following damage to a natural gas pipeline feeding the site. (Reuters)

STORAGE: The U.S. commercial and industrial markets for energy storage are vastly underdeveloped and could be poised for major growth in the coming years as more states set capacity targets. (Solar Power World)

COMMENTARY: A Minnesota author says declining costs and the promise of energy independence may help to win over more conservatives on the promise of solar energy. (Minnesota Reformer)