Chicago gas hookup ban in new buildings falls flat

ELECTRIFICATION: Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson’s proposal to ban gas hookups in new homes and buildings is dead after a majority of city council members rejected the idea that faced stiff union opposition. (Sun-Times)

SOLAR:

• Minnesota lawmakers have budgeted $2 million for training local officials and contractors on using software that helps streamline the solar permitting process. (Energy News Network)
• Illinois researchers are growing crops primarily used to feed livestock near solar panels to see which grow well without much access to the sun. (WBEZ)
• Nearly every state so far this year has taken policy action involving distributed solar, with many focusing on the compensation from net metering and valuation of distributed solar resources, according to a new report. (Utility Dive)

CARBON CAPTURE: Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker signs legislation placing a two-year moratorium on carbon pipelines and regulations on carbon capture and storage. (State Journal-Register)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES: Stellantis tells the owners of 24,000 plug-in hybrid minivans to park them outdoors away from buildings and stop charging because of a risk of battery fires. (Associated Press)

COAL: An Ohio board rejects Duke Energy’s request to significantly reduce the valuation of a shuttered coal plant, which the utility argued is nearly worthless because it no longer generates energy and needs environmental cleanup. (Bloomberg, subscription)

UTILITIES: Indiana Michigan Power asks Michigan regulators for permission to add hundreds of megawatts of wind, solar and natural gas generation to its portfolio. (Daily Energy Insider)

CLIMATE: The first Native American person to serve in the Minnesota Senate says the movement to return property back to tribes is closely linked to climate change as most of the land was healthy under Native stewardship but has since been commercialized. (Grist)

BIOFUELS: U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth of Illinois travels to Vietnam to promote ethanol exports from her state that she says bring economic security for Illinois farmers. (RiverBender)

COMMENTARY: An Iowa food access and clean water advocacy group asks political candidates to pledge to not accept campaign contributions from carbon pipeline interests. (Bleeding Heartland)