Cleveland green bank helping to spread solar access

CLEAN ENERGY: A Cleveland green bank is leading a coalition of about 20 counties in seven states seeking $250 million in federal funding to help low-income households access solar power. (Energy News Network)

GRID: A $9 billion transmission project connecting power grids in the western and eastern United States would create a ​“superhighway to export clean energy out of the Upper Midwest,” backers say. (States Newsroom)

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CLIMATE: Cleveland’s five-year update to its climate action plan calls for a commitment to net zero emissions by 2050 despite a lack of state-level climate policy. (Inside Climate News) 

WIND:

• Southeastern Iowa officials consider an ordinance that would tax wind turbines based on how long they have operated. (Southeast Iowa Union)
• A southwestern Wisconsin county board upholds a key permit for a wind project that opponents claimed did not consider input from other local governments. (Platteville Journal)
• Iowa regulators are set to begin hearings on MidAmerican Energy’s plan to add more than 2,000 megawatts of wind energy along with 50 MW of solar. (KASI)

EMISSIONS: Ohio Republicans advance legislation that would block local governments and state agencies from adopting more restrictive vehicle emission standards. (Ohio Capital Journal)

UTILITIES: Michigan’s attorney general asks state regulators to investigate whether DTE Energy’s practice of automatically enrolling customers in an electronic billing program creates hardships. (WDIV)

PIPELINES:

• Illinois landowners and the state’s attorney general say gas utility Spire has failed to live up to its promises of preventing damage to farmland during construction of a St. Louis-area gas pipeline. (St. Louis Post-Dispatch)
• A South Dakota county considers a citizen-initiated ordinance to create setback distances for carbon pipelines. (Argus Leader, subscription)

WORKFORCE: Michigan Democrats introduce a bill that would create a state office to help automotive, construction and energy workers affected by the transition from fossil fuels. (Crain’s Detroit Business, subscription)

SOLAR: Township officials are set to hold a public hearing on a developer’s plan for a 100 MW solar project in eastern Michigan. (Times Herald)

HYDROELECTRIC: A 120-year-old hydroelectric plant in Michigan’s eastern Upper Peninsula is a key piece to a local utility’s clean energy portfolio. (MLive)

COMMENTARY:

• Ohio data centers represent a major opportunity to deploy demand-side energy management and help manage grid stability, an energy consultant writes. (Cleveland.com)
• An Iowa Democratic state representative says the state needs a climate action plan that would spell out public benefits to building, and using eminent domain for, carbon capture pipelines. (Telegraph Herald)
• Minnesota’s plan to join efforts behind creating a climate corps workforce will ensure the state has enough workers to meet demands from the clean energy transition, an editorial board writes. (Star Tribune)