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Climate change complicates air quality efforts

By Andy Balaskovitz

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AIR POLLUTION: Several Missouri counties receive poor or failing grades in a new air pollution scorecard that tracks ozone and particulate pollution, including from burning fossil fuels. (St. Louis Post-Dispatch)

ALSO:

SOLAR:

  • A large Michigan auto supplier will install onsite solar and offset the rest of its power needs through utility contracts to meet a 100% renewable energy goal. (Jackson TV)
  • Tribal and rural areas in the Dakotas will benefit from roughly $260 million in federal funding to support low-income solar projects. (North Dakota Monitor)
  • Seven leading U.S. solar manufacturers ask the Biden administration to expand tariffs on Southeast Asia solar imports to protect domestic manufacturing. (E&E News, subscription)

PIPELINES: Michigan environmental activists say building a tunnel for Line 5 in the Straits of Mackinac poses serious risks during construction while the tunnel’s ongoing operation violates tribal treaty rights. (9&10 News)

BIOFUELS: As commodity prices decline and operating costs rise, Ohio farmers hope new markets for ethanol will provide financial stability. (Columbus Dispatch)

WIND:

  • A proposed northwestern Iowa wind project has been scaled back in one county where local officials prepare to adopt zoning restrictions on wind development. (Radio Iowa)
  • A developer secures $437 million in financing for two wind repowering projects in Iowa and equipment replacement in Minnesota that were made possible through the federal Inflation Reduction Act. (North American Windpower)

NUCLEAR: A retired physicist tells a northern Minnesota climate advocacy group that nuclear power will play a key role in the state’s energy future that includes a carbon-free power mandate by 2040. (The Timberjay)

CLEAN ENERGY: The U.S. Department of Labor releases an interactive map showing tens of thousands of jobs created by clean energy projects across the country. (Daily Reporter)

COMMENTARY:

  • The U.S. Supreme Court’s ​“disastrous” Citizens United ruling paved the way for Ohio’s largest corruption scandal in state history as dark-money groups shielded FirstEnergy campaign contributions to lawmakers. (Ohio Capital Journal)
  • The head of a coal-backed trade group says Indiana is retiring coal plants prematurely as the state seeks to attract energy-intensive industries like data centers. (Indiana Capital Chronicle)

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