EVs have major emissions edge over gas cars

This roundup of energy news headlines comes from our Midwest Energy News newsletter. Sign up to get it in your inbox every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday morning.

ELECTRIC VEHICLES

• Gas-powered vehicles on average will produce 70% more greenhouse gas emissions than EVs with 300-mile charging ranges, even when factoring in battery making, limited range during bad weather, and coal on the power grid, a new University of Michigan study finds. (Detroit News)

• Electric vehicle sales in Minnesota and elsewhere are surging as consumers take advantage of federal tax credits that expire at the end of the month. (Star Tribune)

• Global mining company Fortescue cancels plans for a $210 million electric vehicle battery plant in Detroit, citing the cancellation of federal tax credits and other market conditions as key drivers. (Crain’s Detroit)

SOLAR

• U.S. solar deployment could be 21% lower through 2030 than previously forecast, according to a new industry analysis that’s one of the first since the passage of the federal budget bill that phases out wind and solar tax credits. (E&E News)

ELECTRIFICATION

• Construction continues on a 170-unit housing community in Ann Arbor, Michigan, where the homes are all electric and feature rooftop solar, battery storage, geothermal, and electric heat pumps. (MLive)

FOSSIL FUELS

• Indiana Michigan Power reaches a deal with the three other entities to buy an 870 MW Ohio gas plant that will help the utility meet growing power demand from data centers. (WANE)

RENEWABLES

• County officials outside Dayton, Ohio, approve a two-year moratorium on utility-scale wind and solar projects, which one commissioner said will limit farmers’ ability to generate income on their property. (WYSO)

EMISSIONS

• A federal appeals court blocks a Biden administration rule calculating vehicle fuel efficiency that set standards for automakers to meet in a case brought by Iowa’s attorney general and other Republican-led states. (Des Moines Register)

NUCLEAR

• A North Dakota legislative committee selects a firm to spend the next year studying the potential for attracting nuclear power generation to the state. (North Dakota Monitor)

GRID

• Michigan utilities had the longest power outages on average of any other state in 2023, according to a new annual report from a consumer advocacy group. (Michigan Public)

• A Nebraska legislative committee begins work on a resolution reviewing the feasibility of utilities’ net zero goals, which one executive said is based on offsets and is valuable for including diverse power sources. (Nebraska Public Media)

COAL

• The first federal coal lease under President Trump’s second term awards a company access to 18.3 million tons of coal across 1,070 acres in North Dakota for about $106,000. (KXNET)

• A local citizens group pushing to save a western Michigan coal plant that’s operating indefinitely under a Trump administration order wants the county to take ownership of the plant and create a local utility board. (FOX 17)

NEW FROM CANARY 

• Fervo, Sage Geosystems tap energy giants to scale next-gen geothermal — Maria Gallucci

• Can utilities replace power lines with solar and batteries in remote areas? — Jeff St. John