Exelon nuclear bill would cost ratepayers $250 million

Correction appended.

NUCLEAR:
• After a three-hour committee hearing on Thursday, the fate of a bill to save Exelon’s struggling nuclear plants in Illinois is unclear. (Southern Illinoisan)
• Under the plan, ratepayers across Illinois would have to pay $250 million in the first year to keep the two plants open. (Crain’s Chicago Business)

SOLAR:
• Advocates ask the Indiana Supreme Court to rehear a case involving emails between a state lawmaker and utilities over a controversial solar bill. (WIBC)
• A Southeast Michigan city approves a resolution opposing a Republican-backed state energy proposal officials say would ​“decimate” the state’s solar industry. (MLive)
• Legislation unanimously clears the Minnesota House of Representatives that would allow owners of ground-mounted solar installations over 40 kilowatts who include native vegetation on site to say their sites are beneficial to pollinators, song birds or game birds. (Minnesota House Public Information Services)
• Advocates look to boost solar development in central Illinois through group buy-in programs. (Bloomington Pantagraph)
• The U.S. Department of Energy says the electric grid will have to adapt in fundamental ways to respond to the projected growth of solar. (EnergyWire)

WIND: After months of rumors, the developer behind a 150-megawatt wind project under consideration in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula is the subsidiary of global clean energy developer Renewable Energy Systems. (Midwest Energy News)

COAL:
• Local officials in southern Illinois are cautiously optimistic that recent coal mining layoffs won’t have widespread economic impacts. (Southern Illinoisan)
• Coal companies are tightening their supplies amid several bankruptcies and restructuring. (SNL)

CLEAN POWER PLAN: Ohio lawmakers advance a bill that would prohibit the state from enforcing the federal rules. (Daily Caller)

OIL AND GAS:
• Nearly 17,000 gallons of oil and more than 100,000 gallons of a mixture of saltwater and oil have spilled in North Dakota. (Associated Press)
• A failed attempt at a deep oil well in South Dakota three years ago may cost the state $2 million in repairs and cleanup as well as endanger local water supplies. (Rapid City Journal)
• A low-income housing subsidization program in North Dakota is at risk amid the oil and gas downturn. (Associated Press)
• A look at the process of cleaning up drilling wastewater spills. (Columbus Dispatch)

BIOFUELS: A planned $140 million ethanol plant in South Dakota is delayed due to financial, legal and regulatory hurdles. (Associated Press)

WILDFIRE: The ongoing Alberta wildfire is releasing mercury and other contaminants into the atmosphere. (Grist)

PIPELINES: Construction has begun in three of four states in the path of the Dakota Access pipeline. (Associated Press)

TRANSPORTATION: Minnesota lawmakers grapple with whether to increase gasoline taxes or raise fees on tabs to pay for road repairs. (WCCO)

RENEWABLES: DTE Energy opens a renewable energy center in eastern Michigan to serve as a base of operations for its nearby wind and solar generation. (Associated Press)

COMMENTARY:
• Michigan’s former Senate Majority Leader says reliability and affordability should be the two primary goals of new statewide energy policy. (MLive)
• A recent planning exercise in a southeast Minnesota county shows rural communities can and should discuss climate change preparedness. (Billmoyers.com)

An earlier version incorrectly said a proposed law in Minnesota would require owners of ground-mounted solar installations to include native vegetation and foraging habitats on site. The program would be voluntary.