First responders worry about Illinois carbon pipeline

CARBON CAPTURE: Local leaders in central Illinois say they are ill-equipped to respond to a potential emergency should a proposed six-mile carbon dioxide pipeline be brought into operation. (Energy News Network)

ALSO: North Dakota regulators reject a county’s request to delay hearings scheduled for later this month on a proposed carbon capture pipeline. (North Dakota Monitor)

OHIO: Charges against former Public Utilities Commission Chairperson Sam Randazzo raise questions about how much a top aide to Gov. Mike DeWine knew about Randazzo’s lucrative contracts with FirstEnergy leading up to his appointment. (Ohio Capital Journal)

ELECTRIFICATION: A nearly nine-hour hearing in Chicago over Mayor Brandon Johnson’s proposal to prohibit natural gas hookups in new homes and businesses brought fierce opposition from labor groups. (Chicago Sun-Times)

SOLAR: A Minnesota proposal to create the nation’s first solar-power themed license plate could create a dedicated funding stream for a state program tracking pollinator habitats on solar projects. (Solar Power World)

RENEWABLES:

• Steadily growing power demand from large industrial customers is complicating Kansas City utility Evergy’s clean energy transition plan and the need to maintain supplies. (Flatland)
• Nebraska lawmakers reach a compromise to scale back a bill that would have required renewable energy developers to secure power purchase agreements with a utility before building projects. (Nebraska Examiner)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES:

• St. Paul, Minnesota’s city council will vote next week on whether to require new surface parking lots with at least 15 spaces to be wired to host electric vehicle charging stations. (Pioneer Press)
• A Black- and woman-owned electrical contracting company in Detroit embraces its identity, which has paid dividends with a flood of new work, including installing EV charging stations for DTE Energy. (Planet Detroit)
• More than half of the EV charging stations funded by the federal bipartisan infrastructure law are going in at truck stops and gas stations, which could either be a natural fit or a way to reinforce fossil fuel infrastructure. (E&E News)

NUCLEAR: The U.S. Energy Department releases an information guide finding that converting coal plants to nuclear power could increase direct employment by dozens of workers while driving new local tax revenue. (Utility Dive)

UTILITIES: Michigan’s attorney general launches a new website for residents to file complaints against utilities and learn more about the rate-making process. (WXYZ)

COMMENTARY: A documentary producer raises concerns about Meta’s decision to prohibit advertising boosts on Facebook about his film on climate change responses in Kansas. (Kansas Reflector)