Ford, DTE reach major solar purchase agreement

SOLAR: Ford signs an agreement with DTE Energy to purchase 650 MW of new solar power to be added in Michigan, which the companies say is the largest ever renewable energy purchase from a U.S. utility. (Detroit News)

ALSO:
• Analysts say the federal Inflation Reduction Act’s efforts to boost the solar industry may not outweigh ongoing supply chain challenges, allegations of forced labor and lengthening queues for projects to get on the grid. (E&E News)
• A developer starts construction on a 196 MW solar project in Ohio that is fully contracted to supply power to Verizon. (Renewables Now)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES:
• Illinois submitted its plan last week to spend nearly $150 million in federal funding over five years to build out electric vehicle charging and help reach a state goal of 1 million electric vehicles on the road by 2030. (Chicago Sun-Times)
• Foxconn plans to build driverless electric tractors in Lordstown, Ohio, starting early next year. (Reuters)

WIND: MidAmerican Energy says an Iowa county’s proposal to double setback distances on wind projects would jeopardize a proposed project. (Sioux City Journal)

COAL: The Sierra Club says the Omaha Public Power District’s plan to keep a Nebraska coal plant online for three more years than earlier announced would increase asthma, lung and heart disease, and premature deaths. (News Channel Nebraska)

HYDROGEN: A group of St. Louis utilities and businesses plan to apply for federal funding to help build out a regional hydrogen production hub to supply industrial and other users. (KSDK)

OIL & GAS:
• U.S. oil refiners and pipeline operators expect energy consumption to be strong in the second half of the year despite fears of a recession and as high prices have driven down demand in recent weeks. (Reuters)
• North Dakota will intervene in a federal lawsuit brought by environmental groups challenging the restart of oil and gas leases on federal land. (Bismarck Tribune)
• A landowners group will seek more than $275,000 in attorneys fees and other costs after the North Dakota Supreme Court found a state law pushed by the energy industry violated their private property rights. (Associated Press)

HYDROELECTRIC: Michigan utility Consumers Energy seeks public input on the utility’s future usage of 13 hydroelectric dams located on five rivers as operating licenses expire. (WILX)

COMMENTARY: An Ohio public policy analyst says a federal climate bill working through Congress would use incentives to help farmers, utilities, manufacturers and utilities build new renewable energy projects. (Ohio Capital Journal)