Former Ohio lawmaker sentenced to 20 years for bribery scheme

Editor’s note: Midwest Energy News will not publish July 3 and 4; we’ll be back Wednesday, July 5.

OHIO: A federal judge sentences former Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder to 20 years in prison for his role in a $61 million bribery and corruption scheme that resulted in legislation to benefit FirstEnergy. (Ideastream)

ALSO:
• The judge during sentencing called Householder a ​“bully,” accusing him of perjury during the trial and taking money that belonged to ratepayers and handing it to ​“suits in private jets.” (Ohio Capital Journal)
• Ohio’s attorney general continues an effort to freeze the assets of former top energy regulator Sam Randazzo, claiming he was spending down bribe money from FirstEnergy. (Associated Press)
• FirstEnergy secretly paid more than $550,000 to a front group and its campaign against Cleveland Public Power, a publicly owned nonprofit utility that competes with a FirstEnergy subsidiary, bank records show. (Energy and Policy Institute)

SOLAR:
• Commercial solar plans in Nebraska face mounting resistance from local officials and landowners who are attempting to stop projects with lawsuits, recalls and restrictive zoning. (Flatwater Free Press)
• Detroit officials seek public input on a plan to replace hundreds of blighted acres across the city with solar panels. (Planet Detroit)
• Michigan lawmakers send a bill to Gov. Gretchen Whitmer that would allow solar developers to make direct payments, instead of taxes, to local governments based on the size of their project. (RTO Insider, subscription)
• Local officials approve plans for a roughly 250-acre solar project near Dayton, Ohio. (WDTN)

UTILITIES: Minnesota’s largest gas utility proposes a five-year, $106 million plan to cut carbon emissions through a series of clean energy pilot projects, including geothermal and renewable natural gas. (Star Tribune) 

CARBON CAPTURE: South Dakota lawmakers launch a longshot bid to open a special legislative session to consider the legality of carbon capture pipeline projects under development. (Argus Leader)

EMISSIONS: Ann Arbor, Michigan’s school district is the first in the state to track its direct and indirect greenhouse gas emissions, school officials say. (MLive)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES:
• Construction progresses on LG Energy Solution’s $1.7 billion electric vehicle battery plant expansion in Michigan, as the company scales up production capacity across the U.S. (Crain’s Grand Rapids Business)
• A gas station chain seeks to install a series of fast-charging electric vehicle stations in a county outside of Minneapolis where drivers currently have few options to charge. (Star Tribune)

PIPELINES: A scuffle ensued at a northern Michigan college as protesters attempted to disrupt an Enbridge official’s Line 5 pipeline lecture. (Interlochen Public Radio)

AIR POLLUTION: Environmental groups raise concerns about a provision in an Iowa budget bill taking effect Saturday that prevents counties from adopting air pollution regulations that are stronger than state law. (Cedar Rapids Gazette)

COAL: The second emission stack at a former North Dakota coal plant is demolished after the plant was converted to run on natural gas. (Bismarck Tribune)