Goodbye to Ohio coal plant subsidies

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.

COAL

• A new Ohio law that takes effect next week officially repeals ratepayer subsidies for two 1950s-era coal plants that were approved under House Bill 6, the law at the center of an ongoing public corruption scandal. (Canary Media)

• A looming decision this month on whether the Energy Department will extend an order to keep a Michigan coal plant running could signal how far the Trump administration is willing to go to keep aging fossil fuel plants online, observers say. (E&E News)

SOLAR

• The Trump administration announces it’s eliminating the $7 billion Solar for All program that helps low-income residents access solar, though critics say the funds were already obligated and vow to challenge the move in court. (Canary Media)

• Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers tells the EPA that canceling the state’s $62.4 million Solar for All grant will increase household energy bills and hurt efforts to improve air quality and create jobs. (Wisconsin Examiner)

• A developer starts construction on a 6 MW floating solar farm on a reservoir in northern Ohio. (PV Tech)

• An Illinois city will move forward with plans to build a solar project next to a cemetery to pay for the upkeep expenses. (FOX 2)

NUCLEAR

• NextEra Energy takes formal steps to restart a shuttered nuclear plant in Iowa by asking federal regulators to transfer interconnection rights that had been designated for a large onsite solar project. (World Nuclear News)

UTILITIES

• A small city in southwestern Minnesota looks to become the first in the state to disconnect from Xcel Energy’s grid to form a government-run utility, citing crumbling infrastructure and delayed response times. (Star Tribune)

FOSSIL FUELS

• North Dakota regulators approve plans for a large natural gas plant that would produce nearly 1.5 GW MW of power and be the state’s largest single power plant. (North Dakota Monitor)

GRID

• North Dakota regulators join a complaint from a group of states claiming MISO’s $22 billion transmission buildout plan is based on skewed metrics and would unfairly require ratepayers to cover the costs of other states’ clean energy goals. (Inforum)

CLEAN ENERGY

• Midwest states and tribal nations around the Great Lakes prepare for clean energy projects to quickly wind down as federal tax credits end. (Grist)

• Republican U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa holds up three of President Trump’s nominees to the Department of the Treasury to ensure upcoming rulemaking on phasing out wind and solar tax credits aligns with Congress’ intent. (Utility Dive)

PIPELINES

• The company developing the multi-state Summit Carbon pipeline has a new leadership team, including a new CEO, and tells landowners who have not signed easement agreements that they will soon receive new right-of-way proposals. (North Dakota Monitor)

• A group of North Dakota residents want the U.S. Supreme Court to rule that they’re entitled to attorney fees stemming from a years-long dispute over a gas pipeline developer using eminent domain for a project. (North Dakota Monitor)

• Greenpeace asks a North Dakota judge to allow a nonprofit’s lawsuit against the Dakota Access pipeline developer to proceed in the Netherlands, arguing that it considers a different set of issues than a recent dispute in the U.S. (North Dakota Monitor)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES

• Goodbye to Ohio coal plant subsidies
  An Indiana electric vehicle initiative will place 36 charging stations in public places across the state, half of which will be fast-chargers along highways, gas stations and shopping centers. (WFYI)