Illinois auto parts factory will retool for EVs

ELECTRIC VEHICLES: Illinois officials award $2.2 million in tax incentives to a Decatur auto parts manufacturer that will retool a factory to make compressors for electric vehicles. (Pantagraph)

ALSO:
• After a yearslong political fight over vehicle emission standards, Minnesota will soon be forced to choose whether to revert to weaker federal standards or join California in phasing out gas-powered car sales by 2035. (MinnPost)
• President Biden plans to highlight America’s ​“electric vehicle manufacturing boom” during a trip to next week’s Detroit Auto Show. (E&E News)
• North Dakota businesses and communities have been slow to prioritize electric vehicle infrastructure, leaving large gaps between charging stations that complicate travel in rural areas. (North Dakota News Cooperative)

CLIMATE:
• Madison, Wisconsin’s mayor unveils a capital budget that includes major investments in flood mitigation and transit electrification. (WMTV)
• The historic drought plaguing the western U.S. has recharged the controversial debate about rerouting water from the Midwest to the Southwest. (MPR News)

RENEWABLES:
• Ann Arbor, Michigan’s city council agrees to hire consultants to help it analyze options for achieving 100% renewable energy. (Michigan Daily)
• Comcast says it has entered utility agreements to source half of its electricity in Michigan from wind and solar power. (Grand Rapids Business Journal)
• A Japanese company signs a memorandum of understanding with the state of North Dakota to explore development of clean energy projects. (news release)

SOLAR:
• County officials in central Illinois receive applications to build two solar farms, including a 5 MW project east of Bloomington-Normal’s airport. (WGLT)
• At a tense meeting, an Iowa county board approves rezoning for a major solar project despite public concerns about its impact on property values. (KCRG)
• An Alabama startup resurrects a shuttered Minnesota solar company’s module and racking technology five years after it went out of business. (Solar Power World)
• A Minnesota solar installer is sentenced to six months and ordered to pay restitution after admitting to swindling dozens of customers. (Star Tribune)

WIND:
• South Dakota utility regulators ask Xcel Energy for an additional sound study for a wind farm following complaints from nearby residents. (Public Opinion)
• An Iowa county board advances a proposal to update wind turbine permitting rules ahead of a planned NextEra wind farm. (Bulletin Journal)

OIL & GAS: Construction is ramping up on Omaha Public Power District’s new natural gas plant that is part of the utility’s plan to phase out coal power. (KETV)

GRID:
• Nebraska Public Power District crews are scouting potential routes for a 115kV transmission line to improve reliability in the Scottsbluff area. (Star Herald)
• As heat waves become more common, Kansas City utility Evergy says it has plans and backup power plants in place to respond to spikes in demand. (KMBC)

PIPELINES:
• An Iowa county board sends a letter to state utility regulators opposing a planned CO2 pipeline, citing health, safety, and crop impacts. (Manchester Press)
• Michigan’s attorney general appeals a judge’s decision to keep the state’s challenge to the Line 5 pipeline in federal court. (Canadian Press)

POLITICS: Wisconsin is among the states where energy and climate have emerged as issues in a U.S. Senate race; incumbent U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson, a climate denier, is running against Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes, who leads a state task force on climate change. (E&E News)