Lawsuit could reshape Iowa wind development

WIND: An Iowa lawsuit over whether a tenant can block an owner from allowing wind turbines on farmland has potential to redefine state regulators’ power and reshape the expansion of wind energy in the state. (Iowa Capital Dispatch)

PIPELINES:
• Previous inspections found pipeline movement, erosion and evidence or soil caving in the area near a pipeline rupture last month in southern Illinois that was caused by a failed weld on the line. (Belleville News-Democrat)
• Enbridge and multiple labor unions sign a project labor agreement to reroute a portion of Line 5 around tribal land in northern Wisconsin. (Channel 3000)

COAL: Missouri environmental groups say proposed changes to a recent coal securitization law would allow utilities to financially benefit without fully shuttering their coal plants. (Missouri Independent)

CLIMATE: A new report finds nearly half of the 25 largest U.S. investor-owned utilities are working to delay the transition from fossil fuels through lobbying, public messaging or political contributions. (Grist)

SOLAR:
• County officials are hesitating to negotiate with the developer of a proposed 100 MW solar project in central Missouri. (Fulton Sun)
• Central Ohio county officials pass a resolution giving local jurisdictions final say in approving utility-scale solar projects as allowed under a recent state law. (Union County Daily Digital)
• A mid-Michigan township hurries to craft utility-scale solar zoning regulations as developers start approaching landowners about leasing property. (Greenville Daily News)

BIOFUELS: Environmental groups push back on President Biden’s plan to boost ethanol use in an attempt to combat high gasoline prices, calling it the ​“definition of short-term thinking.” (NBC News)

UTILITIES: Michigan Democrats introduce legislation that would penalize utilities and require them to compensate customers for prolonged power outages. (WILX)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES: While electric vehicle adoption has been relatively slow in Minnesota, the state’s forthcoming clean car rule could accelerate the shift. (Minnesota Reformer)

CLEAN ENERGY: U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota touts the local benefits of federal funding that will help pay for clean energy projects on government buildings. (KEYC)

COMMENTARY:
• Michigan is at risk of losing millions in federal weatherization funding if policymakers can’t deploy the funds in the coming months, says the president of the Michigan Energy Innovation Business Council. (Energy News Network)
• A former director of the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency says high costs and a lack of waste storage options are among reasons to keep the state’s moratorium on new nuclear plants in place. (Star Tribune)
• Consumers Energy should stick to plans to retire a western Michigan coal plant in 2025 despite recent recommendations by an administrative law judge, clean energy advocates say. (Natural Resources Defense Council)