Making electric buses work in frigid temps

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.

ELECTRIC VEHICLES

• A system of overhead chargers on key routes and increased battery capacity has helped Madison, Wisconsin, improve the performance of its electric bus fleet. (Grist)

PIPELINES

• The Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa asks a court to halt construction on Enbridge’s $450 million reroute of Line 5 through northern Minnesota after an administrative law judge allowed the project to proceed. (Wisconsin Public Radio)

SOLAR

• Iowa lawmakers advance legislation to create a statewide community solar program with guardrails that aim to protect non-participating customers from cost shifts. (Telegraph Herald)

• An eastern Michigan county prepares for a drawn-out legal dispute with DTE Energy over efforts to block commercial solar projects by claiming they’re a threat to public health. (Bridge)

GRID

• Evergy increases its five-year capital spending plan by 24%, mirroring other large utilities that plan to invest in new generation to meet forecast load growth from large power users. (Utility Dive)

BRIBERY TRIAL

• In the months after FirstEnergy started benefiting financially after decisions from state regulators, former CEO Chuck Jones moved to sell millions of dollars worth of shares to buy a retirement home in Florida, documents show at Jones’ bribery trial. (Signal Ohio)

COAL

• Michigan’s Democratic attorney general will ask the Department of Energy to reconsider its ongoing orders to keep a Lake Michigan coal plant online past its retirement date. (Michigan Public)

• The Trump administration plans to roll back clean air regulations limiting mercury and hazardous toxins from coal plants, claiming the move will keep plants online as power demand grows. (Reuters)

DATA CENTERS

• Ohio’s manufacturing lobby group raises doubts about AEP’s claim that its new data center tariff has led to a smaller forecast load growth, saying the utility used inflated forecasts in the first place. (Ohio Capital Journal)

CLEAN ENERGY

• A workforce development company receives a $2.3 million grant to operate a free southern Illinois workforce training hub supporting clean energy careers. (WSIL)

AIR POLLUTION

• Repealing the U.S. EPA’s endangerment finding could be especially harmful in cities like Detroit where residents already disproportionately face air pollution, a former EPA official says. (Planet Detroit)

BIOFUELS

• A GOP congressional task force missed a self-imposed deadline last week to find a policy solution for a nationwide framework to allow year-round sales of E15 ethanol, ramping up pressure to strike a deal before this year’s midterms. (Star Tribune)

COMMENTARY

• A national solar advocate urges Missouri lawmakers to pass legislation allowing residents to purchase plug-in solar panels that supply power directly to a home. (Kansas City Star)