Michigan regulators to investigate power outages

GRID:
• Michigan’s Public Service Commission will conduct a formal inquiry into recent widespread power outages, noting that climate change will make extreme weather events more common in the future. (Michigan Radio)
• Ann Arbor, Michigan officials held a meeting this week to share the benefits of solar panels backed up by batteries to protect against power outages. (MLive)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES: The new CEO of embattled Lordstown Motors says his top priority is ensuring the company’s Endurance pickup truck is successfully launched. (Reuters)

PIPELINES: Documents show that Enbridge coordinated with law enforcement agencies on how to respond to opponents of the Line 3 project. (The Intercept)

CLIMATE: A secret recording of an Exxon lobbyist admitting the company spent millions on ​“shadow groups” to undermine climate science is submitted as a brief in a Minnesota climate change lawsuit. (E&E News)

NATURAL GAS:
• Advocates in a historic Black farming community in Illinois are opposing plans to bring more natural gas to the area, saying the state should pursue renewable energy instead. (Grist)
• DTE Energy opens a new service hub near Grand Rapids to support its $3.5 billion natural gas pipeline upgrade project. (Daily Energy Insider)
• A Wisconsin co-op purchases an existing natural gas plant to replace generation from a recently retired coal plant. (Kenosha News)

HYDROGEN: A new 485 MW Ohio power plant that mixes natural gas with hydrogen as fuel source ​“has somewhat flown under the radar” but is now attracting global attention. (Ohio Capital Journal)

SOLAR: Consumers Energy enters an agreement to buy 30 MW of solar power from a project on a former Michigan golf course. (Midland Daily News)

WIND:
• A wind developer is suing an Illinois county, saying officials ​“had no legal or factual basis” to withhold permits for its proposed wind farm. (Bloomington Pantagraph)
• Landowners who signed leases for a proposed Iowa wind farm say they’ve been left in the dark about the status of the project but are still receiving payments. (Globe Gazette)

CLEAN ENERGY:
• Minnesota’s clean energy workforce is more diverse than the state’s labor force as a whole, according to a new report. (Sahan Journal)
• A new report shows Indiana’s clean energy industry remains robust despite pandemic setbacks. (Herald Bulletin)

COMMENTARY:
• An editorial board says an Ohio efficiency bill is a good step, but ​“doesn’t absolve the General Assembly for continuing to duck unfinished business – the full repeal of House Bill 6.” (Cleveland Plain Dealer)
• A conservative group says the benefits of shutting down the Line 5 pipeline in the Straits of Mackinac don’t outweigh the costs. (Mackinac Center for Public Policy)