Midwest states amp up subsidies for EV plants

ELECTRIC VEHICLES: Kansas, Michigan and Ohio are among states approving unprecedented amounts of subsidies to help lure electric vehicle and other advanced manufacturing plants. (Associated Press)

ALSO: A Michigan township supervisor discusses challenges with overcoming public misinformation and fears created by ​“propaganda” involving a company’s plan for an electric vehicle battery factory. (Bridge Michigan)

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POLITICS:
• AEP, which has not been accused of wrongdoing, is saying little about its role in providing hundreds of thousands of dollars for Ohio’s power plant bailout law at the center of a major corruption scandal. (Ohio Capital Journal)
• Defense attorneys attempt to portray as opportunistic a former ComEd executive who cooperated with the FBI as it built a corruption case against other executives and political figures. (Capitol News Illinois)

EFFICIENCY:
• Minnesota Democrats are poised to approve roughly $10 million in heat pump rebates as part of a broader clean energy and climate spending plan. (MinnPost)
• Ameren Missouri files a proposal with state regulators to invest $122 million annually for the next three years in energy efficiency and demand response programs. (Daily Energy Insider)

OIL & GAS: In the decade before a new state law opening fracking in state parks, a little-known state body in Ohio leased out more than 31,000 acres of its land in oil and gas drilling deals under several lakes and reservoirs. (Cleveland.com)

RENEWABLES: Illinois experienced a sharp increase in renewable energy generation last year while neighboring Missouri experienced slower growth, according to a new report. (St. Louis Public Radio)

CLIMATE:
• Nebraska receives a $3 million federal grant to develop a statewide climate and clean energy plan. (Nebraska Examiner)
• A University of Indiana climate planning committee presents long-term recommendations for reducing the school’s carbon footprint. (Indiana Daily Student)

SOLAR: A central Michigan township board creates a 170-acre overlay district to house commercial solar development as nearby townships consider moratoriums on development. (Livingston Daily)

COMMENTARY: Dark-money nonprofit political groups allowed former Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder to sway elections throughout Ohio for criminal ends, an editorial board writes. (Cleveland.com)