Minnesota court weighs in on rural solar land use disputes

SOLAR: A Minnesota appeals court has weighed in on three recent cases involving counties that denied permits for community solar permits on agricultural land, highlighting a growing tension between the industry and rural county officials. (Energy News Network)

ALSO:
• Minnesota Power officials guide state regulators on a tour of a 5.6 MW solar project that features panels made in northern Minnesota. (Hometown Focus)
• Developers remain optimistic about a proposed 200 MW solar project in western Indiana despite failing to receive a local tax break. (Journal Review)

COAL: Michigan regulators approve Consumers Energy’s latest long-term energy plan that calls for ending its coal use by 2025. (Detroit News)

OIL & GAS: Ameren plans to build a 1,200 MW natural gas plant by 2031 to ensure grid reliability, though environmental groups say the plan runs counter to the utility’s carbon-neutral target by 2045. (St. Louis Post-Dispatch)

EFFICIENCY: Madison, Wisconsin, officials are developing an ordinance that would require energy use measurement and reduction strategies in commercial buildings. (Wisconsin State Journal)

UTILITIES:
• A nonprofit advocacy group linked to DTE Energy is involved with a campaign to promote the use of carbon capture to meet emissions targets in California where the utility owns multiple biomass plants. (Los Angeles Times)
• Kansas regulators approve a settlement agreement that allows Evergy to recoup costs from some customers while crediting others for costs incurred during a February 2021 severe storm that strained supplies. (WIBW)

RENEWABLES: A southwestern Ohio county bans utility-scale solar and wind projects based on opposition from most townships within the county. (Journal-News)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES:
• The metro Chicago transit service is set to deploy its first electric bus this fall. (CBS Chicago)
• A federal draft environmental assessment could lay the foundation for a 20-year moratorium on copper-nickel mining upstream from the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness in northern Minnesota. (Associated Press)

EMISSIONS: An effort in Ohio to deploy local air monitoring systems is part of a wave of community air monitoring efforts around the country. (Energy News Network archives, Grist)

CLIMATE: A study finds that media coverage can influence Americans to adopt more accurate beliefs about climate change, but the information tends to not stay with them for long. (NPR)

BIOFUELS: Michigan agriculture leaders push lawmakers to adopt tax credits for retailers on sales of ethanol, which supporters say would help boost the state’s biofuels industry. (Michigan Radio)