Minnesota regulators OK energy storage at retiring coal plant

STORAGE: Minnesota regulators approve Xcel Energy’s plan to install battery storage at the site of a soon-to-retire coal plant where a large solar project is planned. (MPR)

CARBON CAPTURE:
• Hundreds of South Dakota landowners rally at the state Capitol to call for a special legislative session to take up restrictions on carbon pipeline development. (Argus Leader)
• An Illinois Commerce Commission staffer criticizes a proposed carbon capture pipeline, saying it is not a benefit to residents nor in the public interest. (Illinois Times)
• Retrofitting a North Dakota coal plant to capture its carbon emissions could prove to be an important test case for the energy-intensive technology. (Inside Climate News)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES:
• A federal grant will help fund a study of whether an old Missouri iron mine could supply critical minerals used in electric vehicles and batteries. (St. Louis Post-Dispatch)
• Minnesota’s attorney general says Xcel Energy is not capable of operating a major electric vehicle charging network that it proposed but subsequently requested to withdraw. (E&E News, subscription)
• Automaker Stellantis signs a deal with a company seeking to mine critical minerals in Nebraska for electric vehicles. (Associated Press)
• Loopholes in the federal Inflation Reduction Act mean consumers are able to secure full electric vehicle rebates in more situations. (Detroit Free Press)

GRID: Indiana consumer advocates say Duke Energy and AES could have done more to prevent extended power outages caused by storms last week. (Indiana Public Broadcasting)

PIPELINES: Environmental groups and tribal leaders criticize Enbridge for appealing a court ruling ordering the company to shut down a segment of Line 5 in Wisconsin in the coming years. (Michigan Advance)

NUCLEAR: The owner of an Illinois nuclear plant will pay more than $33 million in property taxes to local entities following a dispute over the facility’s assessed value. (Rockford Register Star)

AIR POLLUTION: Experts say recent air pollution in Chicago and elsewhere is expected to get worse because of climate change. (Chicago Sun-Times)

EFFICIENCY: A Nebraska utility’s pilot program aims to help low-income customers install energy efficiency measures through monthly bill credits. (Flatwater Free Press)

EMISSIONS: U.S. carbon emissions dropped 5% in the first five months of the year, but experts say weather had more to do with the decline than federal energy policy. (E&E News)

UTILITIES: The University of Iowa seeks another $5 million from a private company in an ongoing dispute over the company’s operation of its campus utilities. (Cedar Rapids Gazette)