Minnesota utilities seek big impact from small transmission projects

GRID: A group of utilities will spend roughly $130 million on 19 small-scale transmission upgrades to open bottlenecks and move more wind power from western Minnesota to the Dakotas. (Energy News Network)

OHIO: Ohio judges continue to admonish the state’s former top energy regulator for attempting to stall while handing over documents related to investigations into the state’s power plant bailout law. (Ohio Capital Journal)

POLITICS: The definition of ​“clean energy” in Michigan’s new climate law was ​“hotly contested” in the state House, where Democrats hold only a single-vote majority. (Grist)

RENEWABLES:

• Despite headwinds from local misinformation, renewable energy has generated $9 billion in investment in Indiana and paid nearly $27 million in local and state taxes. (WSIU)
• Central Kansas county officials vote to ban commercial wind and solar projects after a moratorium was in place for much of 2023. (Salina Post)

CLEAN ENERGY:

• The economics behind clean energy development become ​“messy” as projects become more costly to finance, despite an ongoing rise in demand. (E&E News)
• Communities that once hosted coal, oil or gas infrastructure make up only 18.6% of the U.S. population but received 36.8% of clean energy investments following the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act. (Washington Post)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES: A Detroit parking garage is testing alternative electric vehicle charging options, including floor-mounted charging pads and chargers affixed to city light poles. (WDIV)

OIL & GAS:

• A legal dispute over a hydraulic fracturing contract that has reached the Ohio Supreme Court hinges on how the Utica Shale formation is defined and has attracted industry interest. (Bloomberg Law, subscription)
• North Dakota gas production reached an all-time high in September as oil production also increased by nearly 5% over the prior month. (Bismarck Tribune)