Model Ts to EVs? Chicago Ford plant faces uncertain future

ELECTRIC VEHICLES: Striking UAW workers in Chicago at Ford’s longest-running manufacturing plant wonder if they will maintain job security if the plant does not take on electric vehicle assembly. (Washington Post)

ALSO:

• An ongoing debate about utilities’ role in building and operating electric vehicle chargers threatens to slow EV deployment and transportation emission-reduction targets. (Utility Dive)
• A Chinese manufacturer planning a $2.4 billion electric vehicle battery plant in Michigan has so far decided not to pursue federal tax credits under the Inflation Reduction Act as it determines its eligibility. (Crain’s Detroit Business, subscription)

OIL & GAS: Ohio regulators annually log hundreds of chemical spills from oil and gas drilling, raising concerns among critics about plans to allow drilling for oil and gas under state park land. (Energy News Network)

PIPELINES:

• Michigan Republicans criticize what they say is an unnecessarily long federal review of Enbridge’s proposed Line 5 tunnel in the Straits of Mackinac. (MLive)
• Michigan’s attorney general files a federal court brief in support of a tribe’s attempt to shut down part of Line 5 that traverses reservation land in Wisconsin. (Detroit News)
• A BP pipeline rupture leaks about 8,400 gallons of gasoline in southern Michigan. (MLive)

ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE: The U.S. EPA raises concerns about a proposed waste-to-energy plant’s pollution impacts on communities of color in Youngstown, Ohio. (WFMJ)

SOLAR:

• Indiana regulators approve a utility’s plan to build four solar projects totaling more than 800 MW by mid-2026. (WPTA)
• A central Indiana city advances zoning ordinance changes that would effectively prohibit commercial solar projects. (The Republic)
• The Ohio Supreme Court rules that two large solar projects can move forward, finding that state regulators properly approved the projects. (Dayton Daily News)
• An Ohio city will invest $13.4 million in a community solar project that officials say will expand clean energy access to more residents. (WXIX)

RENEWABLES:

• A Michigan House committee advances legislation that would move permitting authority for wind and solar projects from local governments to state regulators. (Michigan Advance)
• All 18 townships in an Ohio county have now banned commercial wind and solar development as allowed under a recent state law. (WKBN)

NUCLEAR: A Michigan electric cooperative has applied for millions of dollars in federal funding to pay for power purchased from a nuclear plant that’s in the process of reopening. (Crain’s Grand Rapids Business)

POLITICS: Detroit-based utility DTE Energy has given $176,000 to Michigan lawmakers and related funds since a February ice storm this year caused widespread outages and calls for improved reliability. (Energy and Policy Institute)