Nearly $300 million for Ohio clean energy projects frozen, despite court orders

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CLEAN ENERGY

• Leaders of an effort that secured nearly $300 million in Inflation Reduction Act grants for clean energy and pollution reduction projects in northeastern Ohio express frustration as the funding is frozen despite two court orders requiring the Trump administration to release it. (E&E News)

• The fate of more than a dozen clean energy loan commitments totaling billions of dollars across the Midwest are uncertain as the Trump administration targets a Department of Energy program that ramped up during the Biden administration. (Canary Media)

• The threat of revoking those loans or potential litigation leads to uncertainty that makes business decisions difficult and discourages investment ​“across the economy,” says one Columbia Law School expert. (Utility Dive)

CLIMATE

Iowa lawmakers advance a bill, backed by a GOP lawmaker and frequent critic of carbon pipelines, to prohibit state regulators from considering climate change when issuing a permit for carbon, oil and gas pipelines. (Iowa Capital Dispatch)

MATERIALS

A Minnesota GOP Congress member reintroduces legislation to overturn a 20-year ban the Biden administration imposed near the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, and to return two key leases to a company mining for nickel and copper in the area. (MPR News)

OIL AND GAS

An effort by Minnesota nonprofits aims to educate residents about the health risks posed by gas stoves and to encourage participation in programs that help replace appliances with electrified models. (Sahan Journal)

UTILITIES

Kansas lawmakers consider a bill that would allow state regulators to adjust utilities’ return on equity if retail electricity rates grow by more than 1% in a year, a proposal that has the backing of large energy users and the agribusiness sector. (Kansas Reflector)

SOLAR

Minnesota selects a developer for two community solar projects totaling 11 MW of capacity that will be accessible to low- and moderate-income households. (Solar Power World)

FOSSIL FUELS

Interior Secretary Doug Burgum starts his first week with multiple orders to lift restrictions on oil and gas development on federal land and to ​“eliminate harmful, coercive climate policies” from the Biden administration. (ICT)

BIOGAS

Top Trump administration appointees overseeing the energy industry have signaled an openness to renewable natural gas, though direct federal funding support for the sector may be in question. (Waste Dive)