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New FirstEnergy political spending comes to light

By Andy Balaskovitz

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OHIO: FirstEnergy made a previously unreported $1 million dark money gift to benefit the campaign of Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine’s eventual running mate, who later worked to win support for the state’s power plant bailout legislation, according to newly revealed company emails. (Energy News Network/​Floodlight)

SOLAR: Residents in a rural Illinois village west of Chicago hope to overturn local restrictions on rooftop solar that were previously enacted because of aesthetic concerns. (Energy News Network)

PIPELINES:

  • The U.S. Justice Department weighs in on the Line 5 dispute for the first time, arguing that Enbridge has been trespassing on tribal land in Wisconsin but that a previous court order failed to consider all of the implications of shutting down the pipeline. (Wisconsin Public Radio)
  • The developer of a multi-state carbon pipeline meets with Iowa county officials to respond to project criticism and downplay safety concerns. (The Courier)

OVERSIGHT: Illinois officials kick off a process that will examine how the state should regulate natural gas in the future as the state attempts to meet a 100% renewable energy target by 2050. (Capitol News Illinois)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES: Minneapolis elementary school students who successfully convinced district leadership to buy electric buses take a test ride in the first ones to arrive. (Star Tribune)

GRID: American Electric Power expects power demand in central Ohio to double from 2018 to 2028 based on the growth of data centers. (Columbus Dispatch)

POLITICS:

  • Six Republican candidates for Indiana governor offer varied takes on energy and the environment, but are largely skeptical of replacing fossil fuel power plants with renewable energy. (WBOI)
  • North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum calls on state lawmakers to budget for expected legal challenges to the Biden administration’s emissions regulations that could affect the state’s oil, gas and coal industries. (North Dakota Monitor)

CLIMATE: Cities in Michigan and Iowa are among recipients of tens of millions of dollars in federal infrastructure funding to combat climate change threats. (Associated Press)

POWER PLANTS: A developer known for building large renewable energy projects plans a 930 MW natural gas plant in Indiana. (WTWO)

RENEWABLES: Walmart and Consumers Energy reach an agreement to offset the power needs of 44 of the retail giant’s Michigan stores with renewable energy. (Detroit News)

COMMENTARY: A mining company executive says meeting clean energy targets will require recycling as well as tapping mineral resources in states like Minnesota to meet technology needs. (MinnPost)

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