Ohio program expands transit options in car-dependent communities

TRANSPORTATION: An Ohio program awards grants to public transit pilot projects that promote social equity and greenhouse gas reductions while also helping employers attract and retain talent. (Energy News Network)

SOLAR:
• A labor union files an unfair labor practice complaint against the developer of a $1.5 billion solar project in northwestern Indiana, claiming the company is excluding local workers on the project. (Times of Northwest Indiana)
• A Kansas school district’s new solar installation will produce a majority of the high school’s daytime electricity usage. (FOX4)
• A Kansas county’s six-month moratorium on solar development in unincorporated areas will not stop a city’s partnership with Evergy to develop a 5 MW project. (Miami County Republic)

OIL & GAS: Twin Cities authorities work to determine how petroleum ended up in Minneapolis sewers earlier this week and forced the evacuation on the University of Minnesota campus. (MPR News)

CLIMATE: A growing number of utilities support U.S. Senate Democrats’ proposed climate bill, providing a political boost for supporters of the plan. (E&E News)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES: Automotive experts at an event in Michigan debate the likelihood of hitting the Biden administration’s goal for a 50% zero-emissions vehicle adoption rate by 2030. (Smart Cities Dive)

COAL: The U.S. Interior Department asks states to apply for a share of $725 million made available under federal infrastructure funding to clean up abandoned coal mining sites. (Kansas Reflector)

WIND:
• A developer is working on plans for a 250 MW wind project in west-central Illinois. (Journal Courier)
• Starting in 2020, Iowa began to produce a majority of its electricity from wind projects compared to other generation sources. (Midwest Center for Investigative Reporting)
• A wind turbine in northwestern Michigan, installed in 1996 as the tallest and largest energy-producing turbine in the U.S., recently was taken down to make way for a solar project. (MLive)

PIPELINES: A growing number of South Dakota landowners file suit against the developer of a carbon capture pipeline for surveying land potentially needed for the project. (Aberdeen News)

NUCLEAR: Anti-nuclear activists question a federal oversight agency’s response to mechanical failures that triggered the shutdown of one of the reactors at a Wisconsin nuclear plant last year. (Wisconsin State Journal)

UTILITIES: A northern Iowa municipal utility plans a new electric service surcharge as prices rise due to closing coal plants and increasing natural gas costs. (Globe Gazette)

EFFICIENCY: An Illinois park district participates in a ComEd energy efficiency program that could save the entity more than $135,000 a year on electricity bills. (Northbrook Star)

COMMENTARY:
• A Nebraska attorney says it would be ​“foolish and expensive” for the Omaha Public Power District to pursue a roughly $28 million clean energy plan by 2050. (Omaha World Herald)
• A former state and federal energy regulator from Iowa says widespread transmission investments are needed to help build out more renewable energy generation. (Des Moines Register)