Ohio regulators approve large solar, storage additions

SOLAR: Ohio regulators approve significant solar and storage capacity with two of the state’s largest solar projects, totaling 600 MW, as well as a 200 MW storage project, but deny plans for a 300 MW solar project. (WTOL)

ALSO:
• A new Missouri task force made up of lawmakers, tax assessors and clean energy and agriculture advocates will develop best practices for taxing solar projects. (FOX 2)
• The development of a 640-acre eastern Iowa solar project is on hold as a judge considers a challenge from landowners that could block the project. (Cedar Rapids Gazette)
• A Cleveland-area town will receive $530,000 to help cover the costs of a solar installation to offset electricity use at a wastewater treatment plant. (Cleveland.com)
• Local officials approve a special use permit for a planned 5 MW solar project in eastern Illinois. (Journal Gazette)

BATTERIES: A Michigan startup battery manufacturer breaks ground on a $1.6 billion gigafactory near Detroit. (WXYZ)

OHIO: A dispute between former Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder’s legal team and prosecutors over experts called during a federal racketeering trial offers a window into Householder’s defense strategy. (Ohio Capital Journal)

COAL: Environmental and neighborhood advocates call on Evergy to close a Kansas City coal plant in three years, a move the utility says would cause ​“significant reliability concerns.” (KMBC)

GRID:
• A new $850 million, 110-mile transmission line would deliver renewable energy generated in central Michigan to northern Indiana. (WJRT)
• Grid operator MISO seeks to exclude the Grain Belt Express transmission project from its long-term transmission plan, claiming it is not an ​“advanced stage” transmission facility. (Utility Dive)
• A transmission executive says cost is the primary barrier to underground power lines, which can be five to 10 times more expensive than overhead lines. (Radio Iowa)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES:
• North Dakota regulators seek public input on ways to regulate electric vehicles, including practices for charging station ownership. (Inforum)
• An Ohio career tech center breaks ground on a new training center for high school students and adults pursuing careers in electric vehicles and the power sector. (The Business Journal)

UTILITIES: We Energies submits an updated proposal that would further increase rates for residential customers while reducing rates for large industrial customers. (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)

PIPELINES:
• A carbon pipeline developer withdraws its request for immediate access to private property for survey work, saying it will pursue an injunction again in the near future. (Iowa Capital Dispatch)
• Iowa regulators schedule four additional public informational meetings for a carbon pipeline project after the developer incorrectly notified residents about a previous round of meetings. (Clinton Herald)

POLITICS:
• The Republican candidate for Minnesota governor says he fully supports developing a copper-nickel mine that has become a flashpoint for economic development, the clean energy transition and environmental protection. (Duluth News Tribune)
• The Democratic and Republican U.S. Senate candidates in Ohio both support growing the state’s natural gas industry. (WYSO)