Prosecutors prepare for corruption cases in Illinois, Ohio

UTILITIES: Federal prosecutors reveal new details and outline evidence ahead of high-profile utility bribery trials in Illinois and Ohio. (Chicago Tribune, Ohio Capital Journal)

ALSO:
• A dark-money group linked to DTE Energy contributed $100,000 in 2020 to another nonprofit that funded an effort challenging Michigan’s COVID-19 lockdown policies. (Planet Detroit)
• Indiana lawmakers are expected to propose legislation that would require utilities to produce more of the electricity they sell to customers, which advocates say could harm reliability and renewables. (Indianapolis Star)

RENEWABLES:
• Nebraska Republicans introduce legislation that would forbid three major utilities from applying to build any renewable energy projects. (Star Herald)
• Kansas City utility Evergy says inflation and renewable energy have increased the price tag for its infrastructure investment plan by $1 billion. (Kansas Reflector)

OIL & GAS: North Dakota sues the federal government over frozen oil lease sales on federal lands, which costs the state about $9 million a month from canceled leases, according to the lawsuit. (Inforum)

PIPELINES:
• Michigan’s attorney general is considering all legal options to bring a lawsuit against the Line 5 pipeline back to state court. (Michigan Advance)
• An Iowa county approves local permits for a carbon capture pipeline despite some local officials’ concerns about the project. (NWestIowa.com)
• A proposed 14-mile pipeline that would bring natural gas from Minnesota to eastern North Dakota is delayed by errors in an application filed last month. (KFYR)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES: More than a dozen Chicago suburbs prepare to participate in a new program that helps municipalities build out electric vehicle infrastructure. (Chicago Tribune)

COAL: Developers plan to build a series of commercial buildings at the site of a former Wisconsin coal plant. (Journal Times)

SOLAR:
• Ann Arbor, Michigan, taps into federal funding to offset the costs of solar installations at city facilities and parks. (MLive)
• A developer breaks ground on a 128 MW solar project in South Dakota, which would be the largest solar project in the state. (PV Magazine)
• BP starts construction on a 134 MW solar project in northern Ohio near the Michigan border. (UPI)
• A Missouri company will operate a platform that offers financing for solar-plus-storage project developers. (PV Magazine)
• Construction continues on a 49.9 MW, $60 million solar project in northwestern Ohio. (Putnam County Sentinel)
• An Indiana county hopes to have a draft ordinance for regulating utility-scale solar projects prepared by this spring. (Anderson Herald Bulletin)