Solar advocates score Wisconsin victory

SOLAR: Clean energy advocates hail Wisconsin regulators’ decision to allow third-party financing for a residential solar project, though the decision leaves unanswered questions about its scope and what happens next. (Wisconsin State Journal, E&E News)

ALSO:
• Alliant Energy officials discuss plans for a utility-scale solar-plus-storage project in central Wisconsin. (Wisconsin Rapids Tribune)
• An airport in Dubuque, Iowa, plans to power its terminal with solar energy and save about $80,000 a year in electricity costs. (KCRG)
• Construction started recently on a 4,100-acre solar project in central Illinois. (WICS)

COAL: The operator of Ohio’s largest coal plant plans to switch to a different coal ash waste handling method in response to a recent U.S. EPA order to stop using an on-site coal ash pond. (Energy News Network)

CLIMATE:
• A Democratic state senator predicts Minnesota lawmakers will ​“pass the most significant climate legislation in history” this session. (MinnPost)
• Newly elected Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach plans to challenge the Biden administration on a range of clean energy issues. (E&E News, subscription)

GRID: Federal regulators approve grid operator PJM’s plan for a ​“first-ready, first-served” interconnection review process that aims to clear a backlog of projects. (Utility Dive)

UTILITIES: Wisconsin regulators approve a $367 million rate increase for subsidiaries of WEC Energy Group to help pay for clean energy and natural gas investments. (Wisconsin State Journal)

CLEAN ENERGY:
• Major automakers are increasingly marketing clean energy products such as batteries and solar panels in addition to electric vehicles. (Inside Climate News)
• A northern Illinois county completes its overhaul of wind and solar siting ordinances, ending a year-long moratorium on projects. (Sauk Valley News)

PIPELINES:
• An Ohio farming family continues to fight a gas utility’s plan to build a natural gas pipeline across their property. (Farm and Dairy)
• A carbon pipeline developer still faces significant public opposition based on a series of public meetings in South Dakota. (Mitchell Republic)

WIND: A lack of early-career opportunities for potential wind energy workers is driving a ​“workforce gap” in the industry as employers also struggle to find qualified workers, according to two recent reports. (Utility Dive)

STORAGE: Chicago utility ComEd launches a demonstration project for battery storage facilities that could provide neighborhoods with grid reliability in the event of outages. (Daily Energy Insider)

BIOFUELS: The U.S. EPA proposes increasing the amount of ethanol and other biofuels that must be blended into fuel supplies over the next three years. (Associated Press)

COMMENTARY:
• Michigan regulators will hold a public hearing later this month on DTE Energy’s long-term energy plan, which clean energy advocates say is still overly reliant on natural gas. (Union of Concerned Scientists)
• The president and CEO of AES Indiana announces plans to quadruple the utility’s renewable energy capacity and reduce carbon emissions 85% by 2042. (Indianapolis Star)