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St. Paul to make surface parking lots EV-ready

By Dan Haugen

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ELECTRIC VEHICLES: St. Paul, Minnesota’s city council unanimously passes zoning rules requiring new surface parking lots with more than 15 spots to include wiring and panel spacing for future EV chargers. (MPR News)

ALSO: The nation’s rollout of public fast-charging stations is accelerating, with almost 600 stations added during the first three months of the year and Missouri among the states making the most progress. (Bloomberg)

SOLAR:

  • A suburban Chicago manufacturer shows off a solar-powered microgrid it says has already saved it $1.8 million in lost production time since coming online late last year. (Capital News Illinois)
  • After almost nine hours of testimony, county officials approve a permit for a massive 600-acre solar project north of Lawrence, Kansas. (Flatland)
  • Wisconsin’s Dane County is the first in the country to earn ​“platinum” status from a federal program encouraging local policies that support solar development. (Journal Sentinel)

INDUSTRY: The U.S. Department of Energy announces $28 million in grants for research aimed at decarbonizing steel production, including projects at the University of Minnesota and Illinois’ Argonne National Laboratory. (Canary Media)

PIPELINES:

BIOGAS:

  • A Michigan economic development fund approves $40 million in bonds for a proposed facility to turn food waste and manure into renewable natural gas. (WOOD-TV)
  • University of Minnesota researchers are working to develop productive uses of hog manure, including renewable natural gas, but funding for larger demonstration projects is needed. (MinnPost)

NUCLEAR: Michigan’s efforts to restart a shuttered nuclear power plant puts the state at the forefront of a resurgent interest in nuclear energy. (Utility Dive)

GRID: About 40 people sign a petition opposing Ameren’s plans to upgrade its electric grid in central Illinois, mostly by rebuilding existing lines. (Daily Journal)

COMMENTARY: Michigan regulators’ denial of a utility’s request to recoup expenses from uneconomic coal plants sets an example for other states, clean energy policy advocates write. (RMI)

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