Trump disrupts clean energy program for farmers

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OVERSIGHT

• The Trump administration abruptly closes a window for new applications to the federal Rural Energy for America Program, further disrupting the program that’s become a lifeline for small farmers in the Midwest and beyond to secure grants for solar, wind, energy-efficiency upgrades, grain dryers, biodigesters, and other projects. (Canary Media)

FOSSIL FUELS

• Ameren proposes construction of an 800 MW gas-fired power plant and 400 MW battery storage facility in Missouri to replace a coal plant that closed last year after continuous emission violations. (St. Louis Post-Dispatch, KBIA)

SOLAR

• Illinois’ solar industry faces uncertainty over how much state policy will shelter it against the rollback of federal clean energy incentives in the Republican budget bill. (Chicago Tribune, CNI)

• Geronimo Power begins construction of a 250 MW solar farm in Wisconsin. (Renewables Now, news release)

• Minnesota regulators approve two solar projects totaling 475 MW, including some battery storage and a 1-mile power line. (Renewables Now)

• An Iowa-based group-buy solar program reaches its first 50 kW solar installation benchmark, triggering a price break of $70/​kW for participants. (Southeast Iowa Union)

• Michigan awards $7.9 million in preliminary funding to launch eight projects to install residential and community solar arrays. (Environmental Protection)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES

• Panasonic opens a $4 billion EV battery factory in Kansas amid widespread concern about the industry due to tariffs and the rollback of federal incentives. (KCUR)

EFFICIENCY

• A St. Louis-area man discusses the energy efficient home he and his spouse began building when he was 82. (St. Louis Post-Dispatch)

GRID

• Wisconsin lawmakers consider legislation to ban the release of Mylar balloons after a series of power outages caused by the balloons, which have knocked out power to 15,000 customers for roughly 153,000 minutes so far this year. (WISN)

EMISSIONS

• Environmental groups petition the U.S. EPA to challenge Indiana regulators’ approval of a clean air permit for U.S. Steel’s Gary Works facility. (Chicago Tribune)

BUILDINGS

• A Minnesota county’s plan to decarbonize a 15-building energy system faces obstacles because of a hospital’s reliance on steam and the high cost of switching to electric boilers. (Utility Dive)

POLITICS

• Think tank Energy Innovation projects the rollback of federal clean energy tax incentives in Trump’s budget bill could cause energy prices to rise at least 39% in Missouri and 30% in Kansas. (NPR)

COMMENTARY

• The Ohio Power Siting Board’s approval of an 800-acre solar farm shows how grassroots volunteers and the use of free media can overcome the power of the fossil fuel industry and its use of misinformation, writes a clean energy advocate. (Ohio Capital Journal)

• South Dakota should support NorthWestern Energy’s potential proposal to build a nuclear power plant in the state as a smaller, more reliable alternative to renewables, writes a former state lawmaker. (Mitchell Republic)