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Where’s all the Great Lakes offshore wind?

By Andy Balaskovitz

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WIND: Despite strong winds on the Great Lakes, offshore wind projects in the region have largely failed to advance over the past decade because of local opposition and infrastructure challenges. (Inside Climate News)

ALSO: BP completes a $100 million upgrade to an Indiana wind project, installing larger turbine blades that produce 40% more power. (Times of Northwest Indiana)

OHIO:

  • An investigative news outlet seeks the identities of Ohio regulatory staff members who backed a plan to label publicly available information as trade secrets as part of investigation into the HB 6 scandal. (Checks and Balances Project)
  • Federal authorities indicate that investigations are ongoing related to the HB 6 power plant bailout scandal, and that FirstEnergy is cooperating. (Ohio Capital Journal)

STORAGE: New clean energy bills make Michigan the first Midwest state with energy storage targets, which are set at 2,500 MW by 2030. (MLive)

COAL: Fine particulate matter emitted from coal plants is twice as deadly as from other sources and contributed to at least 460,000 deaths in the U.S. from 1999 to 2020, researchers find. (The Guardian)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES: A Minneapolis-St. Paul electric vehicle car-sharing program reaches a major milestone with its 150,000th trip since February 2022. (Star Tribune)

SOLAR: A central Michigan school district signs a 25-year agreement to purchase power at discounted, fixed rates from a commercial solar project. (MLive)

GRID:

  • Clean energy experts say the increased power demand from the Biden administration’s plan to grow the U.S. industrial base adds to challenges with decarbonizing the electric grid. (E&E News)
  • A Minnesota county raises concerns about a proposed transmission line route that leaders say could harm agricultural land. (West Central Tribune)
  • Local planning officials in Wisconsin reject a utility’s plan to build an electric substation on a former golf course. (Lake Geneva Regional News)

PIPELINES:

  • Developers press on with plans for multi-state carbon pipelines they say will benefit Iowa’s economy but that face regulatory hurdles and local opposition. (The Courier)
  • An Iowa county issues a letter in support of the Dakota Access pipeline as federal regulators conduct a comprehensive environmental review of the project. (NWestIowa.com)

OIL & GAS: State officials are investigating the cause of a large fire that broke out late last week at a southeastern Michigan oil refinery. (WDIV)

COMMENTARY: States and local governments should prioritize low-income renters when directing billions of dollars in federal home energy rebates, a clean energy researcher writes. (Energy News Network)

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