Xcel Energy proposes $300 million EV plan for Minnesota

ELECTRIC VEHICLES: Xcel Energy proposes a $300 million electric vehicle plan that would include 730 new fast-charging stations across Minnesota and a focus on school bus electrification. (Star Tribune)

ALSO:
• State officials from Illinois, Indiana and Wisconsin sign an agreement with Michigan to add electric vehicle charging stations along a coordinated route around Lake Michigan. (Detroit Free Press)
• Cleveland’s Department of Public Utilities seeks local approval to fund the installation of 31 charging stations as it transitions to electric fleet vehicles. (Cleveland.com)
• An Illinois community college graduates its first cohort of students who were upskilled to work on electric vehicles, including at a nearby Rivian manufacturing plant. (WGLT)
• General Motors will prepay a company $198 million in cash for a guaranteed six-year supply of lithium to support electric vehicle manufacturing. (Reuters)
• Automaker Stellantis will invest $83 million to equip a southeastern Michigan plant to produce engines for two hybrid-electric vehicle models coming to North America. (Detroit Free Press)

STORAGE: Alliant Energy opens a 5 MW battery project in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, that utility officials say will enable more renewable energy growth. (KCRG)

GRID:
• Three new transmission lines with an estimated cost of $2.2 billion are planned through Wisconsin under a recent buildout plan approved by grid operator MISO. (Wisconsin Public Radio)
• Regional and interregional transmission links could help cut electricity costs but aren’t being properly valued by grid operators, according to a recent study. (Utility Dive) 

CLIMATE: Most analysts conclude that a proposed federal climate bill would be an overall win for clean energy despite smaller concessions for fossil fuel interests. (Inside Climate News)

OHIO: Prosecutors ask a judge to sanction a former lobbyist charged with bribery in the House Bill 6 corruption scandal for using his legal defense website to publish the personal information of a key witness in the government’s case. (Cleveland.com)

SOLAR:
• A southeastern Michigan school district is in the midst of several clean energy construction projects, including 1.12 MW of rooftop solar that will save $180,000 annually. (MLive)
• An eastern Indiana municipal utility’s five solar projects recently met 21% of the city’s power demand during a peak afternoon period, which a local official called ​“pretty impressive.” (Palladium-Item)
• A CenterPoint Energy subsidiary in Indiana plans to acquire a 130 MW solar project to add to its growing solar portfolio in the southwestern part of the state. (Daily Energy Insider)

UTILITIES: Duke Energy seeks permission to raise rates by another 7.2% in Indiana based on rising fuel costs. (WRTV)