• Xcel Energy’s gas plan could be a $3.5 billion mistake, advocates argue
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Xcel Energy’s gas plan could be a $3.5 billion mistake, advocates argue

By Andy Balaskovitz

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UTILITIES: Xcel Energy’s plan to build six gas peaker plants this decade could cost Minnesota ratepayers up to $3.5 billion more than relying on existing plants, efficiency and demand response, energy storage and market purchases, according to an analysis commissioned by clean energy groups. (Energy News Network)

ALSO: A new study finds 1 in 4 Detroit households face high energy burdens, with Black and Hispanic residents particularly impacted by steep energy costs relative to their income. (Michigan Advance)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES:

  • As Biden administration officials tout public support for the nation’s sole nickel mine in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, some local advocates remain opposed to the project and fear a proliferation of mining in the area. (E&E News)
  • Auto suppliers are devising new strategies to get investment certainty from automakers as consumer demand for electric vehicles falls short of previous estimates. (Detroit News, subscription)
  • Spirit Lake Nation in North Dakota plans to use $7 million in federal funding to buy electric vehicles for its health authority as well as invest in various clean energy projects. (ICT)

NUCLEAR: Iowa, Nebraska, Michigan and Wisconsin have retired nuclear plants that could be suitable for repowering, according to a new federal report analyzing retired coal and nuclear sites that could host new nuclear generation. (Utility Dive)

SOLAR: Ohio regulators start a multi-day hearing today on a contentious 150 MW, $200 million solar project outside Dayton. (Canton Repository)

CARBON CAPTURE:

  • The Energy Department approves a nearly $1.6 billion loan guarantee for an Indiana fertilizer plant that plans to capture and store its carbon emissions underground. (Indiana Capital Chronicle)
  • An attorney representing North Dakota energy regulators says the state Supreme Court has clarified that a carbon pipeline developer can use eminent domain for its project, though an attorney representing landowners disagrees. (North Dakota Monitor)

EMISSIONS:

  • A federal judge in North Dakota halts the Biden administration’s new methane rule to limit flaring in oil fields in North Dakota and four other states, ruling that the regulation impinges on states’ rights. (E&E News)
  • Nebraska’s Republican attorney general leads 23 other states calling on the U.S. EPA to block a push by California to enforce stricter emissions standards on large trucks. (Nebraska Examiner)

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