Plus, an op-ed from clean energy entrepreneur Vic Shao.
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3 February 2025
Good morning. Today, we cover how Illinois Democrats want to pull pension system investments out of fossil fuels, an EV battery plant rolling out near Kansas City, and pollution wracking a Detroit suburb.
TODAY'S TOP NEWS
CLEAN ENERGY
Minnesota’s green bank will ramp up lending this year for climate and emission-reduction projects, providing a new funding source amid chaos and confusion around federal spending. (Energy News Network)
Chicago officials say they remain committed to funding climate and clean energy projects despite the uncertainty caused by the Trump administration. (Inside Climate News)
An Illinois Congress member tells clean energy supporters to make climate programs about consumers to counter Trump’s pro-fossil fuel claims. (Chicago Tribune)
Tens of millions of dollars for electric vehicle infrastructure, clean energy projects and home energy rebates for Indianacould be jeopardy after the Trump administration issued an executive order to increase fossil fuel production. (Indianapolis Star)
FOSSIL FUELS
Democratic Illinois lawmakers introduce legislation requiring all state-funded pension systems to divest from fossil fuels, saying they would earn better returns as fossil fuels continue to be phased out. (Chicago Sun-Times)
A developer files a permit request with Ohio regulators to build a gas-fired power plantto meet anticipated demand from a new data center. (Cleveland.com, subscription)
WIND
An Iowa county begins deliberating over its first wind energy ordinance that includes setbacks that would prohibit projects in a large portion of the county. (Telegraph Herald)
ELECTRIC VEHICLES
A large electric vehicle battery plant near Kansas City is expected tostart operations this springand ramp up to 1,000 employees by the summer. (Kansas City Business Journal, subscription)
AIR QUALITY
Pollution from transportation and industrial facilities have led to high rates of asthma in a Detroit suburb, which has distributed10 air quality monitorsacross the city to give residents access to real-time air quality data. (ModelD)
UTILITIES
A Nebraska lawmaker introduces legislation to exempt residential electric and gas utilities from the state sales tax, which critics say would cost the state around $140 million in annual revenue as it faces a $432 million shortfall. (Nebraska Public Media)
SOLAR
Southern Indiana landowners grapple with land use concerns around solar projects that can alsogenerate steady incomefor farmers. (WTHR)
