Good morning! Republicans in multiple Midwest states are getting on board with community solar, or small projects of 1-5 MW and up to 30 acres. With attempts at the federal level to withdraw tax incentives for renewable energy, community solar is gaining traction in Iowa, Missouri, and Ohio for its appeal to GOP principals. Those include tapping into free markets and individual property rights, opening competition from third-party developers, and preserving agricultural land, Canary Media’s Alison F. Takemura reports.
TODAY'S TOP NEWS
SOLAR
Republicans in Iowa, Missouri, and Ohio have sponsored bills to spur the growth of community solar projects and are gaining support from business advocates and conservative policy groups along the way. (Canary Media)
A 200 MW solar project is now operational in Iowa, making it the state’s largest solar project to date. (Solar Power World)
DTE Energy completes construction on an 80 MW solar project near an existing wind project in central Michigan. (Renewables Now)
DATA CENTERS
While Indiana officials have taken multiple steps to support data center development, local opposition to projects is building over concerns about higher electricity costs, inflated job promises and replacing farmland. (Heatmap)
GRID
Ohio House and Senate lawmakers appear to have reached a deal on sweeping energy reforms that include tax breaks for companies investing in new generation and retooling the ratemaking process for distribution companies. (Ohio Capital Journal)
Michigan regulators will hold a public forum next month in the northern Lower Peninsula, where a recent ice storm heavily damaged the grid and left some residents without power for weeks. (9&10 News)
PIPELINES
A federal appeals court upholds Enbridge’s right to sue Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer after she revoked an easement allowing the company to operate Line 5 in the Straits of Mackinac. (E&E News)
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ decision to expedite its review of a Line 5 tunnel in the Straits of Mackinac comes as another federal department will hasten energy reviews. (Inside Climate News)
UTILITIES
Xcel Energy supports North Dakota legislation that would allow utilities to use an approved wildfire mitigation plan as a defense against civil lawsuits for wildfire damages. (Utility Dive)
Columbus, Ohio, officials approve an ordinance to release $500,000 in pandemic relief funds that for the first time will help low-income residents pay electric bills as utility rates continue to climb. (Spectrum News)
BIOFUELS
The U.S. EPA will allow higher blends of ethanol to be sold nationwide through the summer in a move officials say will lower costs at the pump. (Associated Press)
COMMENTARY
Repealing a Michigan law that encourages renewable energy development and gives more siting authority to state regulators would disrupt economic benefits that utility-scale solar projects deliver to local governments, a clean energy advocate writes. (Bridge)
NEW FROM CANARY MEDIA
Utilidata announces $60.3 million in funding to expand production and deployment of AI-enabled smart meters that can help utilities address growing power demand challenges, Jeff St. John reports.
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