Good morning! Minnesota’s 2013 community solar law helped spark solar growth in the state while serving as a model for others. Ten years later, a new state law sought to refocus the program on low-income customers and set caps.
Now a Democratic-backed bill would phase it out entirely by 2028, as bill supporters say the program has run its course. It’s created a showdown with state officials, fellow Democrats and clean energy advocates.
TODAY'S TOP NEWS
SOLAR
Minnesota lawmakers consider a bill to sunset the state’s community solar program, which bill supporters say is increasingly being subsidized by non-participants while critics say it provides a net benefit. (Sahan Journal)
EMISSIONS
Michigan is among states planning for stricter rules for landfill operators to cut methane emissions in the absence of federal action under the Trump administration. (Canary Media)
RENEWABLES
Ohio legislation to end all state solar subsidies and a Missouri bill to raise taxes on farmers who lease their land for renewable energy projects are part of growing opposition to renewables in GOP-led states. (Stateline)
CARBON CAPTURE
After years of inaction on House-supported carbon pipeline restrictions, the Iowa Senate advances its version of a bill that’s significantly scaled back, to landowner activists’ dismay. (Cedar Rapids Gazette)
POWER PLANTS
Ohio lawmakers are negotiating differences in the House and Senate versions of a major energy bill that would reform the ratemaking process and incentivize new power plants. (Ohio Capital Journal)
NUCLEAR
The Trump administration will unfreeze $1.3 billion in Inflation Reduction Act grants for electric cooperatives in Michigan and Indiana to purchase power from a southwestern Michigan nuclear plant that’s scheduled to restart this year. (MLive)
ELECTRIC VEHICLES
Illinois regulators approve a three-year, $168 million plan for ComEd to provide various electric vehicle incentives, including residential charging and medium- and heavy-duty fleet vehicles. (WTVO)
GRID
A shift in federal energy priorities to focus more on fossil fuels renews friction between GOP-led South Dakota, which says fossil fuels are crucial for maintaining grid reliability, and Minnesota, where the state’s largest utility is closing its coal plants by 2030. (South Dakota News Watch)
Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds responds to a Justice Department letter raising concerns about her support for a right of first refusal provision in her energy legislation, affirming that her energy policies align with the Trump administration’s. (Cedar Rapids Gazette)
An ice storm that ripped through northern Michigan over the weekend is creating an unprecedented situation for utilities that are trying to restore power while contending with ice buildup on power lines. (MLive)
UTILITIES
Minnesota ratepayer advocates raise concerns after the Trump administration fires the entire staff of a federal office that oversees low-income home energy bill assistance, which benefits more than 125,000 people in the state. (Minnesota Reformer)
NEW FROM CANARY MEDIA
The U.S. House overwhelmingly passed a bipartisan bill that will juice development and deployment of clean building materials, and a sister bill is in the works, Alexander C. Kaufman reports.
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