CLEAN ENERGY: President Biden is set to announce $7.3 billion in Inflation Reduction Act clean energy financing for rural co-ops today, including $573 million for a Wisconsin electric co-op. (Wisconsin Examiner)

ALSO: An Indiana co-op will use the funding to buy renewable energy as well as power from a shuttered Michigan nuclear plant planned to come back online. (Indiana Capital Chronicle)

GRID: Investor-owned utilities in deregulated states like Illinois and Ohio say they could help bring new generation online to ensure adequate supplies in PJM’s territory following a recent spike in capacity prices. (Utility Dive)

SOLAR: 

  • A Minnesota solar project with pollinator-friendly habitat is part of a growing effort to use solar not just to fight climate change but also prevent a collapse in biodiversity. (New York Times)
  • Iowa State University researchers say an agrivoltaics pilot project with Alliant Energy is demonstrating that certain crops can be grown at a commercial scale beneath solar panels. (Iowa Capital Dispatch)
  • A Michigan solar project that’s among the first to use a new state program providing direct payments to communities instead of taxes secures a power purchase agreement with an in-state energy company. (Solar Industry)
  • A Wisconsin car dealership plans to offset more than 50% of its power usage with rooftop solar at multiple buildings. (Solar Power World)

PIPELINES: The Sierra Club asks Iowa regulators to dismiss permit requests for Summit Carbon Solutions’ carbon pipeline expansion, claiming the company acquired land easements too early. (Cedar Rapids Gazette)

BATTERIES: A German automotive company plans a $105 million battery components production plant in western Michigan that will supply Ford electric transit vans. (WOOD-TV8)

BIOGAS: A water conservation group sues an Iowa county for allegedly failing to allow enough public input before approving a rezoning for a renewable natural gas plant. (Cedar Rapids Gazette)

UTILITIES: Ohio FirstEnergy customers can expect higher electric bills next year as the utility seeks higher charges but multiple cases tied to the utility’s corruption scandal remain unresolved. (Energy News Network)

More from the Energy News Network: Midwest | Southeast | Northeast | West

Andy compiles the Midwest Energy News digest and was a journalism fellow for Midwest Energy News from 2014-2020. He is managing editor of MiBiz in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and was formerly a reporter and editor at City Pulse, Lansing’s alternative newsweekly.