UTILITIES: FirstEnergy agrees to pay a $100 million fine to settle civil fraud charges related to the company’s role in the HB6 bribery scandal, while former CEO Chuck Jones faces new federal fraud charges that include misleading investors. (Statehouse News Bureau)

SOLAR: A plan to install 25 MW of solar as well as new trails, habitat restoration and water access points at a former Michigan coal plant can be a model for similar sites across the Great Lakes region, environmental advocates say. (Michigan Public)

GRID: Michigan regulators will hold a public hearing next month on plans for the state’s first new high-voltage transmission lines in decades. (MLive)

PIPELINES: Minnesota regulators narrowly approve plans for a 13-mile gasoline pipeline near Pipestone National Monument, an area that the Upper Sioux Community and Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe say is foundational to their religious beliefs. (Star Tribune)

CARBON CAPTURE: A company planning a $1 billion sustainable aviation fuel plant in South Dakota acquires a North Dakota ethanol plant for the same purpose that is already equipped for on-site carbon capture and storage. (South Dakota Searchlight)

CLIMATE: 

  • Environmental groups say a proposed $15 billion merger between two major players in the global steel industry would slow progress on decarbonizing the sector. (Grist)
  • Rising temperatures attributed to climate change are pushing school districts to start the school year later and have led some teachers to demand classroom air conditioning in collective bargaining. (States Newsroom)

POLITICS: Michigan Republicans up and down the ticket in the upcoming election are using plans for a nearly $2.4 billion battery plant tied to a Chinese company to gain leverage over their Democratic opponents. (E&E News, subscription)

CLEAN ENERGY: A $7.3 billion federal program to help rural electric cooperatives invest in clean energy provides a key tool for nonprofit entities that don’t have access to the same financing options as investor-owned utilities. (Canary Media)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES:

BIOFUELS: A federal grant program will provide funding for new biodiesel storage facilities along the Detroit River, which advocates say will grow biofuel usage associated with shipping. (Brownfield Ag)

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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.