Cities must replace lead pipes within 10 years under new EPA plan
It is the strongest proposed overhaul of lead rules in more than three decades, and will cost billions of dollars.
Energy & Environment
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AES Indiana reaches agreement to raise electricity rates 7.3%
The utility’s initial proposal provoked widespread objections, including from more than 40 customers who attended two field hearings.
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Proposed pipeline stirs questions about who controls Indiana’s water
Consideration of a pipeline to pump massive amounts of water from Lafayette to the LEAP Innovation and Research District in Lebanon is revealing major gaps in Indiana’s water-rights laws, some stakeholders say.
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Republic Services to build plastics recycling operation on south side
Republic Services called the development the “nation’s first integrated plastics recycling facility,” designed to address increasing demand from consumers and packaging manufacturers for recycled plastic.
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Canadian Solar plans $800M production facility, 1,200 jobs in Indiana
A global developer of large-scale solar power plants and battery storage projects is expanding into southern Indiana, the Indiana Economic Development Corp. announced Monday.
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Articles
Consumer Reports: EVs less reliable, on average, than conventional vehicles
The survey found that electric vehicles from the 2021 through 2023 model years encountered nearly 80% more problems than did vehicles propelled by internal combustion engines.
Car dealers press Biden to ease U.S. electric vehicle mandates
A group of 3,700 auto dealers is calling on the Biden administration to pull back on federal regulations that will mandate that two out of every three vehicles sold in the United States in 2032 will be battery electric.
Energy Department tries to boost battery industry with another $3.5B in funding
The Energy Department estimates demand for lithium batteries will increase up to 10 times by 2030.
First-of-a-kind nuclear project terminated in blow to Biden’s clean-energy agenda
Indiana lawmakers passed a law in 2022 that would allow electric utilities to build small modular reactors similar to the one called off by NuScale.
U.S. regulators to review car-tire chemical that kills salmon
The agency’s decision to grant the petition last week is the start of a long regulatory process that could see the chemical banned. Tire manufacturers are already looking for an alternative that still meets federal safety requirements.
Group forms in opposition to LEAP District water pipeline
The group, “Stop the Water Steal,” plans to lead a letter-writing campaign to local and state officials, urging them to stop the pipeline, slow its progress or minimize its impact on community water resources.
State lawmaker drainage task force fumbles on final report
Sen. Jean Leising called it the “most miserable task force or interim committee meeting I have ever been a part of.”
Water-guzzling companies struggle to reach sustainability goals
Powerhouse companies such as Coca-Cola, General Mills and Amazon have set water-sustainability targets but aren’t close to meeting them.
Chevron buying Hess for $53B in latest oil megadeal
The Chevron-Hess deal comes less than two weeks after Exxon Mobil said that it would acquire Pioneer Natural Resources for about $60 billion.
UAW strike underscores future of EV manufacturing in Indiana
Union leaders want promises from the Big Three automakers that their wave of new electric vehicle battery plants will fall under the UAW’s contract and that workers at those plants will make UAW assembly wages of $32 an hour.
Toyota to join Tesla’s charging network, adopt Tesla connector in future EVs
Tesla’s Supercharger network is coveted by other automakers because it has more direct current fast-charging plugs in the U.S. than any other network, and its stations are in prime locations along freeway travel corridors.
Federal incentives boost Cummins’ confidence in hydrogen
Cummins focuses on both hydrogen-powered and battery electric products through its zero-emissions business unit, which does business as Accelera by Cummins. But hydrogen is emerging as the breakout star for the company.
Midwest coalition involving Indiana selected for regional hydrogen hub
Gov. Eric Holcomb’s office says the U.S. Department of Energy will award up to $1 billion in grant funding to the Midwest Alliance for Clean Hydrogen, or MachH2, which consists of more than 70 Midwest public and private organizations.
White House poised to announce winners of competition to produce hydrogen fuel
Earlier this year, an Indiana group seeking to land one of the hydrogen hubs joined forces with a coalition representing Michigan and Illinois to enhance the chance.
Most U.S. households expected to pay less for heat this winter
Citizens Energy Group, which provides utility services to 900,000 people in the Indianapolis area, said Wednesday that it projects monthly natural gas heating bills will decrease during the winter heating season.
Pushback continues against genetically modified salmon raised at Indiana farm
“AquAdvantage” salmon, engineered by biotech company AquaBounty Technologies, most recently drew criticism from environmental advocates at the 2023 Farm Aid event.
Gubernatorial candidate Eric Doden speaks out against LEAP district pipeline plan
Other GOP contenders share similar concerns, while some defend the controversial project as a wise economic move.
Lilly to install $10M worth of solar panels at two Indianapolis campuses
The solar structures are designed to help generate power for the company and reduce its carbon footprint.
Biden uses executive power to create New Deal-style American Climate Corps
The White House said the program will employ more than 20,000 young adults who will build trails, plant trees, help install solar panels and do other work to boost conservation and help prevent catastrophic wildfires.