Plan approved for wind farm; Purdue to do research
Zoning officials have approved scaled-back plans for a northern Indiana wind farm where Purdue University researchers plan to study the impact of the towering turbines.
Environment
Articles
Study: Fuels from corn waste not better than gas
A $500,000 study paid for by the federal government and released Sunday in the peer-reviewed journal Nature Climate Change concludes that biofuels made with corn residue release 7 percent more greenhouse gases compared with conventional gasoline.
Largest solar farm on Superfund site goes online
The nation's largest solar farm built on a federal Superfund site is now generating power in Indianapolis on property once tainted by a long-closed plant's wood-treating operations.
Environmental groups sue to stop Illiana Tollway
Chicago environmental groups filed a lawsuit Thursday to stop the proposed $1.3 billion Illiana Tollway linking northern Illinois and northwestern Indiana, claiming the Illinois Department of Transportation doesn't have authority to develop it.
IPL wants rate hike to fund car-sharing charging stations
Mayor Greg Ballard’s hope of making Indianapolis the first U.S. city with an all-electric car- sharing service hinges on a rate hike to cover $16 million in costs to Indianapolis Power and Light.
Farmers off to slow start planting corn crop
As of Sunday, the U.S. Department of Agriculture says, just 3 percent of the U.S. corn crop was sown, half the dismal pace of last year.
Citizens plans $114M in upgrades for water system
Among the planned projects are a new groundwater treatment plant near Morse Reservoir, a booster station to improve water pressure on the northwest side, and several large water main replacement projects.
Pence renews talks over $2.1B fertilizer plant
Indiana economic development officials have renewed talks with Pakistan-connected developers who want to build a major fertilizer plant in southwestern Indiana, one year after the state withdrew its support for the project over national security concerns.
Reservoir opponents warn of impact on rare wetland
Kevin Tungesvick, a local restoration ecologist, said the proposed $350 million Mounds Lake Reservoir would inundate the Mounds Fen State Nature Preserve, which features a wetland that formed following the last ice age.
Manufacturers help drive recycling bill to passage
A state lawmaker who co-authored legislation setting a goal for Indiana to eventually recycle at least half of its municipal waste says the state's resource-hungry manufacturing industry was a key to the bill's passage this year.
Indiana seed commissioner seeks federal hemp OK
Although the Indiana Legislature approved a measure allowing hemp to be grown in the state, the state still needs permission from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Indiana county OKs farm’s plans for fish feed mill
An eastern Indiana county has narrowly approved a fish farm's plans to build a feed mill as part of a $30 million expansion supporters say will help turn the area into an aquaculture hub.
Pence lets bill ending Energize Indiana become law
Indiana Gov. Mike Pence will let a bill that eliminates an energy-conservation program become law without his signature, prompting harsh words from environmental leaders who opposed the bill.
Big businesses fight over Indiana energy program
Two giant corporations that sell products that save electricity want Gov. Mike Pence to veto a bill that would halt the program called Energizing Indiana.
Ball State prepares to idle its coal-fired boilers
Ball State University officials are preparing to stop burning coal at the campus steam plant as the school pushes ahead with its partial conversion to geothermal energy.
General Assembly passes bill to legalize industrial hemp
A bill to legalize the cultivation of industrial hemp in Indiana is headed to Gov. Mike Pence after it passed the House on Wednesday night and the Senate on Thursday.
University Loft’s founder now building electric cars
The founder of University Loft Co., one of the nation’s biggest suppliers of college dorm room and military base furniture, is now venturing into the world of alternative transportation.
UPDATE: Governor to sign Indiana recycling bill
Legislation that sets a goal for Indiana to eventually recycle at least half of its municipal waste is headed to Gov. Mike Pence's desk after passing the General Assembly.
Lawmakers vote to put Energizing Indiana program on hold
A bill that would sideline the state’s energy-efficiency program was sent to the governor Monday, but Indiana lawmakers are still mulling bills that would relax gun regulations in school parking lots and make some welfare recipients undergo drug-testing.
Environmental group against Mounds reservoir plan
A regional chapter of the Audubon Society says the proposed Mounds Lake Reservoir would hurt the natural environment near Anderson.