COAL: Indiana is emblematic of a larger problem as utility-owned coal plants are dispatched despite the availability of cheaper resources like wind and solar, costing ratepayers hundreds of millions and contributing to air pollution. (Energy News Network)

CLEAN ENERGY: Minneapolis climate advocates want new franchise agreements that give Xcel and CenterPoint access to public rights of way to include more community benefits and clean energy investments. (Sahan Journal)

OVERSIGHT: Wisconsin’s top energy regulator says the state is at a crucial moment as clean energy development continues to grow as power demand rises. (Capital Times)

SOLAR: 

  • Michigan farmers seeking additional revenue through solar leases are backed by a new state law that gives state regulators greater oversight in the event of local opposition. (Bloomberg)
  • Ohio regulators will hold a public hearing today on plans for a 150 MW solar project near Akron. (Canton Repository)

NUCLEAR: Reopening a shuttered Michigan nuclear plant could provide a roadmap for reactivating mothballed plants in other states as well as how to transition to small modular reactors. (CNBC)

GRID: ComEd’s Illinois territory contains more than 5,000 MW of data centers in the engineering phase, while another 13,000 MW of projects are making inquiries with the utility, executives say. (Utility Dive)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES: 

  • U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg tours Indiana electric vehicle battery plants that he says have been made possible by the Biden administration’s manufacturing agenda. (Indianapolis Business Journal)
  • A Michigan auto industry analyst says making electric vehicles more affordable and building out infrastructure will be key to increasing adoption. (WOOD-TV8)
  • Electric boat manufacturers demonstrate new models at marinas across northern Michigan as state mobility officials work to build up the e-boating industry. (Traverse City Ticker)

UTILITIES: 

  • Residents in a northeastern Iowa city will vote in early 2025 on whether to create a municipally owned utility, which would need to go through several more steps before starting operations. (Cedar Rapids Gazette)
  • Michigan’s top four utilities issued $10.1 million in outage bill credits in 2023, the first year utilities were required to issue automatic refunds instead of requiring customers to request them. (MLive, subscription)

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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.