A green steel setback in Indiana

This roundup of energy news headlines comes from our Midwest Energy News newsletter. Sign up to get it in your inbox every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday morning.

COAL

• U.S. Steel’s parent company plans to invest around $300 million to refurbish a coal-fueled blast furnace at its Gary, Indiana plant, which could prolong the company’s reliance on coal and delay a shift to low-carbon manufacturing. (Canary Media)

• The Indiana Court of Appeals overturns state regulators’ decision allowing Duke Energy to collect $62 million from ratepayers to clean up coal ash at its plants. (Indianapolis Star)

• A federal judge upholds the U.S. EPA’s 2022 decision against allowing more time for a large Ohio coal plant to comply with coal ash rules. (Politico)

SOLAR

• More than $1.2 billion in federal Solar for All funding was allocated for Midwest and Great Plains states, which advocates said would have helped jumpstart the industry in some low-solar-adoption states. (Harvest Public Media)

• An Ohio county looks to repurpose a contaminated former waste incinerator site for a solar project that could power county buildings. (WYSO)

UTILITIES

• Bitter arguments emerge in filings with Minnesota regulators over the proposed $6.2 billion sale of Allete to a private equity company as consumer advocates dig in against the plan. (Star Tribune)

• The Ohio Supreme Court rules that state regulators erred in allowing AES to collect $61.1 million in excessive profits instead of refunding customers based on promises to use the funding to invest in the grid. (Signal Ohio)

• Michigan’s attorney general seeks to slash DTE Energy’s $574 million rate increase request by nearly 75%, saying ratepayer dollars should be focused on tree trimming over grid infrastructure investments. (Michigan Advance)

NUCLEAR

• Federal regulators approve a waiver that will allow a shuttered Iowa nuclear plant to restart by the end of 2029. (Utility Dive)

• Michigan’s Palisades nuclear plant regains operational status after three years of decommissioning, allowing it to accept fuel again. (Michigan Public)

• An Iowa county advances new ordinance changes to allow for nuclear energy production amid renewed interest in the fuel and rising power demand. (Radio Iowa)

OIL & GAS

• Investigators determine that a natural gas line was the likely cause of an explosion in a St. Louis suburb that destroyed five homes and hospitalized several residents. (St. Louis Public Radio)

• Natural gas represented about three-quarters of the 47 projects that applied for fast-track status in MISO’s interconnection queue meant to speed up capacity additions. (RTO Insider)

WIND

• A developer seeks state approval for a 300 MW, $750 million wind project proposed in western South Dakota. (South Dakota Searchlight)

• Rochester, Minnesota, pursues three wind energy contracts to meet its renewable energy targets and lock in prices to potentially avoid higher costs after federal tax incentives end. (Post Bulletin)

PIPELINES

• Environmental groups call on Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer to take a stand opposing Enbridge’s plan to build a tunnel under the Straits of Mackinac for Line 5 as the permit process advances. (Michigan Advance)

BIOFUELS

• John Deere says a fleet of its diesel engines have been approved to run on higher blends of biofuel, a move industry advocates call a significant step toward renewable fuel adoption. (Iowa Capital Dispatch)

• A company is permitted to build a large central Minnesota plant that will process up to 115,000 tons of manure and food waste a year to produce biogas that’s added to a utility gas pipeline. (West Central Tribune)

NEW FROM CANARY 

• How affordable housing can still go solar, despite Trump turbulence — Jeff St. John

• New Hampshire, never big on offshore wind, steps back further — Sarah Shemkus

• North Carolina ditched its 2030 climate goal. Now what? — Elizabeth Ouzts