Battery storage behemoth

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.

STORAGE

• Two companies plan a large thermal energy storage system next to a South Dakota ethanol plant that would make it one of the largest energy storage projects in the world. (South Dakota News Watch)

PIPELINES

• Michigan regulators plan to issue a key water quality permit for Line 5 that would allow Enbridge to move forward with a pipeline tunnel in the Straits of Mackinac. (Bridge Michigan)

GRID

• PJM Interconnection gets U.S. Energy Department permission to curtail data centers and other large loads that have backup generation when the grid is under strain. (Utility Dive)

CLEAN ENERGY

• Bloomington, Indiana, residents are taking advantage of a citywide rebate program that covers some of the costs for installing rooftop solar. (Indiana Public Media)

SOLAR

• A developer withdraws its application with state regulators for a 116 MW solar farm with a 40-MW battery storage system at a site in Ohio as it seeks a new path forward. (Peak of Ohio)

FOSSIL FUELS

• Consumers Energy has a purchase option for a large swatch of land near Ann Arbor, Michigan, where it’s eyeing a potential gas plant. (MLive)

DATA CENTERS

• A Republican candidate for North Dakota’s public service commission calls for a moratorium on data center development until lawmakers adopt state-level regulations and safeguards. (North Dakota Monitor)

• Lower-than-expected demand from data centers is helping lower the risks of power outages this summer, though reliability risks are increasing in other seasons, according to the North American grid watchdog. (E&E News)

NUCLEAR

• The potential reopening of the Duane Arnold nuclear plant in eastern Iowa shows how the Trump administration is looking to fast-track new power generation to meet projected demand from data centers. (Radio Iowa)

• A southwestern Missouri lawmaker is picked to serve on Republican Gov. Mike Kehoe’s task force with 22 other people examining how to expand nuclear power in the state. (KSNF)

RENEWABLES

• DTE Energy issues a request for proposals for 1 GW of new wind and solar capacity that would be operational by the end of 2029. (PV Tech)

OVERSIGHT

• The six candidates for seats on the North Dakota Public Service commission say they have various ways to hold utilities accountable for maintaining the state’s lowest-in-the-nation energy prices. (North Dakota Monitor)