Data center secrecy in Wisconsin

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DATA CENTERS

• Local officials have signed confidentiality agreements to keep more than half of Wisconsin’s seven major data center proposals secret, limiting public awareness of the projects. (Wisconsin Watch)

• A Wisconsin environmental coalition calls for a pause in new data center developments to give lawmakers more time to take a holistic approach with the industry. (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)

CARBON CAPTURE

• Indiana lawmakers consider plans for the state to take over the permitting of carbon capture projects from the U.S. EPA as local opposition to proposals intensifies. (Indiana Capital Chronicle)

SOLAR

• Missouri lawmakers consider legislation to enact what would be the country’s first statewide moratorium on utility-scale solar development. (Heatmap)

UTILITIES

• Advocates say few people are aware that Michigan ratepayers pay for utilities’ legal and regulatory teams that argue for higher rates in cases before state regulators, a practice that some states have banned. (MLive)

• Customers of Indiana utility NIPSCO organize protests in the coming weeks against ongoing rate increases they say have become unaffordable. (Chicago Tribune)

CLEAN ENERGY

• Hyperscale data centers threaten Michigan’s clean energy targets by relying on gas plants to meet growing power demand, though some environmental groups say hitting the targets is still possible by building more renewables. (Crain’s Detroit)

NUCLEAR

• The Indiana Senate passes a bill that would remove certain permitting requirements for building new nuclear plants that backers say are already preempted by federal law. (Chicago Tribune)

GRID

• Federal regulators uphold decisions approving fast-track interconnection programs by MISO and Southwest Power Pool to address growing resource adequacy needs. (Utility Dive)

PIPELINES

• South Dakota lawmakers advance legislation that would ask voters to place eminent domain restrictions in the state constitution, as supporters say a new state law banning eminent domain for carbon pipelines doesn’t go far enough. (South Dakota Searchlight)

OIL & GAS

• Continental Resources’ decision to stop oil drilling in North Dakota for the first time in 30 years is likely to bring layoffs, though state leaders say it can be expected from a cyclical industry. (Inforum)

WIND

• Xcel Energy says it’s committed to restoring power at a 100-turbine wind project in eastern North Dakota that was significantly damaged from a storm in mid-2025. (Jamestown Sun)

NEW FROM CANARY

• New EU carbon tariff pushes India toward green steel — Alexander C. Kaufman

• Is Trump’s assault on climate and clean energy reversible? — Zoya Teirstein

• A rare step forward for a US pumped hydro project — Julian Spector

• States are getting serious about energy affordability — Kathryn Krawczyk