Domestic battery making surges

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.

BATTERIES

• U.S. grid battery manufacturing has been ramping up in recent years after onshoring efforts started during the Biden administration, and now the country will be able to produce enough batteries on its own to meet demand. (Canary Media)

FOSSIL FUELS

• Trump administration officials visit southern Ohio to break ground on plans for a 10 gigawatt data center that would be powered by its own 9.2 GW gas plant at the site of a decommissioned uranium enrichment facility. (Associated Press)

SOLAR

• Ohio regulators cite local opposition for its decision to block construction of a 94 MW solar project, though previous Canary Media reporting has found that opposition may have been driven by fake public comments. (WOSU, Canary Media archive)

• A Minnesota bill would create regulations for the installation and use of plug-in solar panels that backers say bring a low-cost option for more residents. (MinnPost)

CLEAN ENERGY

• Energy Secretary Chris Wright has overstated the extent to which the Trump administration has dismantled a Biden-era clean energy loan program, which is still supporting the build-out of clean energy infrastructure, according to former officials familiar with the program. (Grist)

COAL

• The Trump administration’s orders to keep open coal plants in Michigan, Indiana, and across the U.S. interferes with states’ resource planning authority, critics say. (Utility Dive)

OIL & GAS

• North Dakota’s oil and gas industry is unlikely to ramp up drilling in response to price spikes anytime soon, as recent industry consolidation makes it slower to respond to price swings. (North Dakota Monitor)

HYDROELECTRIC

• A $350 million upgrade at Michigan’s largest hydroelectric dam could be delayed several years and may not happen at all unless the utility owner’s plan to sell the site to a private equity firm is approved. (MLive)

COAL

• Local Ohio officials consider a proposal this week to develop a lakefront park and mixed-use district at a former coal plant along Lake Erie about 17 miles west of Cleveland. (Cleveland.com)

UTILITIES

• Indiana regulators will hold listening sessions around the state to hear residents’ energy affordability concerns. (WISH)

• Michigan’s Democratic attorney general plans to file testimony seeking to slash DTE Energy’s new $275 million gas rate increase by 85% and limit spending to affordability programs and electrification studies. (Michigan Advance)

• Michigan lawmakers plead with the state’s top energy regulator to freeze or lower utility rate hikes as affordability concerns grow. (Detroit News)

NEW FROM CANARY

• Ann Arbor, Michigan, prepares to launch its own clean energy utility — Carey L. Biron

• Trump’s latest attempt to derail EV-charger construction — Kathryn Krawczyk