FirstEnergy executives reindicted on corruption, tampering charges

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.

UTILITIES

• A grand jury reindicts FirstEnergy’s former CEO and a former lobbyist on a combined 22 criminal counts after their previous prosecutions in a long-running Ohio power plant bribery case ended in a mistrial. (Associated Press)

WIND

• The Trump administration blocks nine wind farm projects in Illinois as part of a federal move to halt 250 projects nationally. (WGLT)

PIPELINES

• The Iowa Supreme Court rules that Texas-based Enterprise Products Operating LLC must pay only a tenth of the $1.8 million fine imposed by state regulators for failing to obtain required safety permits for seven pipelines and two gas storage facilities. (Des Moines Register)

• Federal regulators collect public comments on the planned Bakken East Pipeline’s route through North Dakota. (Jamestown Sun)

CLEAN ENERGY

• Officials with farming and solar companies testify to Michigan lawmakers about how the Trump administration’s cancellation of funding for renewable energy projects have harmed their businesses and customers, with some taking on debt after using their own money to move forward on projects. (Michigan Advance)

• East St. Louis officials pitch a plan to build a 15-MW community solar farm on polluted property formerly owned by aluminum company Alcoa. (St. Louis Public Radio)

• Ann Arbor, Michigan’s new municipal clean energy utility announces the launch of its first project to install solar panels and battery storage in a city neighborhood. (Michigan Daily)

FOSSIL FUELS

• Hallador Power Company will receive more than $27 million from the Trump administration to modernize a 1,080-MW coal-fired power plant in Indiana. (Indianapolis Star)

• A Wisconsin coal-fired power plant co-owned by Alliant Energy, Madison Gas and Electric, and Wisconsin Public Service will receive $19 million in federal funding for upgrades after it was scheduled to retire nearly two years ago. (Wisconsin Public Radio)

• The Ohio Supreme Court allows Duke Energy to increase rates for gas customers in Ohio to recover the cost of decommissioning its propane caverns. (WLWT)

DATA CENTERS

• Officials from Meta, Amazon, Google, and Microsoft meet with Ohio lawmakers to defend data centers and push back against a grassroots effort to add a state constitutional amendment to block the facilities. (Ohio Capital Journal)

NUCLEAR

• Ohio lawmakers consider a bill to allow utilities to own nuclear plants, although it would require the costs of such a plant to be paid by customers who have agreed to buy its power through a long-term contract. (Utility Dive)

GRID

• Two Republican Kansas lawmakers press federal regulators to continue competitive bidding on transmission projects after Evergy was awarded a $493 million transmission line project without such a process. (Kansas Reflector)

• Chicago residents oppose ComEd’s plan to build an electrical substation on the site of a former COVID-19 testing facility and car dealership, saying it should be used for housing instead. (Chicago Sun-Times)