Geothermal has a moment

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.

GEOTHERMAL

• Geothermal energy systems take off across the Midwest as the technology has political support among both Democrats and Republicans and is of interest to the oil and gas industry. (Inside Climate News/​Living on Earth)

SOLAR

• The CEO of Chicago-based solar developer SunVest says the industry’s outlook remains strong despite policy headwinds coming from the Trump administration. (Chicago Sun-Times)

• A Cleveland church builds all-electric, solar-powered homes for people transitioning out of homelessness. (WKYC)

BATTERIES

• Michigan’s Democratic attorney general demands Gotion, the company behind now-abandoned plans for a $2.4 billion Michigan battery plant, return nearly $24 million in state support for the project. (MLive)

CLEAN ENERGY

• The end of federal tax incentives along with state budget cuts could make it challenging for Michigan to hit its 100% clean energy goal by 2040, experts say. (Mining Journal)

NUCLEAR

• South Dakota Republican Gov. Larry Rhoden seeks $300,000 in state funding to study nuclear energy’s potential for powering growing electricity load. (South Dakota Searchlight)

WIND

• Onshore wind energy development significantly slows even in states like Iowa in the face of community opposition, the phaseout of federal tax credits and the Trump administration’s attempts to slow federal permitting. (Inside Climate News)

DATA CENTERS

• Data center construction’s demand for concrete could generate 1.9 million metric tons of carbon emissions before the facilities even come online, environmental advocates say. (Bloomberg)

• A growing data center campus in a small South Dakota city has brought new jobs and local investment as well as downsides such as rapidly rising housing costs. (South Dakota Searchlight)

• Concord Infrastructure Partners, the prospective developer of a 100 MW data center that promises limited water use and onsite renewable energy, pitches the project to several Michigan community leaders. (Crain’s Detroit)

UTILITIES

• Dozens of Northwest Indiana residents protest ever-rising utility bills outside a district office of NIPSCO, which they hope lowers delivery charges and creates more emergency assistance options. (Chicago Tribune)

FOSSIL FUELS

• Data centers and new housing development are driving a natural gas pipeline expansion plan near the Illinois-Wisconsin border. (Chicago Tribune)

NEW FROM CANARY

• The 4 lessons New England’s grid can learn from Winter Storm Fern — Sarah Shemkus

• What Winter Storm Fern revealed about the grid — Kathryn Krawczyk

• Colorado group looks to boost heat pumps with $200M federal grant — Alison F. Takemura

• A rare plant species thrives amid solar panels in the Nevada desert — Matt Simon