Google plots major virtual power plant in PJM

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.

GRID

• Google and Voltus will target 1 GW of virtual power plant capacity on PJM’s grid in an effort to swiftly bring much-needed capacity to the operator’s territory that stretches from Illinois to Virginia. (Canary Media)

STORAGE

• Missouri regulators approve Ameren’s plan for a 250-MW grid storage project, despite local opposition from critics who said their concerns about costs, land use, and fire risks were insufficiently addressed. (St. Louis Post-Dispatch)

SOLAR

• More than 400 Minnesota schools will have solar power by the end of the year, more than double the state had when it started a school solar program in 2022. (CBS Minnesota)
• A tribal-led solar energy training center on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota has now trained more than 1,100 people in the field. (South Dakota News Watch)
• Minnesota regulators advance the permitting process for a proposed 180-MW solar farm that an administrative law judge recommended rejecting because it would violate state law by taking up prime farmland. (Post Bulletin)

AIR POLLUTION

• An Ohio judge rules state lawmakers’ move to repeal an air quality rule, which deems various emissions that endanger public health are an unlawful nuisance, during the budget process was unconstitutional. (Signal Ohio)

NUCLEAR

• A Kentucky-based startup proposes building 6.6-GW of nuclear power capacity along the Ohio River, aiming to start site construction in 2028 on what would be the state’s first nuclear power facility. (Ohio Capital Journal)

DATA CENTERS

• Illinois’ ComEd expects to spend more than $3 billion to connect data centers to its grid in the coming years, though consumer groups worry that only about a quarter of those costs have been collected from developers and more costs could fall on ratepayers. (Chicago Sun-Times)
• People are opposing data centers and renewable energy projects for similar reasons, including projects’ tendency to lack long-term jobs, and distrust of large companies. (Inside Climate News)
• More than half of Indiana municipalities have paused or outright banned data center development as a growing number take time to craft local regulations. (WFYI)

OIL & GAS

• Ohio’s oversight of oil and gas incidents includes misleading reporting of spills and inconsistent inspections, a pair of watchdog groups say in a new report. (Cleveland.com)
• Nearly 6,500 oil spills have occurred in the Great Lakes in U.S. and Canadian waters from 2015-2024, though data on the specific amount spilled is not detailed or doesn’t exist, researchers find. (Michigan Public)

HYDROELECTRIC

• Michigan’s attorney general urges state regulators to reject Consumers Energy’s proposed sale of 13 hydroelectric dams to a private equity buyer, claiming negotiations are falling apart, while the utility accuses her of ​“chasing headlines.” (Interlochen Public Radio)

BIOFUELS

• A Southern Illinois University ethanol research center will expand capacity with a $15 million investment from the state and another $2 million from the Illinois Corn Marketing Board. (St. Louis Post-Dispatch)