Clean energy journalism for a cooler tomorrow

Midwest Energy News — a daily newsletter

Indiana residents want less pollution under U.S. Steel deal

By Andy Balaskovitz

  • Link copied to clipboard

EMISSIONS: Northwest Indiana residents say they only want U.S. Steel’s proposed sale to a Japanese steelmaking giant approved if new, lower-emission blast furnaces are installed at its Gary, Indiana, facility. (Energy News Network)

POWER PLANTS: Kansas utility Evergy plans to build two 705 MW natural gas plants by 2030 to create what utility officials call a balanced portfolio as coal plants retire and renewables come online. (Kansas Reflector)

OIL & GAS: An Ohio commission approves roughly 62 acres in an eastern Ohio wildlife area for hydraulic fracturing, allowing interested parties to bid on leasing property. (Columbus Dispatch)

GRID:

  • PJM officials float plans that would allow shovel-ready projects to jump ahead in the interconnection queue to meet grid reliability needs. (Utility Dive)
  • An Indiana consumer advocacy group calls for a moratorium on large data centers to understand what the facilities’ massive energy needs mean for utility ratepayers. (Indiana Capital Chronicle)
  • Microsoft plans to build a data center in a western Michigan county as state lawmakers consider tax breaks for the industry and critics worry about facilities’ energy consumption. (Crain’s Grand Rapids) 

ELECTRIC VEHICLES:

  • Democrats in swing states like Michigan have struggled to counter misleading GOP messaging that claims Democrats are trying to mandate what types of cars they buy. (Politico)
  • General Motors will invest $625 million to partner in developing a lithium mine in Nevada that will help the automaker source EV materials domestically. (Automotive Dive)

COAL: The Sierra Club advertises on a downtown Columbus, Ohio, billboard that tallies the hundreds of millions of dollars that ratepayers have paid to subsidize uneconomic coal plants. (WOSU)

SOLAR: A national nonprofit that sets up solar cooperatives to help lower costs for customers through group purchasing launches in west central Minnesota. (Inforum)

POLITICS: Opening statements begin in the trial of former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan, whose alleged schemes include using his influence to pass favorable legislation for utilities in exchange for kickbacks and jobs for loyalists. (Associated Press)

COMMENTARY: Michigan regulators should set clear targets and identify former power plant sites for long-duration energy storage that utilities should procure in the coming years, an advanced energy advocate writes. (Energy News Network)

read next