Lawsuit claims FirstEnergy bribes sank offshore wind project

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WIND

• The nonprofit behind a proposed Lake Erie offshore wind project sues FirstEnergy for damages that could top $10 million, claiming that the utility’s bribes to a former regulator led to unworkable restrictions on the project that ultimately led to lost funding support. (Canary Media)

GRID

• MISO approves $12.3 billion in transmission projects totaling nearly 2,000 miles across its central U.S. territory, around $5 billion of which will be expedited. (E&E News)

• Plans for a $900 million, 140-mile high-voltage transmission line through Wisconsin’s Driftless area raises land use concerns among residents, while supporters say it’s crucial for the power grid. (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)

DATA CENTERS

• A Wisconsin environmental group sues state regulators for denying an open-records request after refusing to disclose the anticipated energy demand from a Meta data center. (Wisconsin Public Radio)

• As controversy swirls around a Michigan data center project in the works near Ann Arbor, another hyperscale data center is proposed in southeast Michigan that calls for 1.8 million square feet of space. (Crain’s)

• Residents in southeast Michigan push local officials for a moratorium on data centers as development proposals add up. (Planet Detroit)

• A developer pulls a local rezoning request for a large data center in central Michigan after officials enacted a moratorium on projects following public pushback. (Detroit News)

• Congressional Republicans, particularly in states attracting data center investments, confront local pushback to projects while President Trump takes a pro-development stance on AI. (E&E News)

SOLAR

• A manufacturer plans a new floating glass facility in Ohio that would supply approximately 2.6 MW of solar panels annually. (Solar Power World)

OIL & GAS

• The firm managing a North Dakota fund to invest oil and gas revenue considers putting $150 million into a controversial oil refinery that was first proposed in 2016 and now appears to be moving forward. (North Dakota Monitor)

• In Wisconsin, Milwaukee County’s attorneys want to join civil climate change lawsuits against oil and gas giants in hopes of netting damages to pay for local climate programs. (Urban Milwaukee)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES

• Korean battery maker SK On ends its joint venture with Ford, raising questions about the future three battery plants in the Southeast as well as the fate of a $9.8 billion loan from the Biden administration. (E&E News)

NEW FROM CANARY

• Chart: Geothermal energy is attracting more and more investment — Dan McCarthy

• Raya Power makes a solar-battery system you can put in your backyard — Jeff St. John

• The man behind the fall of offshore wind — Clare Fieseler