Line 5 tunnel poised for green light

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.

PIPELINES

• The Army Corps of Engineers releases its final environmental review of a plan to tunnel the Line 5 pipeline beneath the Straits of Mackinac, setting off a timeline that could result in final permits as early as next month. (Bridge)

SOLAR

• A 49.9 MW solar project is expected to save customers of a Dayton, Ohio, energy aggregation program $42 million over 25 years. (WYSO)

• A Michigan judge rules in favor of DTE Energy in its lawsuit against a county that attempted to use the public health code to restrict solar development over concerns about noise and visual pollution. (MLive)

DATA CENTERS

• A Columbus, Ohio, suburb sues to block Amazon’s plan to build a 73 MW, gas-fed fuel cell project to power a 142-acre data center operation. (Signal Ohio)

• Xcel Energy has proposed large-load tariffs in four states to limit data centers’ impacts on customers as the utility forecasts up to 20 GW of new load in its data center pipeline. (Utility Dive)

• Ohio Democrats introduce legislation to eliminate tax breaks, require developers to cover infrastructure costs, and increase oversight related to data center projects. (Ohio Capital Journal)

• Wisconsin utilities are poised to benefit from the data center boom by building new natural gas power plants that would likely increase customer costs while contributing to climate change. (Tone Madison)

WIND

• Alliant Energy plans to move forward with a 277 MW, $730 million wind project outside Madison, Wisconsin, which executives say is needed to meet future energy needs. (Badger Herald)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES

• An Illinois Democratic state senator proposes legislation to increase EV drivers’ annual registration fee from $251 to more than $470, or give them the option to pay a per-mile fee. (WTVO)

GRID

• Michigan utility Consumers Energy expects to spend $8.8 billion in new electric generation over the next five years, up $2.5 billion from the previous five-year plan as load is forecasted to increase. (Utility Dive)

COAL

• A Nebraska lawmaker’s plan to limit public power boards’ ability to close power plants, including for environmental reasons, would delay the retirement of an Omaha coal plant, critics say. (Nebraska Examiner)

STORAGE

• Iowa State University professors receive $459,000 in state economic development funding to develop grid batteries made from accessible materials like sodium, waste glass, and sulfur. (Iowa Capital Dispatch)

UTILITIES

• Ohio lawmakers consider new bills to regulate submetering companies that resell electricity, which critics say have led to higher utility bills than customers who are billed directly through their utility. (Columbus Dispatch)