Michigan court sides with renewables law

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.

RENEWABLES

• A Michigan Court of Appeals panel largely upholds state regulators’ implementation of a new law giving the state more authority than local interests in deciding permits for large renewable energy projects. (Bridge)

• Voters’ failure to overturn a Ohio county’s ban on renewable energy development was a setback for referendum organizers who hoped the campaign would serve as a template for other communities. (Canary Media)

• Iowa and South Dakota got the highest share of their power from renewable energy in 2025 of any state, thanks to their heavy reliance on wind energy. (Canary Media)

GRID

• American Electric Power executives say they are considering ending the utility’s participation in PJM and Southwest Power Pool because of the grid operators’ slow pace of interconnecting new projects. (Utility Dive)

• A new PJM report lays out pricing and market options for limiting wholesale price spikes and reliability concerns as old, dirty power plants come offline and data centers drive up demand. (States Newsroom)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES

• Michigan plans to install 60 more EV charging stations along major travel routes over the next three years, resuming a buildout that had been on hold after the Trump administration froze tens of millions of dollars in funding. (Bridge)

SOLAR

• Minnesota lawmakers consider bills to streamline the interconnection process for plug-in solar systems that backers say will promote energy affordability and personal freedom. (MPR News)

• A Minnesota county considers doubling the size of a proposed county-run solar project to leverage more federal funding and capture more electricity savings. (Pine Journal)

• Northern Michigan farmers push back on Ranger Power’s plan for a 1,500-acre solar project, citing concerns over loss of farmland. (9&10 News)

PIPELINES

• The North Dakota Supreme Court instructs a district court judge to halt Greenpeace International’s free speech lawsuit in the Netherlands against the Dakota Access pipeline owner. (North Dakota Monitor)

• A University of Michigan report says federal pipeline safety regulators rarely enforce safety rules and rely too heavily on industry self-reporting, raising concerns about future oversight of Line 5 in the Straits of Mackinac. (Michigan Advance)

DATA CENTERS

• Wisconsin regulators approve a power supply contract between Alliant Energy and Meta for a $1 billion hyperscale data center campus, but criticize both companies for lacking transparency during the process. (Wisconsin Examiner)

• Xcel Energy leaders say the utility’s deal with Google for a nearly 1 GW data center in Minnesota will serve as a template for large load tariffs the company pursues in other states. (Utility Dive)

HYDROELECTRIC

• A fleet of aging Michigan hydroelectric dams could be in line for up to $23 million in federal funding support for upgrades. (MLive)