Michigan targets industrial emissions

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.

DECARBONIZATION

• The state of Michigan recently awarded $1.9 million to five organizations and businesses, including the Detroit Zoo, as part of an initiative to lower industrial carbon emissions. (Canary Media)

FOSSIL FUELS

• The owners of a proposed $1 billion natural gas plant in northern Wisconsin cancel the project after years of legal challenges, permitting delays, and local opposition. (Wisconsin Public Radio)
• A $5.1 billion federal loan for Alliant Energy includes $1.6 billion for Wisconsin Power and Light, which utility officials say could support building new gas plants, gas storage, and battery storage projects, as well as restarting shuttered gas plants. (Wisconsin Watch)

NUCLEAR

• Energy Secretary Chris Wright touts the Trump administration’s commitment to the nuclear energy industry at a former Michigan plant that’s set to restart under initiatives financed by the Biden administration. (MLive)

GRID

• An all-electric, net-zero neighborhood of 100 homes equipped with battery storage in southeastern Michigan will serve as a two-year pilot program for DTE Energy as it tests virtual power plants. (MLive)
• Cleveland Public Power officials seek city council approval to raise rates and start addressing deferred grid infrastructure maintenance that’s grown to more than $250 million. (Signal Cleveland)

SOLAR

• DTE Energy brings online a 132-MW, $268 million solar project in Michigan that was funded entirely by the utility’s voluntary program in which customers opt in to buy renewable energy. (PV Tech)

UTILITIES

• The city of Ann Arbor, Michigan, files a lawsuit to invalidate a ballot proposal to potentially create a city-owned electric utility, arguing that organizers circumvented the process to revise the city charter. (Michigan Public)

DATA CENTERS

• Consumers Energy’s CEO expects permitting to progress on Microsoft’s plan for an up-to-1-GW data center in Michigan after next week’s election. (Utility Dive)
• A planned 10.4-GW data center in Ohio, along with high-voltage transmission to support the facility, contribute to a 30% increase in AEP’s five-year capital plan from its previous iteration, bringing its proposed spending up to $100 billion. (Utility Dive)
• FirstEnergy’s long-term data center load pipeline grew nearly 5% to 26 GW in the third quarter as executives say hyperscale developers show growing interest in its service territory. (Utility Dive)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES

• Ohio economists are divided over whether a vehicle miles traveled fee would be more efficient than the state’s current gasoline tax as EVs and hybrids make up a growing share of vehicles and lower gas tax revenue. (Ohio Capital Journal)