Minnesota bill would require carbon-free power for data centers

This roundup of energy news headlines comes from our Midwest Energy News newsletter. Sign up to get it in your inbox each morning.

GRID

• A Minnesota Democrat proposes a bill to require data centers to have a 65% carbon-free energy supply and publicly disclose electricity consumption. (Star Tribune)

• The Justice Department raises concerns about a right-of-first-refusal provision in Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds’ energy plan, saying the proposal giving in-state utilities first rights to build transmission projects would raise costs and stifle competition. (Cedar Rapids Gazette)

• Federal regulators are unlikely to approve by mid-year PJM’s proposed rules for utilities to co-locate data centers at power plants, which could set a precedent for similar proposals across the country. (Utility Dive)

• Damaged transformers from a large thunderstorm over the weekend caused mineral oil to spill into a western Michigan river. (MLive)

EFFICIENCY

• An Indiana faith-based group building energy-efficient housing for low-income residents is among U.S. organizations threatened as the U.S. EPA looks to claw back ​“green bank” funding. (Inside Climate News)

OIL & GAS

• State officials are in limbo about the future of a federal program that supports orphaned oil and gas well cleanup as the Trump administration begins to release funds. (E&E News)

COAL

• The Trump administration takes steps toward leasing new areas of a North Dakota coal mine that would operate through 2045 and align with the administration’s fossil fuel goals. (Reuters)

• An Indiana environmental group sues to overturn state regulators’ decision allowing a power plant owner to discharge untreated groundwater from its operations that the group contends is contaminated from nearby coal ash ponds. (Herald Times)

CLIMATE

• The Chicago Transit Authority is among public transit agencies in blue-led states that the Trump administration has threatened with funding cuts as they pursue climate-friendly projects. (Grist)

SOLAR

• A developer completes the third, 100 MW phase of an Indiana solar project that will supply power for Amazon. (PV Magazine)

RENEWABLES

• A Cleveland suburb seeks new suppliers for its clean energy aggregation program that purchases renewable energy credits for the city. (Cleveland.com)

POLITICS

• Summer sentencing dates have been set for four former ComEd officials and lobbyists convicted of a conspiracy to illegally influence Illinois’ former House speaker in exchange for favorable legislation. (Chicago Sun-Times)