Minnesota pursues a climate superfund

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.

CLIMATE

• Minnesota Senate Democrats introduce legislation to create a climate superfund that charges large oil, gas, and coal companies for damages caused by greenhouse gas emissions. (Sahan Journal)

GRID

• Google seeks to annex unincorporated land in an Iowa county to a nearby city after county officials adopted environmental and economic zoning requirements ahead of the project. (Inside Climate News)

• FirstEnergy plans to invest nearly $800 million in Ohio grid infrastructure upgrades that include nearly 200 miles of new transmission lines in the Columbus area. (Cleveland.com)

OVERSIGHT

• Michigan House Democrats propose legislation to have voters elect members to the Michigan Public Service Commission amid growing public frustration over ongoing rate increases. (Detroit News)

UTILITIES

• Indiana’s Republican state treasurer speaks out against the proposed $33 billion sale of AES to a private equity-backed investment group, citing concerns about negative impacts on ratepayers. (Indiana Capital Chronicle)

• Ohio lawmakers move to regulate submetering companies for the first time to ensure renters aren’t charged more per kilowatt hour than the standard service offered by a local utility. (Signal Ohio)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES

• ComEd will open another $69 million in rebates for EV charging infrastructure in northern Illinois as required by the state’s Climate and Equitable Jobs Act. (Inside Climate News)

COAL

• Michigan’s Democratic attorney general tells a state Senate committee that the Trump administration’s orders to keep open a Consumers Energy coal plant will cost ratepayers and delay the transition to clean energy. (Detroit News)

• The leader of a municipal utility that operates near the coal plant along Lake Michigan supports the Trump administration’s move to keep it open for reliability purposes. (FOX 17)

• North Dakota coal industry leaders say the repeal of a 2024 regulation over mercury emissions will create a level playing field and allow plants to stay open. (North Dakota Monitor)

SOLAR

• Minnesota lawmakers consider a bill to name the state’s community solar program after the late House Representative and solar champion Melissa Hortman, who was killed with her husband during an attack on their home last year. (FOX 9)

• Chicago-based construction firm Clayco launches a new business unit to build large solar and storage projects nationwide, and expects to add nearly 1,000 employees by 2027. (Chicago Sun-Times)

DATA CENTERS

• South Dakota lawmakers advance legislation to require data center developers to pay for utility regulators’ review of projects. (KELO)

NET ZERO

• The first passive-certified home in a populous western Michigan county will list at $1.7 million in a neighborhood with home values at a fraction of the cost — a selling price the builder hopes to bring down to replicate the idea. (Crain’s Grand Rapids)