Ohio’s top court upholds AEP’s coal expenses

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.

FOSSIL FUELS

• The Ohio Supreme Court unanimously rules that state regulators were correct to allow American Electric Power to collect subsidies to support two unprofitable and scandal-ridden coal plants, and the utility does not need to reimburse ratepayers. (WEWS)

• Bitcoin mining company MARA Holdings announces plans to buy Long Ridge Energy & Power so it can build a data center next to the company’s 505 MW gas-fired power plant. (Reuters)

• Indiana Michigan Power seeks permission from Indiana regulators to purchase a gas-fired peaker plant in West Virginia. (Journal Gazette)

GRID

• The Midcontinent Independent System Operator says it has enough grid resources to meet power demand this coming year, throwing cold water on the Trump administration’s insistence that the region needs to keep coal plants from retiring. (E&E News)

• MISO sees a surge of new generation, driven largely by new solar farms, that outpaces demand growth and is pushing down capacity prices. (Utility Dive)

• A Michigan court hears a township’s challenge to ITC Transmission’s plan to build a power line to a hospital that passes close by a condominium complex. (Detroit News)

PIPELINES

• The North Dakota Industrial Commission votes to commit up to $550 million in state funding to support WBI Energy’s proposed Bakken East pipeline. (North Dakota Monitor)

UTILITIES

• A new report finds the CEOs of the four electric utilities serving Ohio made a combined $81 million last year even as power rates spiked 22% during that time. (Ohio Capital Journal)

• Peoples Gas and North Shore Gas reach a settlement with the Illinois attorney general to refund $125 million in bill credits to customers for collecting money that was spent on ineligible expenses. (Chicago Sun-Times)

SOLAR

• A Michigan township board passes a resolution authorizing its manager to spend up to $100,000 on legal costs to oppose a proposed solar farm. (WXMI)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES

• EV maker Rivian opens a showroom in Minnesota. (Bring Me the News)

NUCLEAR

• A Kansas city council sends a letter of interest as Bill Gates-backed TerraPower looks for a site to build a commercial-scale nuclear power plant. (Lawrence Journal-World)

• Iowa lawmakers approve a bill to grant sales and use tax exemptions for building or restarting a nuclear power plant. (Iowa Capital Dispatch)

DATA CENTERS

• Illinois lawmakers consider a swath of legislation to regulate data centers due to concerns over their energy and water demands and effects on power bills. (Illinois Public Media)

BIOFUELS

• Loyola University Chicago operates shuttle buses using vegetable oil recycled through a biodiesel processor. (WMAQ)

NEW FROM CANARY

• Used EVs are on the upswing in America — Dan McCarthy

• US Steel to build $2B lower-carbon iron plant in Arkansas — Maria Gallucci

• New winter rates saved at least $37M for Massachusetts heat-pump owners — Sarah Shemkus

• Two California bills would push utilities to get more out of their grids — Jeff St. John

• America’s big new aluminum smelter is still waiting on a power deal — Maria Gallucci