Pritzker to sign Illinois clean energy bill

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.

CLEAN ENERGY

• Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker pledges to sign a sweeping clean energy bill that includes new incentives for energy storage and lifts the state’s ban on new large nuclear plants. (Capitol News Illinois)

DATA CENTERS

• OpenAI, Oracle, and Related Digital announce plans for a $7 billion data center in Michigan under the Stargate joint venture that would be the state’s first hyperscale facility and largest economic development project in its history. (Bridge)

• Detroit-based utility DTE Energy reported earlier in the day that a new 1.4-gigawatt agreement would increase the utility’s load by 25%, though it didn’t disclose it was the Stargate project. (MLive)

PIPELINES

• The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers approves Enbridge’s request to reroute a portion of Line 5 around tribal land in Wisconsin, despite ongoing court challenges to permits and before state environmental permits have been finalized. (Wisconsin Examiner)

• A North Dakota judge nearly halves the $660 million a jury ordered Greenpeace to pay the Dakota Access pipeline developer for its role in pipeline protests, saying the damages had no legal basis or exceeded statutory caps. (North Dakota Monitor)

FOSSIL FUELS

• The operator of Michigan’s J.H. Campbell coal plant says it will remain open for the ​“long term” after the Trump administration ordered the retired facility to keep operating. (E&E News)

• Indiana regulators approve Duke Energy’s $3.3 billion plan to replace two coal-fired units at a large plant with gas-powered units, while leaving open to potential for third parties to continue operating the coal facilities. (Indianapolis Star)

• Missouri regulators hear from opponents of Ameren’s plan to build an 800 MW gas plant with 400 MW of battery storage capacity needed to meet rising electricity demand. (St. Louis Public Radio)

CARBON CAPTURE

• The Department of Energy approves a $1.5 billion loan for a project to repurpose a former coal gasification plant to produce fertilizer and store its carbon emissions underground. (Terre Haute Tribune Star)

GRID

• American Electric Power’s five-year capital expenditure plan grows 33% to $72 billion as rising demand and grid infrastructure plans in multiple states drive up investments. (Utility Dive)

SOLAR

• The opening of Corning’s Michigan silicon ingot and wafer factory means the U.S. can produce all major pieces of solar panels domestically, the Solar Energy Industries Association says. (Utility Dive)

• The Indiana Supreme Court hears arguments in a case brought by opponents to a solar project who claim a local zoning board granted a permit for the plan that was outside of their jurisdiction. (WEHT)

• Major furniture maker Steelcase plans a ground-mounted solar project a large Michigan manufacturing plant that executives say could serve as a template for installations at more facilities. (Crain’s Grand Rapids)

BATTERIES

• Michigan lawmakers demand answers from state officials about more than $23 million in state funding that went toward buying and preparing property for a large Gotion battery plant that appears to be dead. (Bridge)

BIOFUELS

• Attorneys general from Iowa, Nebraska, and South Dakota urge federal regulators to investigate small refineries for allegedly manipulating renewable fuel exemptions by claiming they face economic hardship while telling investors they are thriving. (Iowa Capital Dispatch)

NEW FROM CANARY

• Energy bills are rising nationwide. In Georgia, they’re on the ballot. — Jeff St. John

• Virginia legislators have a new road map for reining in electric bills — Elizabeth Ouzts

• Chart: Batteries are set to surge onto the US grid — Dan McCarthy

• Meet the coal miner who just started a geothermal drilling business — Alison F. Takemura

• Massachusetts heat-pump owners are about to get cheaper electricity — Sarah Shemkus