Solar for All could have helped Gary

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.

SOLAR

• The Biden-era Solar for All program that the Trump administration canceled could have helped Gary, Indiana, residents more easily build local solar and battery projects that could’ve helped them avoid up to two-week outages from a recent storm. (Canary Media)

• A 500-MW solar project near Kansas City International Airport is now on hold indefinitely after the Trump administration cut off key federal funding programs. (Kansas City Star)

GRID

• Ohio’s consumer advocate asks federal regulators to resolve a three-year-old complaint involving transmission utilities’ buildout plan and a lack of oversight on increasing costs. (Utility Dive)

• Volunteers describe the aftermath and hardships during the two weeks that Gary, Indiana residents lost power. (Chicago Sun-Times)

FOSSIL FUELS

• Invenergy seeks to build two natural gas plants totaling nearly 2 GW of power in eastern Wisconsin to meet rising power demand. (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)

PIPELINES

• Attorneys for Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D) appeal a federal judge’s ruling that sided with Enbridge as the state seeks to terminate the company’s easement to operate Line 5 in the Straits of Mackinac. (Michigan Advance)

CARBON CAPTURE

• Summit Carbon Solutions seeks to cancel two of three permits for a carbon storage project as it appeals a court ruling that voided all three permits. (North Dakota Monitor)

STORAGE

• Wisconsin county officials vote to double the setback distances between commercial battery storage projects and other buildings. (Wausau Pilot & Review)

OVERSIGHT

• An Iowa utility regulator resigns before his term expires in 2029 to pursue private sector consulting work, leaving a position that brought on criticism over the commission’s handling of the proposed Summit carbon pipeline project. (The Gazette)

UTILITIES

• Michigan’s Democratic attorney general asks state regulars to slash DTE Energy’s proposed $474 rate hike by 71% to $137.5 million, citing other recent rate hikes that are raising costs for customers. (WXYZ)

• Iowa utility regulators question Black Hills Energy officials about the company’s recent pipeline safety violations, and particularly why they’ve taken so long to be addressed. (Iowa Public Radio)