Solar sales climb, Wisconsin gas plant risks, and more headlines

This roundup of U.S. energy news headlines is part of our Canary Media Daily newsletter. Sign up to get it in your inbox each morning.

CLEAN ENERGY

• Solar panel sales are rising in the U.K. as oil and gas prices skyrocket, and as the government lifts a ban on the sale of plug-in balcony solar kits. (The Guardian)

• Kern County, California’s supervisors vote to approve the proposed 2-GW Buttonbush solar-plus-storage project on water-constrained farmland. (Bakersfield Californian)

• A Trump administration official pushes back on federal legislation that would allow proposed solar and wind projects to be added onto existing oil and gas, coal, and geothermal leases on federal land. (E&E News)

FOSSIL FUELS

• Two proposed Wisconsin gas plants that We Energies says are needed to meet data center demand would increase nearby residents’ fine particulate matter exposure and could contribute to more than 100 premature deaths over 30 years, according to University of Wisconsin researchers. (Wisconsin Public Radio)

DATA CENTERS

• While demand response can help get data centers onto the grid more quickly in PJM Interconnection states, it’s unlikely to reduce power prices in the region, BloombergNEF finds. (Latitude Media)

• MISO saw the highest growth in data center capacity since 2020 among U.S. grid operators, increasing at a 43% compound annual growth rate during that period. (Utility Dive)

• Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis considers a bill that would force data centers to pay the cost of powering their facilities, but experts question whether utilities and regulators would effectively execute the policy. (Inside Climate News)

• Google’s plan for a Michigan data center that would rely on renewable energy and ramp down during high-demand periods contrasts with a proposal in Ohio that would depend on a massive 9.2-gigawatt gas plant. (Inside Climate News)

GRID

• FERC Chair Laura Swett says she’s talking to data center builders and tech giants far less often than she thought she would as these companies seek tons of power supplies. (Axios)

• Michigan and New York state lawmakers consider bills that would require utilities and regulators to create virtual power plant programs to alleviate strain on the grid. (Utility Dive)

POLITICS

• A group of wealthy clean energy investors is targeting the architects of the One Big Beautiful Bill with TV ads and other campaign tactics as they face reelection this fall. (New York Times)

UTILITIES

• Environmental and faith groups ask a court to review whether Georgia regulators broke the law by approving Georgia Power’s plans to add a slew of largely fossil fuel-fired power because of an anticipated data center buildout. (Atlanta Journal-Constitution)

CLIMATETECH

• Federal funding cuts could threaten Massachusetts’ goal of becoming a global hub for climatetech innovation. (WBUR)