Steel is Cleveland’s climate barrier

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

• A large coal-fueled steelmaking facility in Cleveland stands as a major barrier to the city’s climate goals unless the plant owner takes steps to decarbonize its blast furnaces, advocates say. (Canary Media)

SOLAR

• Iowa is poised to build its solar energy capacity in the coming years after decades of wind playing a prominent role in the state’s energy mix, advocates say. (Inside Climate News)

• A central Minnesota county board approves permits for three community solar projects along a highway corridor. (West Central Tribune)

DATA CENTERS

• Microsoft plans to build a $4 billion data center in southeastern Wisconsin to accompany a neighboring planned $3.3 billion data center. (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)

• St. Louis officials will craft regulations to incorporate future data centers into local zoning rules instead of issuing a moratorium in an attempt to address community concerns. (FOX 2)

• Omaha, Nebraska, could be more attractive to data centers and advanced manufacturing by investing in power infrastructure, industry and business leaders say. (Flatwater Free Press)

BATTERIES

• The Department of Energy approves the first $77 million disbursement of a $1.3 billion Biden-era loan for an Indiana gigafactory that will produce battery components for electric vehicles and data centers. (E&E News)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES

• Illinois announces plans to release $18 million in federal EV charging infrastructure funding that it secured after successfully suing the Trump administration for withholding it. (Capitol News Illinois)

CLEAN ENERGY

• The Trump administration has frozen or canceled more than $29 billion in community environmental and clean energy grants awarded under President Biden, according to a new analysis from the Natural Resources Defense Council. (Inside Climate News)

• Interior Secretary Doug Burgum has overseen the takedown of several wind projects under President Trump, but praised wind power’s major contributions to North Dakota power generation as the state’s governor. (E&E News)

OIL & GAS

• Power needs from data centers will increase demand for natural gas, creating allies between large tech companies and oil and gas producers, North Dakota Republican Gov. Kelly Armstrong says. (North Dakota Monitor)

• Industry officials say North Dakota, with its large gas production capacity, is poised to be a key player in meeting rising power demand and capturing data center investments. (North Dakota Monitor)

NUCLEAR

• The Kansas board that oversees the state’s universities and colleges requests $15 million in budget funding for energy research at three major schools, including a focus on nuclear power and clean energy. (Kansas Reflector)

NEW FROM CANARY 

• Can virtual power plants relieve hot spots on neighborhood power grids? — Jeff St. John

• Chart: See how solar is booming globally — Dan McCarthy

• EV Realty lands $75M to expand electric truck charging in California — Jeff St. John