Subsidies top $3.1 billion to restart Michigan nuclear plant

NUCLEAR: Federal officials finalize a $1.52 billion loan to restart a southwestern Michigan nuclear plant, which has now secured $3.1 billion in subsidies to be the first shuttered U.S. nuclear plant to restart. (Bridge)

ALSO: The AI boom has left big tech companies scrambling to find large amounts of low-carbon energy to power data centers, creating new demand for nuclear power. (Mother Jones)

GRID:

• Construction is completed on a 102-mile, high-voltage transmission line connecting Wisconsin and Iowa that backers say will support renewable energy projects but opponents say will harm a wildlife refuge. (Associated Press)
• The developer of the Grain Belt Express transmission line asks federal officials to narrow a proposed national transmission corridor through multiple Midwest states to address local concerns. (Kansas Reflector)
• A Michigan farmer harvesting corn earlier this month narrowly escaped a potentially deadly incident when his tractor hit a high-voltage transmission line. (Ag Week)

WIND: Wind turbine service technician is projected to be the fastest growing occupation in South Dakota through 2032, according to state labor officials. (South Dakota Searchlight) 

SOLAR:

• Officials in a St. Paul suburb rework local commercial solar zoning regulations as they try to balance support from residents and opposition from some landowners. (Star Tribune)
• An Iowa utility receives $6.9 million in federal rural clean energy funding to install solar projects in three communities. (Iowa Capital Dispatch)
• A 6 MW Wisconsin solar project that incorporates grazing sheep is Madison Gas & Electric’s first effort at agrivoltaics. (Wisconsin State Journal, subscription)

OIL & GAS: North Dakota regulators approve plans for a $3.2 billion plant that would convert natural gas into diesel fuel and lubricants. (North Dakota Monitor)

CLIMATE:

• Climate change is rarely acknowledged by either candidates in a hotly contested U.S. Senate race in Ohio, where some communities are experiencing new clean energy investments under the Inflation Reduction Act. (Inside Climate News)
• Lost in the discussion about the possible sale of U.S. Steel to Japan’s largest steelmaker is the potential to resolve decades of pollution of public health concerns with a shift to greener steelmaking practices. (Inside Climate News)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES: Ford will start offering customers who buy or lease an electric vehicle a free home charger and installation in an effort to relieve range anxiety. (Detroit Free Press)