Trump, private equity cloud a Minnesota utility’s clean energy future

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

• Minnesota Power’s path to comply with a state law requiring electricity sales to be carbon-free by 2040 is complicated not only by the Trump administration’s attacks on the clean energy industry, but also questions around future investments under a potential private equity owner. (MinnPost)

• Minnesota regulators are expected to decide on the sale of Minnesota Power’s parent company on Oct. 3, as opponents continue to challenge the deal over clean energy and cost concerns. (MPR News, The Guardian)

HYDROPOWER

• Consumers Energy plans to sell 13 unprofitable hydroelectric dams it owns in Michigan for $1 apiece to a private equity firm, and the utility would then purchase the electricity back. (Bridge)

COAL

• AEP once again asks Ohio regulators for an additional $35 million from ratepayers to support two unprofitable coal plants, marking the utility’s first request since lawmakers passed a bill prohibiting bailouts for the plants. (Signal Ohio)

MINING

• The Trump administration selects a long-planned South Dakota uranium mining project for a fast-tracked permitting process that executives say could provide a key ingredient for domestic nuclear energy production. (South Dakota Searchlight)

DATA CENTERS

• A Minnesota town hoping for economic prosperity from data centers after the impending closure of a large coal plant hits a setback after Amazon withdraws its plans. (Star Tribune)

OIL & GAS

• The company that owns an Ohio fracking waste injection well that caused two earthquakes in 2014 and was shuttered by state regulators seeks $20.5 million from taxpayers for the losses it blames on regulators. (Signal Ohio)

CLIMATE

• Republican attorneys general from South Dakota and Kansas say states’ lawsuits seeking climate change damages from fossil fuel companies are a dangerous threat to the industry. (States Newsroom)

UTILITIES

• Michigan Democrats plan to introduce a ratepayer ​“bill of rights” that would include better compensation for customers during outages and would tie rate increases to utility performance. (Michigan Advance)

SOLAR

• Misinformation that led to overly restrictive zoning rules prevented a fourth-generation South Dakota farmer from installing a solar array and generating additional income, mirroring trends across rural U.S. communities. (The Guardian)

• A 150 MW Missouri solar project comes online that will supply power to Microsoft under a 15-year contract. (Hart Energy)

PIPELINES

• The future of the Summit carbon pipeline emerges as a key issue in the Iowa Republican primary for governor as the project divides the GOP base. (Des Moines Register)

• A case determining whether Enbridge can move forward with a plan to reroute a portion of Line 5 in northern Wisconsin advances in the coming weeks as tribal, state, and company officials present their arguments. (WUWM)

• The Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa contend that Line 5’s continued operation near their land in northern Wisconsin represents a threat to traditional wild rice harvesting. (Capital Times)

EFFICIENCY

• The publicly owned utility serving Lincoln, Nebraska, receives $300,000 from Google to provide energy efficiency upgrades for affordable housing. (Nebraska Public Media)

NEW FROM CANARY 

• Tesla just launched the Megablock, a big, easy-to-deploy grid battery — Julian Spector

• Will this startup be the first to successfully scale up ocean power? — Julian Spector

• California’s first solar-covered canal is now fully online — Maria Gallucci

• This startup says it can halve the cost of a heat pump — here’s how — Alison F. Takemura

• North Carolina families see lower bills with new Duke Energy program — Elizabeth Ouzts