Trump’s efforts to save coal may be short-lived

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.

COAL

• The Trump administration’s intervention to save coal plants and roll back pollution regulations may provide a temporary lifeline for the industry, though some clean energy experts don’t see a lasting revival. (Grist)

BIOENERGY

• Minnesota regulators rule that burning trash and wood for electricity can be considered carbon-free under the state’s 2023 clean energy law, a decision that drew strong opposition from some clean energy advocates. (MPR News)

UTILITIES

• Indiana House lawmakers advance an energy affordability bill that includes low-income customer aid programs and introduces performance-based ratemaking for utilities. (Indiana Capital Chronicle)

DATA CENTERS

• Microsoft plans a $13.3 billion expansion at its southeastern Wisconsin data center campus with 15 new buildings and other facilities across 1,300 acres. (Racine County Eye)

• Wisconsin lawmakers advance a GOP-backed bill that critics say does little to protect ratepayers from cost increases associated with data centers and discourages those facilities from using clean energy. (Capital Times)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES

• Gotion plans to seek ​“significant monetary damages” from a Michigan township that the company claims stymied its plans for a $2.4 billion battery plant. (Bridge)

OIL & GAS

• Continental Resources for the first time in 30 years will cease oil drilling in North Dakota amid persistent low oil prices. (North Dakota Monitor)

EMISSIONS

• Michigan utilities’ fossil fuel emissions could increase 26% by 2050 as more natural gas is brought online to power data centers and a loophole exempts utilities from state climate targets if they sell energy to other states, the Union of Concerned Scientists says. (Planet Detroit)

PIPELINES

• Iowa’s Republican Senate leader introduces legislation that would allow pipeline operators to seek different routes to avoid using eminent domain and place a severance tax on sequestered carbon dioxide. (Iowa Capital Dispatch)

GRID

• Southwest Power Pool plans billions of dollars in transmission upgrades to meet anticipated load growth in states like Kansas. (Kansas Reflector)

• Five utilities led by Xcel Energy seek permission for a $249 million plan to expand a transmission line between North Dakota and Minnesota that’s operating at capacity. (Utility Dive)

• ComEd plans to spend $15.3 billion on grid infrastructure upgrades between 2028 and 2031 to improve reliability. (Crain’s Chicago)

• A new bill in Iowa would require transmission line owners to restore affected land after building new projects. (Iowa Capital Dispatch)

• The PJM Interconnection board will initiate a ​“reliability backstop” to secure more power supplies after capacity prices hit record highs and as data centers and other large load users come online. (Utility Dive)

SOLAR

• Plans for a 1,350-acre solar project divide a southern Michigan community where two local officials have had to recuse themselves because they have stakes in the project. (MLive)