Utility spinoff seeks to fast-track power for data centers

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.

UTILITIES

• Watchdogs and other critics raise concerns about Indiana utility NIPSCO’s plan to launch a spinoff company to quickly provide new power to data centers while avoiding regulatory proceedings typically required for new power plants. (Canary Media)

FOSSIL FUELS

• A new GOP-backed bill in Ohio would label methane gas as clean energy that would get favorable permitting treatment from state regulators. (Signal Ohio)

DATA CENTERS

• Michigan regulators are expected to soon rule on Consumers Energy’s proposal for special electric rates for data centers that the utility says are needed to prevent cost-shifting to other customers. (Bridge)

• Renewable energy developer Geronimo Power looks to build data centers in Minnesota that it says could bring rural economic development that could offtake excess power from the local grid. (The Globe)

• Midwest data center growth generates additional concerns for rural communities that fear the loss of farmland for projects. (Inside Climate News)

PIPELINES

• Reviving plans for the Keystone XL pipeline would require warmer trade relations between the U.S. and Canada but could ultimately serve as a cornerstone for a larger trade deal, a researcher says. (E&E News)

SOLAR

• The Ohio Supreme Court hears a challenge from local officials who are appealing state regulators’ approval of what would be Ohio’s largest solar project. (WOSU)

• City of Detroit and DTE Energy officials break ground on the first of five neighborhood solar projects planned to repurpose 165 acres of vacant, blighted land across the city. (Michigan Public)

• Michigan State University researchers are building an outdoor lab to study how solar panels placed alongside crops might save water and improve soil health. (MLive)

NUCLEAR

• NextExa Energy and Google will partner to restart a shuttered 600 MW nuclear plant in Iowa as attention grows to quickly ramp up nuclear power capacity to meet rising demand. (Utility Dive)

• Two companies pitch separate plans for small modular nuclear reactors in Kansas, including a project that would house reactors one mile underground to directly power data centers. (Topeka Capital-Journal)

• Michigan House lawmakers pass legislation that would approve new business tax credits to support the development of small nuclear power projects. (Crain’s Detroit)

GRID

• Michigan utility Consumers Energy announces a ​“last resort” plan to cut off power to prevent wildfires from igniting as the practice expands beyond Western states. (MLive)

NEW FROM CANARY

• Despite Trump troubles, Hyundai charges ahead with green-steel project — Alexander C. Kaufman

• Connecticut and Maine team up to fast-track renewables — Sarah Shemkus

• Judge orders New York to finally come up with cap-and-invest rules — Colin Kinniburgh

• China moves to supercharge green hydrogen as US pulls back — Alexander C. Kaufman

• Eavor is about to bring its first-of-a-kind geothermal project online — Maria Gallucci