Will Wisconsin catch up on clean energy?

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

• The election will result in Democratic trifectas in at least 21 states, up from 16, where state-level policy on renewables, energy efficiency, emissions limits and more could lead to significant clean energy gains. (Canary Media)
• Advocates say Wisconsin, with a new Democratic trifecta in state government, can pass more aggressive clean energy laws that bring the state closer in line to targets set by neighbors like Minnesota and Michigan. (Grist)
• Democrats’ trifecta in Michigan will help block Republicans’ recent efforts to repeal the state’s 2040 clean energy law, advocates say. (Planet Detroit)

UTILITIES

• DTE Energy and Consumers Energy file the second lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of a new statewide ballot measure to restrict their political contributions, arguing it violates their free speech rights. (Bridge)
• DTE plans to sell its non-utility business for $3 billion to fund grid infrastructure investments and focus on its gas and electric utilities. (Planet Detroit)

PIPELINES

• Minnesota regulators vote to grant a permit for Magellan to reopen a gas pipeline that would traverse around the sacred Pipestone National Monument, over objections from tribal members. (MPR News)

OIL & GAS

• Ohio Gov.-elect Amy Acton (D) will take office with nearly 8,000 acres of state already under fracking leases — a practice she campaigned on stopping. (Cleveland.com)
• Marathon will sell two oil refineries in Minnesota and North Dakota as the company focuses on markets in Texas, the Gulf Coast, and the eastern U.S. (MPR News)
• Stark County in northeastern Ohio led the state in oil and gas incidents over the past decade despite having fewer wells than some of the state’s 88 counties, a recent watchdog report found. (Canton Repository)

FOSSIL FUELS

• Iowa regulators next month will consider Alliant Energy’s plan for a gas peaker plant in the state’s second-most populous county, where local officials have already rejected the proposal following local opposition. (Inside Climate News)

DATA CENTERS

• Interior Secretary Doug Burgum holds up to $64 million in investments in AI companies as he pushes to build data centers on public lands he oversees. (ProPublica)

GRID

• Transmission developer and owner ITC files a route proposal and three alternatives for a 55-mile project through central Michigan that will need to contend with landowner opposition. (MLive)

HYDROELECTRIC

• Michigan regulators set a Dec. 17 deadline to decide Consumers Energy’s request to sell 13 hydroelectric dams to a private equity buyer, unless parties can agree to a settlement earlier. (Michigan Advance)