Wisconsin community solar dispute

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.

SOLAR

• Wisconsin utilities and solar advocates have a heated debate during a state Senate committee meeting on legislation to allow community solar. (Wisconsin Examiner)

• Cleveland, Ohio, cancels plans for a solar project after failing to reach an interconnection agreement with the local public utility. (Cleveland.com)

HYDROGEN

• The discovery of helium in remote northeastern Minnesota has also attracted companies looking for hydrogen, which can often be found in the same area, amid growth of carbon-free fuels. (Duluth News Tribune)

NUCLEAR

• A bill advancing in Wisconsin aims to introduce tax credits to incentivize the development of nuclear power that can meet anticipated growing demand from data centers. (Wisconsin Public Radio)

FOSSIL FUELS

• A recent rate request approved for Ameren Illinois included funding cuts for the final phase of a gas storage modernization project that utility officials say is critical for shielding customers from fuel price spikes. (St. Louis Public Radio)

BIOFUELS

• Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen says yearslong work is nearly completed to clean up pollution from a former ethanol plant that turned pesticide-coated seed corn into fuel. (Nebraska Examiner)

GRID

• NextEra Energy and Basin Electric plan to develop a 1,450 MW gas plant in North Dakota as part of a broader buildout of power generation in data center supply hubs. (Utility Dive)

• Data centers and power generators urge the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to dismiss a complaint that asks the agency to deny large load connections if they threaten reliability, arguing that it would interfere with standardized rules FERC is currently developing. (Utility Dive)

PIPELINES

• Greenpeace releases a report criticizing the pipeline safety and environmental track record of Energy Transfer, which won a $345 million judgement against the nonprofit over its role in the Dakota Access pipeline protests. (Inside Climate News)

DATA CENTERS

• Environmental advocates say two planned data centers in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, bring uncertainty to the community and concerns about rising utility rates. (Daily Iowan)

• DTE Energy tells investors that it expects the approval of controversial power supply contracts for a $7 billion hyperscale data center on Dec. 18 as additional data center negotiations continue. (Planet Detroit)

UTILITIES

• Michigan public power advocates tout municipal utilities as an alternative to investor-owned companies, saying they deliver direct benefits to ratepayers by reinvesting in services. (Michigan Advance)

• Electric customer disconnections were down almost 12% over the past year in Ohio despite upward pressure on power prices, according to the state’s consumer advocate. (Ohio Capital Journal)

• Indiana regulators open an investigation into utility NIPSCO over gas billing discrepancies after the utility installed new automated meters. (Lakeshore Public Media)

NEW FROM CANARY

• Judge strikes down Trump’s order blocking wind farm approvals — Clare Fieseler

• New York’s public utility approves plan to build 5.5GW of renewables — Alexander C. Kaufman

• Europe’s world-first carbon tariff is coming. Here’s what to know. — Maria Gallucci

• Fervo nabs $462M to complete massive next-gen geothermal project — Maria Gallucci

• Cornell’s deep-down and rocky quest to unlock geothermal for New York — Maria Gallucci

• New Jersey’s latest plan for 100% clean power comes at a tricky time — Rambo Talabong