Wisconsin debates cost of AI boom

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.

DATA CENTERS

• We Energies proposes a plan to ensure Wisconsin ratepayers aren’t saddled with the costs of meeting demand from data centers, raising concerns among environmental groups over potential stranded costs of fossil fuel plants. (Canary Media)

COAL

• Utility regulators from at least 10 states want MISO to hold a stakeholder process to determine how to allocate costs for keeping coal plants online following orders from the Trump administration. (Utility Dive)

UTILITIES

• Residents in Ann Arbor, Michigan, plan to launch a petition drive seeking a ballot measure asking city voters to create a municipally owned utility powered entirely by renewables. (Michigan Advance)

• Jury selection begins in the trial of former First Energy executives charged with bribing a former soon-to-be state utility regulator to obtain favorable treatment. (Signal Ohio)

• South Dakota lawmakers consider legislation that would give utilities legal protections if a wildfire is blamed on them, in exchange for filing wildfire mitigation plans. (South Dakota Searchlight)

CLIMATE

• The Minnesota Court of Appeals allows Democratic Attorney General Keith Ellison’s climate change lawsuit against major oil and gas companies to proceed in state court. (E&E News)

• Young people who have brought a lawsuit against Wisconsin lawmakers and regulators say state leaders have failed to adequately protect them from the effects of climate change. (Capital Times)

PIPELINES

• South Dakota House lawmakers advance a bill to the Senate that would amend the state’s constitution to limit the use of eminent domain. (South Dakota Searchlight)

• Iowa lawmakers advance a bill through committee to ban the use of eminent domain for carbon capture pipelines. (Iowa Capital Dispatch)

GRID

• The Illinois Supreme Court rules in favor of Grain Belt Express developer Invenergy by allowing the company to move forward with a key construction permit for the $11 billion transmission project. (E&E News)

• A transmission company’s plan to build more than 350 miles of new poles and wires through central Michigan faces resistance from residents who fear diminished property values and future development. (Bridge)

STORAGE

• Consumers Energy plans a 45 MW, $70 million battery storage facility at the site of a former eastern Michigan coal plant. (MLive)

SOLAR

• The Missouri Supreme Court rules that a homeowners association violated state law by limiting where a resident could place solar panels on her home, resulting in a de facto ban. (Solar Power World)

• Green Bay, Wisconsin, officials advance plans to lease city-owned land to the developer of a 5 MW solar project. (Green Bay Press Gazette)

BIOFUELS

• President Trump looks to build political support during a speech in Iowa by promising to sign a bill to allow year-round sales of E15 ethanol, should it pass in Congress. (E&E News)

NEW FROM CANARY

• EV charging has kept growing despite the Trump administration — Jeff St. John

• US solar manufacturing in 2026: What the heck to expect — Julian Spector

• New Hampshire Republicans want to raise taxes on homes with solar — Sarah Shemkus

• North Carolina may use batteries to give new life to old solar farms — Elizabeth Ouzts

• It takes two aluminum firms to build one power-hungry smelter, apparently — Maria Gallucci