Wisconsin utilities face pushback over transmission construction bill

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GRID

• Wisconsin legislation to give in-state utilities first rights to build transmission projects is meeting fierce resistance from free-market and consumer groups that say competition is more likely to drive down costs for ratepayers. (E&E News)

• An Ohio Senate committee is expected to take up a new version of a bill that aims to incentivize new power generation and make the state a net exporter of power as demand grows. (Ohio Capital Journal)

SOLAR

• An Ohio law that gave new power to local officials and neighbors opposed to utility-scale solar projects has blocked or preempted 2,000 MW of new power coming online since the 2021 law. (Cleveland.com)

NUCLEAR

• The Trump administration releases nearly $57 million of an up-to-$1.52 billion federal loan to support the restart of Holtec’s Michigan nuclear plant. (Detroit Free Press)

CLEAN ENERGY

• President Trump last week rescinded a Biden era policy that invoked the federal Defense Production Act to help spur domestic production of solar panels, heat pumps and building insulation. (E&E News)

• Conservative Congress members who are pushing to preserve Biden era clean energy tax credits say the new investments in their districts as a result are in line with President Trump’s energy-dominance agenda. (New York Times)

PIPELINES

• A jury begins deliberating in Energy Transfer’s $300 million lawsuit against Greenpeace, which in closing arguments said that the Dakota Access pipeline developer showed no evidence that the group led unlawful protests against the project. (South Dakota Searchlight)

• The Energy Transfer board chair testified in the case that he offered the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe a North Dakota ranch as well as to build a new school to help quell opposition, though the then-tribal chair disputes the account. (North Dakota Monitor)

UTILITIES

• DTE Energy and Ameren are among six U.S. utilities identified in a nonprofit’s new report that highlights the rise in utility disconnections that states could prevent by enacting more comprehensive shut-off bans. (Grist)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES

• Ameren Illinois launches managed charging pilot programs for residential and commercial electric vehicle drivers that aims to shift charging times outside of peak demand periods to relieve grid stress. (News release)

OIL & GAS

• Ohio produced a state-record amount of oil in 2023 as companies deployed more efficient drilling technology and invested in developing new wells, and as the economy rebounded after the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, an industry group reports. (Canton Repository)

NEW FROM CANARY MEDIA

• RMI research finds pairing renewable and fossil fuel generation into ​“power couples” could help data centers meet rising demand without drawing from the grid, Jeff St. John reports.

• Democratic lawmakers in Vermont face significant challenges passing any bills to advance clean energy measures this session, as Gov. Phil Scott attempts to roll back parts of the state’s landmark climate law, Sarah Shemkus reports.