Wisconsin utility’s gas buildout plan meets skepticism

DATA CENTERS

• Wisconsin consumer and climate advocates are skeptical about We Energies’ request to build $2 billion in new gas plants, gas storage and pipeline infrastructure to meet forecast demand, particularly amid questions about whether data centers will materialize. (Canary Media)

• Roughly a dozen proposals in state legislatures across the U.S. seek to ensure that potential new power plants and infrastructure for data centers don’t result in increased rates for other customers. (States Newsroom)

GRID

• Demand from electric vehicles, manufacturing and potentially data centers pose challenges for Michigan’s aging electric grid as utilities prepare for more intense storms because of climate change. (Michigan Public)

• Minnesota regulators approve Xcel Energy’s plan for a 174-mile transmission line as part of the utility’s long-term energy plan. (West Central Tribune)

PIPELINES

• Federal regulators say the Keystone pipeline needs a series of improvements and fixes before it can resume operations after a leak. (E&E News)

COAL

• Indiana Gov. Mike Braun issues an executive order directing state regulators to examine the state’s coal plants to determine whether any of their operations could be extended. (Indiana Public Media)

• Indiana regulators will hold public hearings on Duke Energy’s $3.3 billion plan to convert two coal-fired units to run on natural gas. (WISH)

SOLAR

• Northern Michigan residents seek to block plans for a utility-scale solar project, arguing that the project fails to comply with a new state clean energy zoning law that they also claim is unconstitutional. (Michigan Advance)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES

• More than 500 school districts nationwide are waiting on about $1 billion in funding the EPA has frozen to cover the costs of more than 3,400 electric buses. (Associated Press)

CLEAN ENERGY

• A Wisconsin bill would require wind and solar developers to purchase agricultural conservation easements on up to four times the amount of acreage they plan for a project to discourage the use of ​“prime farmland” for development. (Telegraph Herald)

• Ann Arbor, Michigan’s plan for a sustainable energy utility goes further than similar plans elsewhere by standing up solar and geothermal facilities that would support a series of microgrids. (New York Times)

• U.S. Rep. Julie Fedorchak of North Dakota says her bill to cut Inflation Reduction Act tax credits for wind and solar notes the incentives have already been effective and are no longer needed. (Grand Forks Herald)

HYDROGEN

• Researchers say Michigan’s geological features could make the state a prime candidate for tapping underground hydrogen reserves. (MLive)