Catch the latest energy news from around the region. Check back for these bimonthly Energy News Roundups.
Data centers in Ohio will have to pay more up front for electricity after state regulators sided with an electric utility and consumer advocates over tech companies earlier this month. The decision comes as regulators and officials grapple with the proliferation of data centers and their soaring power demand, which threatens to raise costs for ratepayers. The proposal backed by the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio will charge large data center customers for 85% of their projected electricity usage.
An Ohio nuclear plant whose initial 40-year license was about to expire has been cleared by federal regulators to operate for another 20 years. The Perry Nuclear Power Plant, located on the shore of Lake Erie northeast of Cleveland, first connected to the grid in 1986, according to utility Vistra. It is the last of Vistra’s six reactors to receive a license extension. The utility submitted its renewal application for the Perry plant to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission in 2023.
In the Canadian provinces of Ontario, Alberta and Saskatchewan an agreement was signed to advance energy infrastructure, including pipelines, to promote internal trade and reduce their reliance on the United States. And Ontario Premier Doug Ford said Tuesday that he could revisit a surcharge on electricity exports to the U.S. if trade talks aren’t successful.
“We’ll see how this deal goes and we’ll see what he has to say on Aug. 1,” Ford said of President Donald Trump, Bloomberg reported.
As with many federal grant programs these days, the outlook is uncertain for the Rural Energy for America Program (REAP). The program helps farmers afford renewables, energy efficiency improvements and other emissions-cutting tools. The next REAP application period was set to run from July 1 to Sept. 30. On June 30, the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced that it wouldn’t happen, citing an “overwhelming response” and “a backlog of applicants.” It said applications are expected to reopen starting Oct. 1.
And after the Indiana Department of Environmental Management renewed an air permit for U.S. Steel’s Gary Works facility, environmental groups filed a petition with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency arguing the permit is inconsistent with the Clean Air Act. The petition claims the renewal lacks key air quality protections in an area that already suffers from high levels of pollution. U.S. Steel responded that environmental stewardship is a “core value” for the company.
More energy news, in case you missed it:
- Energy bills are rising fast in the Great Lakes region, leaving ratepayers increasingly burdened as rate hikes abound.
- At an event he headlined in Pittsburgh last week, Trump announced more than $92 billion of investments in Pennsylvania.
- Several state laws branding natural gas as “green energy,” including Ohio and Indiana, mirror language developed by a right-wing think tank, Grist reported.
- A team from the University of Illinois won a race for solar-powered cars, with their single-occupant car traveling about 700 miles during the competition.
- A Minnesota county has little room to make energy efficiency improvements after doing “too good of a job” maintaining its steam system, a consultant joked.
Catch more news at Great Lakes Now:
In Minnesota, community solar stays alive
Consumers Energy in negotiations to sell its aging Michigan dams
Featured image: Shot of data center with multiple rows of fully operational server racks. (Photo Credit: iStock)
