Ohio utility wants guaranteed payments from data centers

GRID: AEP Ohio asks state regulators for new rate structures that would require data centers and cryptocurrency mining facilities to commit to long-term purchase agreements as the industry threatens to spike power demand. (Columbus Dispatch)

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ALSO: Federal energy regulators approve sweeping transmission policy changes that aim to speed up interregional lines to move clean energy, improve long-term planning and fairly spread out costs. (Reuters)

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MINING: Geologists say they have found a massive deposit of manganese in northern Minnesota and are determining whether it’s feasible to mine as a key mineral to reinforce steel and make lithium-ion batteries. (WCCO)

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OIL & GAS: North Dakota enhanced oil recovery pilot projects could potentially unlock billions more barrels of oil over the coming decades, state officials say. (North Dakota Monitor)

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CLEAN ENERGY:

• The Biden administration announces new tariffs on Chinese-made electric vehicles, advanced batteries, solar cells and other materials in an attempt to keep the products from flooding the U.S. market. (Associated Press)
• The directors of two federal offices overseeing clean energy loans and developments play outsized roles in the Biden administration’s overall climate strategy. (Newsweek)
• Michigan officials hold an initial meeting with interested parties on a new state office meant to preserve jobs amid the shift from fossil fuels to clean energy. (Michigan Public)

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HYDROGEN: High-profile hydrogen and advanced battery projects in Michigan face major uncertainty as demand for the products remains in question and investors rein in spending on unproven technologies. (Crain’s Detroit Business, subscription)

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UTILITIES: The death of former Public Utilities Commission of Ohio Chairman Sam Randazzo, who was facing federal and state charges for his alleged role in a major utility corruption scheme, was officially ruled as a suicide. (Statehouse News Bureau)

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CLIMATE: Homeowners across the Midwest are being dropped from their insurance policies as insurers increasingly lose money from more extreme weather events tied to climate change. (New York Times)

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SOLAR:

• Residents in a rural southeastern Michigan county are divided over plans for utility-scale solar projects and developers encounter widespread misinformation. (Detroit Free Press)
• An Illinois family says it is out $100,000 after receiving only partial work from an installer the state had listed as a designated solar vendor. (CBS 2)

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STORAGE: Detroit-based utility DTE Energy seeks proposals from developers to build  energy storage projects totaling about 120 MW. (Renewable Energy World)

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COMMENTARY:

• As Minnesota officials work to reduce transportation emissions, significant hurdles remain including public safety and buy-in from local governments, a county official writes. (MinnPost)
• Despite conventional opinion that regulations stand in the way of grid modernization, state regulators across the U.S. have approved most utilities’ requests for upgrading the distribution grid, an analyst writes. (Utility Dive)

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