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Good morning! In a developer’s ongoing effort to build a utility-scale solar project in Ohio, the company wants to make sure local officials’ comments are recognized as personal views rather than official positions — a distinction that could make a difference with state regulators.

Also, grid challenges posed by an influx of large data centers aren’t going away anytime soon. One startup is scouring the grid for suitable host sites, and Canary Media’s Jeff St. John will discuss the growing challenges facing data centers and the power grid in a webinar tomorrow. Sign up for it here.

TODAY'S TOP NEWS

SOLAR

• The developer of a large Ohio solar project says state regulators should consider local officials’ opposition as personal views rather than official government positions because they have avoided open meetings rules or allowed votes despite conflicts of interest. (Canary Media) 

GRID

• A startup that focuses on siting large data centers on parts of the grid where it can consume large amounts of power launches its first project in Wisconsin, finding a location that could host multiple data centers. (E&E News)
• A coalition of data centers pushes back on Michigan utility Consumers Energy’s plan to create special rates and long-term contracts for the power-hungry facilities to avoid stranded costs for ratepayers. (MLive)

PIPELINES

• South Dakota lawmakers advance bills to create a moratorium on carbon pipelines until federal safety rules are finalized, and authorize landowners to sue pipeline companies over alleged misrepresentations or harassment. (South Dakota Searchlight)
• Environmental groups see the Dakota Access pipeline owner’s $300 million lawsuit against Greenpeace stemming from 2016 protests as an attack on free speech that could chill pipeline advocacy. (Washington Post)

FOSSIL FUELS

• Large tech companies that once touted their clean energy commitments are now doubling down on gas-fired power plants to meet ever-increasing demand from data centers as the Trump administration pledges support for fossil fuels. (Washington Post)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES

• A St. Louis-area school district resumes plans to acquire 21 electric school buses and 24 charging stations after being able to access an account with about $8 million in federal funding that the Trump administration had frozen. (FOX 2)
• The Trump administration orders the agency that oversees federal buildings, purchasing and technology to disconnect its electric vehicle charging stations in yet another attempt to roll back progress on EVs. (Inside Climate News)

CLIMATE

• The Trump administration locks a Minnesota agency out of $200 million in grants for community-based climate projects that officials have said would have a transformational impact on cutting emissions and provide direct benefits to communities of color. (Minnesota Reformer)
• University of Nebraska researchers will delay the release of an updated state climate change report to make minor revisions, and insist that it’s not being edited to sidestep controversy. (Nebraska Examiner)

BIOGAS

• Iowa workplace safety officials are investigating a biogas digester following a whistleblower complaint that a 2023 fire injured two people and the facility has ongoing gas leaks that endanger workers. (Cedar Rapids Gazette)

COMMENTARY

• Siting utility-scale solar projects in ways that preserve agricultural uses not only helps avoid removing farmland for production, but also can shift public opinion in favor of projects, a clean energy advocate writes. (Ohio Capital Journal)

ATTENTION CHICAGO: UPCOMING EVENT

On stage: Conversations with clean energy experts, including Rep. Sean Casten of the U.S. Congress, Naomi Davis of Blacks in Green, Kara Demirjian Huss of TCCI Manufacturing, A.J. Patton of 548 Enterprises, David Roberts of Volts, Angela Tovar of the city of Chicago and Lisa Clemmons Stott of the Illinois Department of Commerce.

Off stage: Drink, eat, and socialize with clean energy leaders, investors, inventors, public leaders, and advocates.

🗓️  March 27, 2025, 2:00 - 7:00p.m. CDT

📍  mHUB • 1623 West Fulton Street Chicago, IL 60612