Wisconsin officials put a controversial pipeline reroute one step closer to construction last week when they issued permits for Enbridge Energy, a Canadian oil company, to move a section of Line 5 off of Tribal land in the far northern part of the state. Construction and agricultural industry groups cheered the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources’ decision. But it came as a disappointment to environmental groups and the Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, which have pushed for the pipeline to be not only removed from the reservation but decommissioned entirely.
A push to open a copper mine on Michigan’s Upper Peninsula — part of a broader rush on copper and nickel in the region — has also stoked fears that mining could cause environmental damage to ceded Tribal land. One Tribal citizen of the Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians said at a recent public hearing about an air use permit application that the process was essentially asking, “what amount of ruination is acceptable?” (The developer of the proposed mine declined to comment, saying it wanted to let the permitting process play out.)
In Indiana, regulators approved a utility’s plans this month to convert two coal units to run on natural gas, despite pushback from the coal industry. AES Indiana intends to swap units 3 and 4 of its Petersburg Generating Station over to gas in 2026. The utility previously retired the plant’s other two coal units and converted another former coal plant to gas. It’s set to be the first investor-owned utility in Indiana to stop burning coal.
Worker training is ramping up at the shuttered Palisades nuclear plant in southwestern Michigan as its owner targets an October 2025 reopening. The formerly deserted training building at the facility is now filled with workers preparing to bring the reactor back to life. The recommissioning, if successful, would be a first for a U.S. nuclear plant — though industry experts suspect that if Palisades can pull it off, more will follow.
And electric vehicle manufacturer Rivian has opened a new showroom in an Illinois shopping center — its second in the Chicago area and 15th across the United States and Canada — to promote the SUVs and pickup trucks it manufactures 130 miles away. The company said it’s working to expand its footprint in EV-friendly markets, such as Chicago, where customers’ proximity to Rivian’s factory results in shorter wait times before their new vehicles arrive.
More energy news, in case you missed it:
- Former Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder, who is serving a 20-year prison sentence for his role in the state’s utility bribery scandal, reportedly plans to seek clemency from President-elect Donald Trump.
- The federal government announced $3 billion in grants to curtail carbon emissions and air pollution at U.S. shipping ports, including over $200 billion for ports along the Great Lakes in Michigan, Illinois, Ohio and Indiana.
- Almost 80 Michigan counties and townships are fighting the implementation of a state law that would simplify the permitting process for large-scale clean energy projects.
- A Minnesota county has unveiled a system for capturing heat generated by a landfill, which it intends to use for treating contaminated wastewater.
- Trump’s warnings that EVs would lead to the demise of the U.S. auto industry appeared to have resonated more with Michigan voters than Democrats’ messaging about federal investments keeping the industry strong.
Catch more news at Great Lakes Now:
Energy News Roundup: More energy transition ups and downs
Energy News Roundup: Retirement is in sight for another huge coal plant
Featured image: A marker indicates the location of Enbridge’s Line 5 pipeline in the Straits of Mackinac. (Great Lakes Now Episode 1024)
