The Great Lakes region is in the midst of a seismic energy shakeup, from skyrocketing data center demand and a nuclear energy boom, to expanding renewables and electrification. In 2026, the Great Lakes News Collaborative is exploring how shifting supply and demand affect the region and its waters.
This story is part of the Great Lakes News Collaborative‘s latest series on rising energy demand and the future of the Great Lakes
The collaborative’s five newsrooms — Bridge Michigan, Circle of Blue, Great Lakes Now, Michigan Public and The Narwhal — are funded by the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation.
Michigan lawmakers may fund last-ditch effort to save whitefish
Originally published by Bridge Michigan As lake whitefish teeter on the brink of collapse in the lower Great Lakes, Michigan lawmakers are considering investing in a last-ditch effort to save the iconic species before it’s too late. An appropriations bill under consideration in the Democrat-controlled state Senate would allocate money to the Michigan Department of Natural…
As affordability issues surge, is it finally time for offshore wind?
By Stephen Starr, Great Lakes Now Covering an area the size of the United Kingdom and surrounded by half a dozen large, energy-hungry metropolitan regions, the Great Lakes, surprisingly, boasts not a single offshore wind energy project. We know that the resource and the demand are there. But no offshore wind effort has ever taken off.…
