SOLAR: A major utility in Michigan is partnering with a well-known property developer to launch its first solar-plus-storage project in a Grand Rapids neighborhood. (Midwest Energy News)

ALSO:
• Minnesota is the “epicenter of one nation-topping experiment: community solar.” (OZY)
• Residents in a southern Michigan town have raised concerns about a developer’s attempts to amass land for a major solar project. (Sturgis Journal)
• A Minnesota city reaches a 25-year deal to purchase 1.5 megawatts of power a year from a community solar project, while a northern Michigan city turns to solar to help it reach its 100 percent renewable energy goal. (Northfield News, WWTV)
• A public utility in southwest Minnesota launches a community solar program. (Sleepy Eye Herald-Dispatch)
• Construction is underway on the redevelopment of a former steel factory in Muncie, Indiana which calls for a 5-megawatt solar installation. (Inside Indiana Business)

PIPELINES: The Army Corps of Engineers says it will take several months to complete an environmental review of the Dakota Access pipeline and is advocating for the pipeline to remain open during that time. (Associated Press)

MICHIGAN: A clean energy group and an electric cooperative are pushing back against plans for two new natural gas plants in the Upper Peninsula. (Platts)

OIL AND GAS:
• North Dakota officials seek to clean up legacy contamination across the state from past practices of dumping salty wastewater associated with oil drilling. (Prairie Public Radio)
• North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum challenges the oil industry in the state to reduce spills while doubling production to two million barrels a day. (Bismarck Tribune)

GRID: Ahead of a highly anticipated grid study, Energy Secretary Rick Perry is grappling with debates inside his department about whether wind and solar threaten reliability. (E&E News)

COAL: A collapsed 120-year-old coal mine in Ohio is forcing residents to flee their homes. (Cleveland Plain Dealer)

UTILITIES: The chairman and CEO of DTE Energy is taking on a larger civic leadership role in Detroit. (Detroit Free Press)

DIVESTMENT: A nonprofit group assembles a database of the top 120 companies seeking to expand coal generation to inform investors about divesting from them. (Huffington Post)

COMMENTARY:
• Utility executives gathered in Chicago this week give their ideas of how the grid of the future can run on renewable energy. (Forbes)
• A Minnesota editorial says officials in the southwest portion of the state should consider residents’ opposition to wind turbines as new projects surface. (Marshall Independent)
• Deploying smart inverters in Illinois has the potential to improve grid reliability in the state and create economic value for customers. (Environmental Defense Fund)
• Two state senators from Michigan renew their calls for a new renewable energy standard of 50 percent by 2035. (Detroit News)