CLIMATE:
• A historic rainfall that flooded a Detroit resident’s basement prompted her to join a local community group and help develop climate resilience hubs across the city. (Energy News Network/Planet Detroit)
• Climate experts say Detroit needs a more robust response plan to excessive heat, saying city residents are at heightened risk, particularly during power outages. (Planet Detroit)
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GRID:
• More than 300,000 utility customers in Michigan’s Lower Peninsula were without power Friday morning after powerful storms moved through the region on Thursday night. (Crain’s Grand Rapids Business)
• A fire at Iowa State University’s natural gas plant causes administrators to move classes online as the campus cooling source is disrupted. (Des Moines Register)
NUCLEAR: State regulators will allow Xcel Energy to store more nuclear waste at a Minnesota nuclear plant, a required step that will extend the plant’s life by at least 10 years. (Star Tribune)
BIOFUELS: A first of its kind study finds that North Dakota farmers’ switch to corn and soybean crops for biofuel production created more negative responses from grassland birds than oil and gas development. (Inside Climate News)
ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE: The University of Minnesota launches a new federal environmental justice office that will distribute funding to help low-income and racially diverse communities address pollution. (Sahan Journal)
PIPELINES: The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers expects to release an environmental study this fall on the Dakota Access pipeline, which has continued to operate but faces opposition from tribes concerned about a potential spill. (Reuters)
SOLAR: Michigan farmers are increasingly working with solar developers to place livestock alongside solar panels. (Interlochen Public Radio)
ELECTRIC VEHICLES:
• Unionized workers at an electric vehicle battery manufacturing plant in Ohio will vote on an interim contract that includes $3-$4 per hour pay increases and thousands of dollars in back pay. (Associated Press)
• The Indiana NAACP issues a six-point plan to ensure equity with the state’s electric vehicle charging buildout, including ensuring diverse hiring practices and placing chargers in disadvantaged communities. (Indianapolis Recorder)
WIND: A Minnesota municipal utility struggles with two underperforming and aging wind turbines that it may have to retire. (West Central Tribune)
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CARBON CAPTURE: The Sierra Club accuses Iowa regulators of violating open meetings rules by banning cell phones and laptops during a carbon pipeline permit hearing. (KCAU)
MICROGRIDS: Alliant Energy completes a community-scale microgrid project in Wisconsin that local officials say will boost grid resiliency in the face of future outages. (WMTV)
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