Advocates weighing legal options against Detroit highway ​‘boondoggle’

TRANSPORTATION: Advocates in Michigan are ​“definitely considering all legal options” to try and block a planned highway expansion in Detroit. (Bridge Magazine)

COAL: About 20 families living near a We Energies coal plant in Wisconsin seek representation over concerns about coal dust exposure. (Racine Journal Times)

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OIL AND GAS:
• Protesters plan to canoe the Straits of Mackinac and walk the Mackinac Bridge this weekend, calling for Enbridge to shut down Line 5 through the Great Lakes. (MLive)
• North Dakota hotels are taking a hit as the oil boom slows down. (Minneapolis/​St. Paul Business Journal)
• Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder appoints a 15-member advisory board for statewide pipeline issues. (MLive)
• North Dakota lawmakers hear about the ongoing concerns in the oil patch, particularly related to infrastructure needs and mental health services. (Bismarck Tribune)

SOLAR:
• A bipartisan group of legislators is reintroducing an ​“energy freedom” bill package meant to contrast a recent proposal to eliminate net metering. (Michigan Radio)
• While solar capacity per capita in Minnesota grew by 42 percent, the state still lags behind most of the country. (Minnesota Public Radio)
• Customers in Kansas remain on notice about possible fee increases as part of a utility settlement agreement. (Topeka Capital-Journal)
• After a recent court ruling, community solar investors may qualify for federal tax credits. (Utility Dive)
• A Wisconsin county will open bids for companies looking to install panels on government buildings. (Madison.com)

OHIO: Environmental and faith-based advocates rallied around the state this week over a variety of state and national energy issues. (Midwest Energy News)

WATER: Wisconsin groups plan an event to discuss the ​“energy-water nexus” and how the two issues are interrelated. (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)

POLITICS: Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker is in Texas this week touting ​“energy independence” and lifting the ban on crude oil exports. (San Antonio Business Journal)

COMMENTARY:
• FirstEnergy’s proposal to make customers pay for uncompetitive power plants ​“represents everything backward and perverse in the electricity sector.” (Vox)
• How efficiency programs in cities can be an economic development tool. (Governing)