Michigan scrutinizes utility’s customer debt practice

UTILITIES: The Michigan attorney general’s office is ​“more closely examining” DTE Energy’s practice of selling customers’ debt over nonpayment amid the utility’s latest rate increase request. (ProPublica/​Outlier Media)

SOLAR:
• The Indiana Court of Appeals agrees with a lower court that local officials improperly approved a massive solar project based on an incomplete application. (Times of Northwest Indiana)
• Local officials issue a new request for proposals to build a large solar project on thousands of acres surrounding the Kansas City International Airport. (Kansas City Business Journal)

PIPELINES:
• A federal judge sentences a woman to six years in prison for her role in setting fire to Dakota Access pipeline construction equipment roughly five years ago. (Associated Press)
• An Ohio county auditor is pushing back against a state agreement on the valuation of a natural gas pipeline, claiming it is too low and has not led to the revenue promised to school districts. (Ideastream)
• A carbon capture pipeline proposal draws mixed reactions in southwestern Minnesota as economic development interests clash with landowners’ concerns. (MPR News)

RENEWABLES: The Inflation Reduction Act provides a $9.7 billion ​“downpayment” to help rural electric cooperatives tied to debt and fossil fuels transition to clean energy. (Daily Yonder)

EQUITY: University of Michigan researchers deploy a first-of-its-kind standardized interactive mapping tool to help low-income and BIPOC communities transition to clean energy. (Centered)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES:
• A key Minnesota Democrat says the state is unlikely to follow California’s lead in banning the sale of new gas-powered cars by 2035. (MinnPost)
• A company signs a five-year agreement with the state of Michigan to research a potential road network that charges electric vehicles as they drive. (WOOD-TV8)

CLIMATE:
• Missouri U.S. Rep. Cori Bush discusses her Green New Deal for Cities Act that aims to finance urban decarbonization and environmental cleanup. (The Nation)
• State officials during Minnesota’s Climate Week are turning to tribes for consultation on clean energy and climate change solutions. (CBS Minnesota)

NUCLEAR: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission holds a public hearing on the potential decommissioning of a southwestern Michigan nuclear plant as the plant owner considers reopening it. (FOX 17)

WIND: Central Iowa zoning officials consider new setback distances and decommissioning requirements as they review the county’s wind energy ordinance. (Times-Republican)

OIL & GAS: A lack of trained workers is the primary challenge holding back North Dakota’s oil and gas industry, state and business leaders said at an annual meeting this week. (Bismarck Tribune)

COMMENTARY:
• A Minnesota housing developer says serious policies encouraging walking and biking would be a more effective climate solution than an over-reliance on electric vehicles. (Star Tribune)
• The Inflation Reduction Act will help Wisconsin families and businesses lower energy costs by supporting investments in energy efficiency and solar, a Nature Conservancy official writes. (Capital Times)