This little-known fall election could shut down a coal plant.

This little-known fall election could shut down a coal plant.

This fall, while millions of voters across the country determine control of Congress and state governments, thousands of Nebraskans will also elect members of their public utility boards. The most significant of these utility board elections will be the Omaha Public Power District race, where two renewable energy candidates advanced from last month’s primary. If these two candidates win their races in November, the resulting clean energy majority on the Public Power District board might finally shut down the coal-fired North Omaha Power Plant. This relatively small election could have an outsized impact on the lives of nearly a million Nebraskans.
 

Ann Arbor is piloting a new solar-and-storage utility!

In a bid to reduce energy costs for consumers, Ann Arbor, MI is piloting a first-of-its-kind city-owned “supplemental utility” that’s installing solar-plus-storage at homes across the city’s Bryant neighborhood where some residents spend as much as one-third of their income on utility bills. The pilot phase starts with 150 homes and will grow to 1,000 homes by the end of next year. Ultimately, the city’s supplemental utility “could feature microgrids, geothermal heating and cooling networks, and energy justice initiatives for the roughly 125,000 inhabitants of the university town.” This initiative comes after Ann Arborites voted in 2024 to approve a referendum to create a city-owned utility focusing on clean energy and resiliency. Now, a citizen group is collecting signatures to get an initiative on the November ballot to continue the public utility-creation process. If Ann Arbor environmentalists continue showing up at the polls, clean energy will follow.

Is plug-in solar coming to your state?

Plug-in solar (or balcony solar) is sweeping the nation. Do-it-yourself kits that plug into standard outlets are making it easy for people to save money on their utility bills by generating clean energy without the need for onerous permitting. Of course, many utilities are trying to slow plug-in solar’s adoption, leading some states to be more welcoming than others. Demand for climate action from voters and strong climate leadership from local elected officials is essential to making plug-in solar accessible.

How You Can Take Action

Join the Environmental Voter Project on Zoom to mobilize low propensity environmental voters for the upcoming Arizona state primary! Sign up for our Arizona phonebanks using scripts proven to boost turnout: June 24 at 7pm ET / 4pm PT, June 26 at 12pm ET / 9am PT, June 29 at 7pm ET / 4pm PT, and June 30 at 12pm ET / 9am PT.

If you'd like to receive the Overlooked in Climate Politics Newsletter and other updates in your inbox going forward, please subscribe here.