EMISSIONS: The U.S. EPA is continuing to develop rules to regulate emissions from power plants even as analysts say the U.S. Supreme Court will likely strike down its ability to do so. (Reuters, Utility Dive)
ALSO:
• The U.S. EPA’s proposed methane emissions reduction rules would cost oil and gas producers an estimated $1.2 billion annually — a small piece of the 10 biggest drillers’ projected $70 billion in earnings this year. (Bloomberg)
• Republicans in Congress and several states criticize the Biden administration’s sweeping new plan to reduce methane emissions. (E&E News, Texas Tribune)
• Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm will highlight the U.S.’s carbon capture efforts in her COP26 speech today and announce an effort by the country’s national labs to help communities and other countries chart a path to net-zero emissions. (E&E News)
FOSSIL FUELS:
• The House Oversight Committee subpoenas four of the world’s biggest oil and gas companies and two fossil fuel trade groups after they testified for the committee last week on climate disinformation. (Washington Post)
• The Biden administration’s plan to offer tax credits for carbon capture at coal-fired power plants could offer them a lifeline to stay open, a Sierra Club analysis finds. (Bloomberg)
• The U.S. Interior Department finds public land oil and gas leasing contributes to climate change, but says it’s powerless to stop development. (Associated Press)
FINANCE:
• Global philanthropies and development banks pledge $10.5 billion to help developing countries wean off of fossil fuels as their energy demands grow. (New York Times)
• Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen announces the U.S. will support a global effort that will direct $500 million annually to steer developing countries toward clean energy and calls on the private sector to boost its clean energy financing. (New York Times)
• A group of major global investors, banks and insurers say they’ll use their collective $130 trillion in assets to reach net-zero goals by 2050. (Bloomberg)
GRID: Maine voters tell Central Maine Power to stop building a $1 billion transmission corridor, with 60% voting against it as of this morning; legal challenges to the referendum are sure to keep the project in limbo. (Maine Public)
SOLAR:
• A proposed pilot project seeks to install solar panels on highway noise barriers just south of Boston, which could help expand where solar panels can be installed in the state. (Energy News Network)
• Illinois solar developers are once again hopeful as incentives in the form of renewable energy credits come back next month under the state’s sweeping new clean energy law. (Energy News Network)
• Kansas City officials hope a second attempt at installing a large-scale solar project at the city’s airport will come to fruition this time. (Energy News Network)
• A battle rages over California’s rooftop solar net metering rates, with climate hawks saying incentives are necessary to reach clean energy goals while utility giants and some environmental justice advocates say the rates are fundamentally inequitable. (Los Angeles Times)
COMMENTARY:
• President Biden’s goal of developing 30,000 MW of offshore wind by 2030 presents Texas an opportunity to create new job options for oil and gas workers and benefit its coastal cities, writes an editorial board. (Houston Chronicle)
• Congressional Democrats’ failure to pass infrastructure legislation that includes provisions for clean energy development contributed to statewide defeats in Virginia last night, writes a columnist. (Washington Post)