Note to readers: U.S. Energy News is taking a break for the holiday and will be back on Monday, Nov. 30. Thank you for reading!
CLIMATE: The naming of former Secretary of State John Kerry to a newly created position of top climate diplomat signals that President-elect Biden is serious about climate change. (Washington Post)
ALSO:
• The former secretary of state’s role will involve trying to restore the world’s trust in the United States after Trump’s rejection of climate diplomacy. (Reuters)
• The first climate warning stickers could start to appear on gas pumps in Cambridge, Massachusetts, as soon as next month. (The Hill)
SOLAR: Invenergy announces plans to build the nation’s largest solar project — a $1.6 billion, 1,310 MW project in northeastern Texas. (E&E News, subscription)
TRANSMISSION: A pair of energy consultants seek partners for a $9.5 billion transmission-plus-storage project that could complete a renewable energy superhighway between Southern California and Chicago. (Energy News Network)
POLITICS:
• Even though President Trump easily won a Pennsylvania county with 1,000 natural gas wells, few residents took the claim seriously that President-elect Biden would ban fracking. (Philadelphia Inquirer)
• Supporters of the proposed Clean Energy Jobs Act in Illinois say a “mysterious dark money group” is co-opting messages on climate and clean energy with vague messages critical of utilities’ clean energy transitions. (Energy News Network)
TRANSPORTATION:
• General Motors drops its support for the Trump administration’s legal effort to nullify California’s fuel economy rules. (New York Times)
• Massachusetts transit officials approve the purchase of 45 diesel-electric hybrid buses after receiving assurances that diesel won’t be used when driving through an environmental justice community. (CommonWealth Magazine)
ELECTRIC VEHICLES:
• California regulators will require companies like Uber and Lyft to run nearly all-electric fleets by 2030. (E&E News, subscription)
• EV startup Rivian has sold out of its first planned batch of vehicles as the company faces limited production capacity. (Bloomberg)
PIPELINES:
• The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers approves the final federal permit needed for Enbridge’s Line 3 replacement and expansion in Minnesota. (Associated Press)
• The Army Corps says tribes’ attempts to shut down the Dakota Access pipeline have not met the “high bar” required for such action, and concerns about an oil spill are “speculative and abstract.” (Bismarck Tribune)
• Climate activists hope President-elect Joe Biden will block the Keystone XL and Dakota Access pipelines and publicly oppose Line 3. (InsideClimate News)
COAL:
• Six U.S. senators call on federal regulators to implement new rules protecting miners from silica dust, which has contributed to an ongoing surge in black lung cases. (Ohio Valley ReSource)
• A generation and transmission association that provides electricity to several Western states is under pressure from co-ops, insurers, and banks over its continued reliance on coal. (Energy and Policy Institute)
• A western Pennsylvania coal mining company is developing a power plant that would convert mining waste into energy with reduced emissions. (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)
OIL & GAS:
• More than 60 oil and gas companies pledged Monday to report and reduce methane emissions, but no American companies joined the effort. (Quartz)
• A report forecasts continued consolidation in the oil and gas industry next year, with a reduction of up to half of onshore companies. (Beaumont Enterprise)
NUCLEAR: A program director at Tennessee’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory pitches 3D printing as a way to make commercial nuclear power more competitive with natural gas. (Oak Ridger)
CLEAN ENERGY: An agreement is within reach in New Hampshire on how to spend $5.2 million in clean energy funds that were set aside three years ago after the state’s largest utility divested its power plants. (Energy News Network)
COMMENTARY: A group of more than 60 climate experts in a new report lay out a vision and blueprint for an international climate agenda for President-elect Biden’s administration. (NRDC)