OIL & GAS: Biden administration officials have gotten involved in OPEC talks amid rising crude oil prices, providing a test of whether the administration can both lower gasoline prices and reduce emissions. (Bloomberg, CNN)
ALSO: An oil and gas exploration project in Alaska spearheaded by a company with a reputation for environmental violations highlights the complicated dynamics between Alaska Native corporations and sovereign tribal governments. (High Country News)
RENEWABLES:
• The solar industry is “a little panicked” about the potential impacts of the Biden administration’s ban on Xinjiang silicon imports, an expert says, while another says China’s lack of transparency will make the ban hard to enforce. (Canary Media)
• A failure to coordinate transmission plans between federal agencies, states and grid operators could jeopardize the U.S.’s ambitious plans to install 30 GW of offshore wind in the next decade. (S&P Global)
• Clean energy supporters say misinformation has played a key role in the Ohio legislature’s ongoing attacks against renewable energy development. (Energy News Network)
CLIMATE:
• North America saw its hottest June on record last month, with average temperatures more than 2°F hotter than the average for the previous 30 years. (New York Times)
• Latino residents are twice as likely to live in areas threatened by wildfire compared to the general U.S. population, according to a new analysis. (Politico)
GRID:
• Indigenous tribes in Québec sue to halt construction of a power line on their side of the border that would connect to Central Maine Power’s transmission project. (Maine Public Radio)
• Texas Gov. Greg Abbott directs state regulators to prioritize natural gas, coal and nuclear power plants and impose more costs on renewables in an attempt to fix “an uneven playing field between non-renewable and renewable energy generators.” (Dallas Morning News, Bloomberg)
• Duke Energy, Florida Power & Light and other electric companies prepare for possible outages as Tropical Storm Elsa hits the Southeast. (WFLA, Tampa Bay Times)
• With hydropower generation down 37% from last year due to drought, California grid operators look to import extra power this summer to weather extreme high temperatures. (Energy Information Administration, KCRA)
ELECTRIC VEHICLES:
• The nearly two-year process of installing equipment to charge electric sanitation vehicles is among several factors slowing their implementation in U.S. cities. (Utility Dive)
• Volvo will add production of an electric SUV to a South Carolina factory beginning next year. (Post and Courier)
COAL:
• A cooling-tower collapse takes one of two units at a major New Mexico coal plant offline indefinitely, diminishing the plant’s generating capacity as another heat wave heads for the region and further complicating a plan to equip the plant with carbon capture. (NM Political Report)
• A study finds that miners with black lung disease also face depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder and symptoms of mental illness. (West Virginia Public Broadcasting)
EFFICIENCY: Iowa’s largest utilities have dramatically scaled back efforts to help customers conserve energy since a 2018 law gutted the state’s energy efficiency requirements. (Energy News Network)
COAL ASH: Researchers and government officials hope to tap toxic coal ash stored at 26 disposal sites in Virginia for rare earth elements and critical minerals used in renewables and batteries. (Virginia Mercury)