CLEAN ENERGY: A report calls on cities, companies, and other major energy buyers to go beyond buying renewable energy credits to offset their energy use and invest in transmission, storage, and additional clean power sources to fully combat climate change. (Canary Media)
PIPELINES:
• Keystone XL developer TC Energy had a worse-than-average oil spill record after the pipeline dumped nearly 12,000 barrels of oil during two 2017 and 2019 incidents, a report from a nonpartisan watchdog finds. (Politico)
• A group of U.S. House Democrats say the Keystone spill report validates President Biden’s decision to revoke its permit at the start of his term. (The Hill)
• As the Line 3 pipeline nears completion, ongoing opposition poses a political challenge for the Biden administration. (E&E News)
EMISSIONS: The Biden administration’s efforts to curb methane emissions face opposition from fossil fuel interests, but also farm state lawmakers who represent the emissions-heavy agriculture industry. (Politico)
CLIMATE: Meteorologists say human-caused climate change is supercharging rain events like the storms that soaked New York and Tennessee over the weekend, making them likely to become more common (CNN)
COAL:
• Congress prepares to allocate $11.3 billion for abandoned mine reclamation in its bipartisan infrastructure bill, nearly double what states and tribes have received for cleanup from the fund in the past. (E&E News)
• Advocates say cleanup of coal ash in northwest Indiana could generate millions of dollars in economic benefits, but it won’t happen unless the state or federal government requires it. (Energy News Network)
• The fate of two West Virginia coal-fired power plants is in question after Virginia regulators approve a rate increase for Appalachian Power but reject a request to recover costs for wastewater upgrades that would keep the plants open until 2040. (West Virginia Public Broadcasting, Roanoke Times)
POLITICS: Although former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s administration had some environmental wins, activists say he was a “reluctant” ally and hope the new administration will be more helpful — even if newly sworn in Gov. Kathy Hochul has previously supported fracking and the Keystone XL pipeline. (Inside Climate News)
OIL & GAS:
• Oil and gas companies applied for more than 10,000 federal land drilling permits in New Mexico over the last four years, and environmentalists say their approval could lock in decades of further global warming. (Capital & Main)
• Massachusetts needs to electrify 100,000 home heating systems every year this decade to reach its conversion goals, but only 461 made the switch in 2020. (Boston Globe)
GRID:
• Energy officials and local politicians, including Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont, showed up to evaluate the scene in a town “hard -hit” by Henri, but found only a few hundred residents still lacking power. (CT Mirror)
• Environmental advocates say California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s effort to avert power outages by relaxing emissions rules will exacerbate pollution, particularly in disadvantaged communities. (Canary Media)
NUCLEAR: Regulators blame “a combination of failures” for the storage of more than 3 million pounds of radioactive spent reactor fuel from a nuclear plant shuttered a decade ago near a popular San Diego beach. (Guardian)
HYDROGEN:
• An Alaska university and the U.S. Department of Energy look into producing hydrogen fuel from ammonia derived from the state’s abundant natural gas reserves. (S&P Global)
• The nation’s first hydrogen powered ferry is undergoing trials and could begin passenger service later this year in the San Francisco Bay. (Axios)
ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE: The Sierra Club and the Sunrise Movement are both facing internal reckonings over their treatment of employees of color and other allegations of workplace toxicity. (Grist)