OIL & GAS: In a secretly recorded video, an Exxon Mobil lobbyist discussed the company’s work with “shadow groups” to discredit climate science, and how its strategy of publicly supporting a carbon tax is a “great talking point” in part because it has little chance of passing. Exxon denied he represented its positions. (New York Times)
ALSO:
• The U.S. House oversight committee chair says the Exxon video adds fuel to his promised climate disinformation hearing with oil and gas executives. (E&E News)
• The Biden administration’s support for a Maine city’s effort to block Canadian oil shipments is boosting confidence among supporters of an effort to shut down the Line 5 pipeline. (E&E News, subscription)
POLITICS: White House Climate Adviser Gina McCarthy says a clean electricity standard and clean energy tax credits are “non negotiable” pieces of a reconciliation infrastructure bill. (The Hill)
CLIMATE: At least 63 people died from heat-related causes in Oregon during the recent heat wave. (Oregonian)
GRID:
• About half of the U.S. is at elevated risk for power shortages this summer as power use climbs to combat heat waves, the Energy Information Administration says. (EIA)
• Maine Gov. Janet Mills signs a bill to connect northern Maine’s grid to the rest of New England, a move expected to boost the local economy through renewable energy exports. (Bangor Daily News)
• New York City officials ask residents to conserve energy amid a Northeast heat wave that has caused thousands to lose power, though New Jersey’s largest utility doesn’t expect widespread brownouts. (CBS New York, NJ.com)
COAL: The Tennessee Valley Authority launches a multi-year process to retire a Tennessee coal plant that spilled more than billion gallons of coal ash in 2008. (Chattanooga Times Free Press)
TRANSPORTATION:
• Researchers in the U.S. and Britain develop techniques to recycle parts of electric vehicle batteries as cobalt, lithium, and nickel demand rises. (Reuters)
• A U.S. Senator announces legislation to use highway rights of way for solar energy generation, electric vehicle charging stations and transmission. (WRBL)
• An Ohio car-sharing program provides access to electric vehicles for people who likely wouldn’t otherwise have a chance to drive them. (Energy News Network)
UTILITIES: Maine’s legislature ekes out enough support to pass its investor-owned utility takeover bill, but it may not secure enough votes to bypass a likely veto from the governor. (Portland Press Herald)
RENEWABLES:
• A Minnesota budget bill includes $21 million for a fund that could spur as many as 350 solar projects at K-12 schools and community colleges. (Energy News Network)
• As part of their second offshore wind solicitation, New Jersey regulators choose the 1.148 GW offshore Ocean Wind 2 project. (news release)
EMISSIONS: President Biden signs a resolution overturning a Trump administration rule limiting regulation of the oil and gas industry’s methane emissions. (The Hill)
CARBON CAPTURE: The federal government could boost the carbon capture industry by streamlining permitting rules and using its buying power to support carbon utilization, a White House report details. (Bloomberg Law)
HYDROGEN: Dozens of energy companies are exploring how hydrogen might make use of existing natural gas infrastructure. (Reuters)
COMMENTARY: Carbon capture technology is equivalent to trying to bail out an overflowing bathtub instead of turning off the faucet by stopping the burning of fossil fuels, writes an energy activist. (Houston Chronicle)