GRID: Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm warns that the U.S. grid is vulnerable to the type of hacking that brought down the Colonial Pipeline, but transmission lines have stronger protocols than pipelines do. (CNN)
PIPELINES:
• U.S. House and Senate lawmakers gear up to question Colonial Pipeline’s CEO after last month’s cyberattack disrupted operations and resulted in gas shortages across the Southeast. (E&E News, subscription)
• Indigenous activists say the Line 3 pipeline threatens wild rice farming in northern Minnesota as protests against the project gear up this week. (Inside Climate News, Associated Press)
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TRANSPORTATION:
• House Democrats propose a $547 billion infrastructure plan that includes $4 billion for electric vehicle charging infrastructure, $109 billion for transit, and $95 billion for passenger rail. (Reuters)
• Amid bipartisan resistance to a possible gasoline tax increase, Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont abandons an effort to join the Transportation Climate Initiative, leaving the climate compact’s future in doubt. (Boston Herald)
• San Diego officials consider a proposal to eliminate parking requirements for businesses near mass transit lines. (San Diego Union-Tribune)
POLICY: The political dynamics of Arizona’s backtracking on a 100% carbon-free electricity standard highlight the challenges of passing federal climate policy. (E&E News)
COAL: A federal judge in Montana rebuffs the Biden administration’s attempt to delay lawsuits from states, environmental groups, and tribes challenging the federal coal leasing program. (Associated Press)
WIND: A century-old shipping law and fishing industry opposition remain significant obstacles to offshore wind development in the U.S. (New York Times)
NUCLEAR:
• Results from the latest PJM capacity auction spell trouble for the continued operation of two Illinois nuclear plants for which Exelon is seeking state subsidies to maintain. (Canary Media)
• Nuclear energy opponents say subsidies for power plants are holding back progress on other energy sources. (Truthout)
EFFICIENCY: Dozens of North Carolina businesses press the state senate to pass previously blocked legislation to require hundreds of prisons, public universities, and other state-run buildings to cut their energy use by a tenth. (Energy News Network)
SOLAR: Iowa solar installers say the expiration of a statewide solar tax credit will make projects a tougher sell to residential and small business customers. (Energy News Network)
CLIMATE:
• Texas U.S. Sen. John Cornyn says he is concerned “climate change has become a religion” that takes oil and gas for granted. (Dallas Morning News)
• Plans to build a $6 billion wall to protect Miami against rising sea levels spur a conversation about climate change and Florida’s environmental challenges. (New York Times)
• A conservative group holds a Miami rally to support “market-based” climate change solutions that environmentalists say don’t go far enough toward making needed change. (Reuters)
COMMENTARY:
• “Massive misinformation campaigns” against wind energy development are costing rural Kansas communities millions of dollars in new tax revenue, a clean energy advocate says. (Kansas Reflector)
• As Florida suffers intensive effects of climate change, its lawmakers are choosing to treat only the symptoms rather than the root cause of fossil fuels, writes a coastal organizer. (Pensacola News Journal)