CARBON CAPTURE: A labor-backed group run by a former Obama administration official proposes a national pipeline network to transport captured carbon emissions, which climate activists say could backfire by providing a lifeline to coal-fired power plants. (DeSmog)
GRID:
• The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission launched its first major grid reform rulemaking in a decade last week in anticipation of major electricity decarbonization. (E&E News)
• FERC’s Democratic commissioners also discussed the need for a regional transmission organization in the West to boost reliability amid ongoing heat waves. (Utility Dive)
• The Department of Energy is seeking information and feedback to define “energysheds” — areas of the U.S., like watersheds, that map where energy flows to and from. (Grist)
OIL & GAS:
• The COVID-19 pandemic could vastly change driving habits and other energy consumption, but researchers forecast oil demand is still likely to keep growing through 2030. (E&E News, subscription)
• Oil giants publicly claim they support climate measures and a shift from fossil fuels, but their donations to the American Petroleum Institute are funding a fight against the clean energy transition. (The Guardian)
NATURAL GAS:
• The U.S. EPA investigates whether racism played a part in Philadelphia’s permitting of a natural gas plant in an already heavily polluted community of color. (WHYY)
• A new Connecticut law requires electric distributors to solicit 30 MW of new fuel cell generation, but critics say the technology relies too heavily on natural gas to be considered renewable energy. (Energy News Network)
COAL:
• Environmental groups criticize the EPA’s decision to retain Trump-era coal ash rules as too accommodating and likely to leave communities vulnerable to spills. (E&E News, subscription)
• A congressional bill recently advanced by the U.S. Senate’s energy committee includes funding to clean up abandoned energy infrastructure and mine lands, which could boost West Virginia’s economy. (WV News)
• A new owner could help North Dakota’s largest coal plant avoid a planned closure, though environmental groups and analysts say adding carbon capture and storage at the plant is an expensive distraction. (Inside Climate News)
• While environmentalists have cheered the impending retirement of a Pennsylvania coal plant, community members and their representatives worry about the ripple effects of losing dozens of steady jobs. (Trib Live)
PUBLIC LANDS: Republicans continue to call on President Biden to revoke his nominee to lead the Bureau of Land Management, Tracy Stone-Manning, over her involvement in an environmental protest decades ago. (The Hill)
UTILITIES:
• New Mexico civic and environmental justice groups accuse the state’s attorney general of violating ethics rules as he negotiated the proposed merger between Public Service Company of New Mexico and Avangrid. (Searchlight New Mexico)
• The head of Oregon’s largest electricity utility says it is prepared to cut power this summer to reduce the risk of sparking wildfires. (Bloomberg)
POLITICS:
• Democrats’ budget reconciliation bill focused on infrastructure will propose polluter import fees, a party aide said. (The Hill)
• Biden administration domestic policy adviser Susan Rice divests nearly $2.7 million worth of shares in Enbridge. (ABC News)
NUCLEAR: A Maine town is one of hundreds nationwide waiting in limbo for a federal strategy to handle their spent nuclear fuel. (Bangor Daily News)
COMMENTARY: Carbon tariffs are a “political gimmick” and enforcement nightmare that won’t actually benefit the climate, a columnist argues. (Washington Post)