INFRASTRUCTURE: The U.S. Senate votes to move forward with a $1 trillion infrastructure bill that includes funding to build electric vehicle charging stations nationwide and $73 billion for clean energy expansion, but falls short of President Biden’s initial climate promises. (New York Times, NBC News)
ALSO: West Virginia electric vehicle and clean energy advocates press the state’s influential U.S. senators to ensure the state receives funding for climate-friendly projects from the federal infrastructure package. (WBOY, Charleston Gazette-Mail)
EMISSIONS:
• Critics are concerned the Biden administration’s reported plan to restore and surpass Obama-era tailpipe emissions rules will be implemented too gradually and fail to account for pollution released under the Trump administration. (E&E News)
• The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission says it may mandate publicly traded companies report greenhouse gas emissions, including by their suppliers and partners. (Reuters)
OVERSIGHT:
• Departing Federal Energy Regulatory Commission member Neil Chatterjee says his handling of a Trump-era push to elevate the value of coal and nuclear plants caused the issue to spiral into partisan politics. (E&E News)
• U.S. Rep. Sean Casten continues his “hot FERC summer” campaign to raise awareness of the regulatory board with a Fergie-inspired House floor speech. (The Hill)
ELECTRIC VEHICLES:
• The founder of electric truck startup Nikola is charged with securities fraud over allegedly misleading statements the company made to investors. (Axios)
• Electric vehicle advocates say proposed new federal building codes that are projected to cut energy costs lack electrification requirements that could prepare buildings for EV charging. (Utility Dive)
OIL & GAS:
• Indigenous author and activist Winona LaDuke on tribes’ ongoing protests against Line 3: “We’re gonna stand here and fight it out.” (Slate)
• A Florida law to prohibit localities from restricting fossil fuels smothers Tampa’s efforts to transition to clean energy through a ban on new natural gas infrastructure. (Grist)
• In Connecticut, some clean air advocates claim plans to convert a natural gas-fired power plant to hydrogen won’t have any environmental benefit if natural gas is used to make the hydrogen. (New Haven Register)
COAL:
• About 1,100 striking Alabama miners are joined by union advocates from across the country in a rally against Warrior Met Coal outside BlackRock’s headquarters in New York City. (Guardian, Bloomberg)
• U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia received nearly $500,000 — more than twice his salary as a senator — from shares in a coal company that acts as a contractor for one of the state’s dirtiest coal plants, according to financial disclosures. (Vice)
• The Biden administration slashed Arch Resources’ coal royalty rate at two of its Colorado and Wyoming mines, lowering costs for the company in contradiction with the president’s pledges to reduce fossil fuel dependence. (E&E News, subscription)
EFFICIENCY: Computer giant Dell will no longer ship some versions of its gaming products to California, Oregon, Hawaii, Washington and Colorado because the PCs do not meet new energy efficiency standards. (Guardian)
BIOFUELS: More than 40 U.S. ethanol plants pledge to help the Biden administration reach net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. (Farm and Dairy)
GRID: Tesla customers in California will not be paid to participate in a “virtual grid” by sending excess power from Powerwall batteries back to the grid during times of high demand. (Canary Media)
COMMENTARY: A climate reporter explains why the importance of transmission in decarbonizing the U.S.’s power supply led him to starting “caring about power lines.” (The Atlantic)