POLITICS: Sen. Joe Manchin is reportedly pushing Democrats to drop or weaken a proposed methane emissions fee from their spending bill, though Democrats remain adamant they’ll include the fee in some form. (Reuters, E&E News)
ALSO:
• Democratic congress members and the White House aim to finalize their reconciliation bill this week, drawing close to a $1.75 trillion package as disagreements over climate provisions remain. (Bloomberg)
• The reconciliation package contains about $235 billion in clean energy subsidies, including funding for wind and solar, electric vehicles, and carbon capture. (E&E News)
• Fossil fuel companies and utilities have ramped up lobbying spending in recent months as Democrats debate their climate agenda. (E&E News)
CLIMATE:
• The world has made progress on climate change, but far more drastic action is needed to avoid devastating impacts in the decades ahead, data show. (New York Times)
• Indigenous advocates from Western states will demand a greater voice in climate change efforts at next week’s COP26 conference. (Arizona Republic)
• A Biden administration report details how climate change could exacerbate national security threats, including by dislocating people, heightening economic uncertainty and fueling conflict. (New York Times)
WIND: Spain’s Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy will partner with Dominion Energy to build the U.S.’s first wind turbine blade factory in Virginia near a site where Dominion is building turbines for an offshore wind facility. (Associated Press, Reuters)
ELECTRIC VEHICLES:
• Rental car company Hertz orders 100,000 Teslas as part of a plan to electrify its stock, with the first Model 3s available for rental starting in November. (The Verge)
• Kentucky vies with Alabama, Texas, Indiana and Missouri to land a Toyota automotive plant that will make electric vehicle batteries. (Paducah Sun)
GRID:
• As Puerto Rico aims to get all its power from clean sources by 2050, residents wonder why the island is installing natural gas infrastructure as it rebuilds from recent storms and still experiences regular blackouts. (Inside Climate News)
• Northeastern utilities prepare for power outages ahead of the region’s first fall nor’easter, with Eversource anticipating up to 125,000 customers may lose power. (NBC Boston)
• Grid operators MISO and Southwest Power Pool plan an interregional project meant to reduce transmission congestion between the two grid territories. (RTO Insider, subscription)
OIL & GAS:
• The U.S. EPA plans to soon release two draft rules that would ensure methane reduction rules apply to old, leakier oil and gas facilities and all parts of the petroleum production process. (E&E News)
• A civil rights complaint prompts the U.S. EPA to investigate New York environmental officials’ approval of National Grid’s North Brooklyn natural gas pipeline. (BKReader)
EMISSIONS:
• Long-term exposure to air pollution reshapes the body’s cells in ways that makes people more vulnerable to COVID-19, research finds — likely highlighting one reason the pandemic hit communities of color especially hard. (St. Louis Public Radio)
• Methane emissions from the Boston area’s natural gas infrastructure may be six times higher than earlier estimates and aren’t decreasing despite efforts to plug leaks, according to new research. (WBUR)
HYDROPOWER: A federal judge strikes down a Trump-era regulation limiting state and tribal regulation of water pollution, potentially giving tribes more power to fight Northwest hydroelectric dams. (E&E News)
COMMENTARY: A consultant and former Michigan utility regulator says the U.S. needs proactive policies to spur domestic solar manufacturing and help relieve supply chain disruptions from China. (Utility Dive)