SOLAR: Adopting policies to boost the U.S. solar industry, such as tax credits for installations and manufacturing facilities, could lead solar to supply more than 40% of the country’s electricity by 2035, a U.S. Energy Department memo says. (Reuters)
ALSO:
• The Biden administration’s ban on solar imports stemming from one Chinese company has held up shipments from other companies, delaying installations and complicating the U.S.’s rapid solar deployment goals. (Bloomberg)
• A new group of U.S. solar companies asks the Biden administration to levy tariffs on Chinese-linked solar imports that are routed through other countries to avoid additional charges. (E&E News)
HYDROGEN:
• Researchers at a federal lab report progress developing a technique that uses a laser to heat and compress hydrogen, which could potentially ignite and release limitless clean energy via fusion. (BBC)
• Hydrogen energy supporters see potential for the fuel in everything from energy storage to decarbonizing natural gas but current regulations limit its applications. (Utility Dive)
ELECTRIC VEHICLES: Manufacturers are developing prototypes for electrified farming vehicles and equipment but face logistical challenges with charging infrastructure, durability and reliability. (Energy News Network)
EMISSIONS:
• Climate activists are urging President Biden to require heavy-duty truck manufacturers sharply cut nitrogen oxide emissions, and to tackle the problem before his “Clean Trucks Plan” rolls out next year. (Bloomberg)
• A Congress member from Louisiana requests federal, third-party monitoring of air emissions of “nearly 150 oil refineries, plastics plants and chemical plants” to determine their effects on vulnerable communities. (The Advocate)
OIL & GAS:
• U.S. health professionals join in protest against the Line 3 pipeline, saying the expansion jeopardizes human health and the environment. (Grist)
• Oklahoma landowners accuse a federal pipeline inspector of collusion with an energy company over a gas transmission line. (E&E News, subscription)
UTILITIES:
• Pacific Gas & Electric shuts off power to 51,000 homes to reduce the risk of sparking another fire as the Dixie Fire — possibly ignited by the utility’s equipment — grows beyond 600,000 acres and threatens the town of Susanville. (Los Angeles Times)
• The Memphis city council passes a resolution asking the Tennessee Valley Authority not to bury coal ash from the retired Allen Fossil Plant within the municipal utility’s territory — a symbolic gesture that also foreshadows whether the utility will continue to buy power from TVA. (Commercial Appeal)
• A Virginia electric co-op pitches a 20% fee increase critics say will harm low- and moderate-income customers and discourage consumer investment in solar or energy efficiency. (Energy News Network)
WIND: A South Korean company takes over operations at the world’s largest wind tower factory and pledges to create more jobs at the Colorado plant. (Pueblo Chieftain)
POLITICS: Rep. Sean Casten discusses his “Hot FERC Summer” campaign to raise awareness of the regulator and its power in decarbonizing the U.S. grid. (Canary Media)
COMMENTARY: State utility regulators should start modeling risk associated with extreme weather events and place value on climate mitigation tools as a way to make the power grid more resilient, an Illinois regulator says in a joint op-ed. (Utility Dive)