PIPELINES: Multiple pipeline projects are emerging as flashpoints for the Biden administration as it balances clean energy targets and crucial fossil fuel infrastructure. (Inside Climate News)

ALSO:
• The Colonial Pipeline announces it has restored full service, but President Biden cautions restarting fuel shipments is “not like flicking on a light switch” and discourages further gasoline panic buying. (The Hill, Politico)
• Republicans weaponize the Colonial Pipeline shutdown and resulting gas shortage, misleadingly suggesting President Joe Biden’s administration not only mishandled the incident but possibly engineered it. (Associated Press)
• Colonial Pipeline paid close to $5 million to hackers to restore operations, people familiar with the transaction say, after the company publicly said it wouldn’t pay the ransom. (Bloomberg)
• Analysts predict Northeast gasoline inventories may fall to five-year lows even as President Biden says fuel supplies should begin to normalize this weekend, while shortages continue across the Southeast. (Reuters)

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OFFSHORE WIND: Offshore wind developers have new confidence about their projects’ timelines following federal approval of Vineyard Wind, the country’s first utility-scale offshore wind project. (Energy News Network)

SOLAR: A report details further evidence of how China’s solar panel industry relies on forced labor as the U.S. considers sanctioning China for the abuses. (CNN; E&E News, subscription)

OIL & GAS:
• The oil and gas industry turns to moving gas with tanker trucks to meet escalating demand amid the Colonial Pipeline shutdown, but the shift brings its own problems. (Wired)
• A report from Harvard University researchers discusses how ExxonMobil crafted its public rhetoric over the past 20 years to “downplay its role in the climate crisis” and shift responsibility onto consumers. (Inside Climate News)
• Louisiana’s Democratic governor and one of its Republican U.S. senators use a congressional committee hearing to call on President Biden to end a moratorium on offshore oil and gas leases by summer. (WGNO)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES:
• In a move that caught supporters off guard, Washington Gov. Jay Inslee yesterday vetoed a bill that would phase out sales of new gasoline cars in the state by 2030, objecting to a road usage fee tied to the measure. (Electrek)
• A House committee advances a measure authorizing $8 billion for the U.S. Postal Service to buy more electric vehicles. (Bloomberg)
• Hyundai will invest $7.4 billion by 2025 to upgrade factories in Alabama and Georgia to make electric vehicles. (Reuters)

GRID: Construction may continue on a segment of Central Maine Power’s controversial transmission project after an appeals court decides a lawsuit seeking to revoke one of the project’s federal permits is unlikely to succeed. (Portland Press Herald)

COAL: Coal shipments to the U.S. energy sector hit their lowest level in 15 years last year due to a combination of pandemic shutdowns and shrinking demand. (Canary Media)

UTILITIES: Xcel Energy CEO Ben Fowke will retire in August after helping make the utility a national leader in clean energy; Fowke will stay on as executive chairman of the utility’s board. (Star Tribune)

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OVERSIGHT: The Biden administration moves to reverse a Trump-era rule that made it harder for the EPA to regulate air pollution. (New York Times)

COMMENTARY:
• A clean-energy advocate outlines steps to help generation and transmission co-ops accelerate coal retirements and clean energy adoption. (Utility Dive)
• The chair of the Suquamish Tribe says the Biden administration’s infrastructure plan is a “bold, yet practical” initiative that helps address energy, climate and transportation issues facing Indigenous communities. (Crosscut)

Kathryn brings her extensive editorial background to the Energy News Network team, where she oversees the early-morning production of ENN’s five email digest newsletters as well as distribution of ENN’s original journalism with other media outlets. From documenting chronic illness’ effect on college students to following the inner workings of Congress, Kathryn has built a broad experience in her more than five years working at major publications including The Week Magazine. Kathryn holds a Bachelor of Science in magazine journalism and information management and technology from Syracuse University.