OIL & GAS: A company’s strategy of buying used oil and gas wells to wring the last trickles of production from them worries environmental advocates who say the sites will be difficult to permanently plug once they’re depleted. (Bloomberg Green)

ALSO:
• Utilities still own thousands of manufactured gas plants across the U.S. — and the responsibility for cleaning up the hazardous sites — though complicated remediation, uncertain locations and high costs have left many sites still unattended. (Utility Dive)
• California’s justice department launches an investigation into causes of the Southern California oil spill and what could have been done to prevent or mitigate the disaster. (Washington Post)
• Rising crude oil prices leave Louisiana’s oil and gas industry largely unaffected, with drillers still hesitant to spend money on new wells amid concerns the prices are temporary and the Biden administration will enact new restrictions. (Advocate)

ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE: Advocates who demand assessments of harmful highways and infrastructure fear they’ll be left out as congressional Democrats trim their reconciliation bill. (New York Times)

TRANSMISSION:
• Energy consultants offer a road map for how the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission should overhaul transmission planning to ensure clean energy can quickly and affordably come online. (E&E News)
• The developers of a disputed transmission project in Maine have already clear-cut roughly half of its “new corridor” section,” but one leading activist says there’s still time to stop the line before access roads are built. (News Center Maine)

CLIMATE:
• More than 30 countries have so far joined the U.S. and European Union’s pledge to reduce their methane emissions by a third by 2030, though many of the world’s biggest emitters haven’t signed on. (Washington Post)
• U.S. climate envoy John Kerry suggests world leaders are prepared to make even more climate commitments at the upcoming COP26 summit. (Guardian)
• Protests at the White House yesterday led to 136 arrests, including many Indigenous leaders opposing fossil fuel projects. (DeSmog)

CLEAN ENERGY: A study finds deploying renewable energy can lead individuals to consume more power, leading to increased emissions if fossil fuels are still part of their energy mix. (KUER)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES: Kentucky and Tennessee offered hundreds of millions of dollars in grants, performance loans, and workforce development funding to lure Ford’s recently announced electric vehicle and battery manufacturing plants. (Courier Journal)

SOLAR: Developers of a proposed northern Arizona 480 MW solar facility say it will be among the largest in the nation and will create 550 construction jobs. (Flagstaff Business News)

OVERSIGHT: A full accounting of the $60 million Ohio power plant bailout law scandal remains out of reach as multiple entities fail to disclose all documents to advocates, lawmakers, regulators and the public. (Eye on Ohio / Energy News Network)

STORAGE: Yakama Nation leaders say a 1,200 MW pumped hydro storage facility proposed for southern Washington state threatens tribal sacred sites. (Yakima Herald)

COMMENTARY: North Carolina’s comprehensive energy bill offers hope for U.S. climate progress and important lessons for policymakers about persistence and compromise, writes a renewable power company official. (Energy News Network)

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.