CLIMATE: A new study finds U.S. cities are underestimating their greenhouse gas emissions by an average of nearly 20%. (New York Times)
ALSO:
• A Department of Energy study released last week finds the U.S. could reach net-zero emissions by 2050 at a cost of about $1 per day per person. (Utility Dive)
• Democrats are incorporating lessons from 2009’s failed cap-and-trade effort into their current push for more aggressive climate action. (E&E News)
• White House climate adviser Gina McCarthy says the administration is in talks with the utility and automotive sectors about reducing emissions. (Reuters)
TRANSPORTATION:
• The Biden administration seeks to pause litigation on whether California can set its own vehicle emissions standards; and a group representing major automakers including Toyota and Hyundai has withdrawn from the challenge. (The Hill)
• A new report from ACEEE ranks state efforts to electrify transportation, with California and New York topping the list. (news release)
OIL & GAS:
• ExxonMobil, BP and Chevron announce annual losses totalling more than $47 billion, largely because of depressed prices due to the pandemic. (The Hill)
• An analyst says ExxonMobil’s recent announcement of a $3 billion emissions-cutting plan was to placate large investment firms and does not significantly change the company’s trajectory. (Inside Climate News)
PIPELINES:
• A Minnesota appeals court denies two tribes’ request to stop construction on the Line 3 pipeline. (Associated Press)
• U.S. House and Senate lawmakers introduce legislation to revive the Keystone XL pipeline, though it faces unlikely odds in Congress. (E&E News, subscription)
• Public records debunk an emerging conspiracy theory that President Biden canceled the Keystone XL pipeline to benefit Warren Buffet. (Reuters)
NUCLEAR: Supporters and detractors of continued subsidies for New Jersey’s nuclear plants square off in public hearings before state regulators who will determine if they should be continued. (NJ Spotlight)
WIND:
• Federal data show that U.S. wind production set new daily and hourly records in September. (news release)
• Residents of a Long Island town sue after officials approve an easement for an underground cable to connect the South Fork offshore wind farm to a substation, and fishing groups say they have reached an impasse in negotiations with the project’s developer. (East Hampton Star, Providence Journal)
SOLAR:
• Demand for a Duke Energy solar rebate program far outstrips its availability, as the slots available in its fourth year filled up in fewer than three minutes. (Energy News Network)
• Advocates push a bill in Iowa to double a cap on state solar tax credits as the waitlist for the program grows longer. (Energy News Network)
• A new report says solar generation in 2019 accounted for 4.3% of load in the New England grid, putting the region only behind California and ahead of its eastern counterparts. (PV Magazine)
• Newly-introduced legislation in Wyoming would impose a $1 tax on each megawatt hour of electricity produced from larger solar energy facilities. (Casper Star-Tribune)
COAL: Alliant Energy plans to close Wisconsin’s second-largest coal plant by 2025, which utility officials say will save $250 million in maintenance and upgrade costs. (Wisconsin State Journal)
COMMENTARY:
• An eastern Kentucky newspaper greets President Biden’s action on climate change with hope, but also skepticism that dwindling fossil fuel-related jobs will be replaced by new economic growth. (Appalachian News-Express)
• The Los Angeles Times says the Biden administration needs to withdraw the Trump administration’s plan that targeted the state’s deserts for renewable energy development.