EMISSIONS: The Senate votes to undo a Trump administration rollback of methane emissions limits, sending it to the House for a likely confirmation. (Washington Post)
POLITICS:
• President Biden highlights clean energy promises in his first address to Congress, including his commitment to make the U.S. a leader in electric vehicle and battery production. (The Hill)
• Biden achieved a handful of his climate pledges during his first 100 days but has so far not permanently banned new oil and gas leases or ended fossil fuel subsidies. (Grist)
• U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai warns that a trade war over clean energy could hurt global efforts to fight climate change. (E&E News, subscription)
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ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE:
• U.S. air pollution disproportionately affects people of color, a study finds, no matter the state they live in or their income level. (Washington Post)
• Activists and lawmakers plan to make sure Massachusetts follows through on environmental justice provisions in the state’s massive climate bill signed into law last month. (Energy News Network)
TRANSITION:
• The historically coal-reliant Tennessee Valley Authority considers phasing out the last of its aging coal power plants by 2035 — possibly to begin new lives as sites for small nuclear reactors. (Chattanooga Times Free Press, Reuters)
• U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia introduces bills to extend a reclamation fee paid by coal companies and to accelerate spending for projects on abandoned mine land to stimulate economic activity. (E&E News, subscription)
CLEAN ENERGY: Building enough wind, solar and other renewable energy sources to achieve an emissions-free grid by 2035 will require a chunk of land the size of South Dakota, an estimate suggests. (Bloomberg)
SOLAR: More local governments will get access to a Department of Energy-funded app that speeds up building permitting processes, including those for building rooftop solar projects. (Canary Media)
PIPELINES:
• The U.S. Supreme Court hears oral arguments in a case over whether a private energy company should be able to seize state land to build the PennEast pipeline. (Reuters)
• Shutting down the Line 5 pipeline could further strain ties between the U.S. and Canada, which has increasingly stepped up pressure to keep the line open in the Straits of Mackinac. (Associated Press)
CLIMATE: New research finds a California program allowing forest owners to sell carbon credits isn’t achieving genuine climate benefits, allowing polluters to discharge more CO2 equal to the annual emissions of 8.5 million cars at the extreme end. (ProPublica)
OIL & GAS: A nationwide trucking workforce shortage could disrupt available supplies of gasoline for consumers. (NBC News)
ELECTRIC VEHICLES: The number of electric vehicles worldwide will likely grow from 11 million today to 145 million by 2030, a report predicts, though the number could hit 230 million if governments encourage production. (Guardian)
GRID: A new analysis by Texas’ grid operator finds that lost wind power generation played a smaller role in February’s outages than first thought, contradicting Republicans who’ve loudly blamed wind and solar. (Texas Tribune)
NUCLEAR: The Indian Point nuclear plant just outside of New York City will shut down for good on Friday, following years of environmental and safety concerns. (Associated Press)
OFFSHORE WIND: Maine Gov. Janet Mills’ office proposes a decade-long moratorium on new offshore wind power projects in state waters in a bid to ease fishing industry frustration over development plans. (Portland Press Herald)
COMMENTARY:
• The federal government needs to coordinate its climate services, uniting adaptation efforts and risk analyses from all departments under one body, two former federal climate officials write. (The Hill)
• Restrictions on how rural school districts can spend revenue from wind development has limited the impact on student achievement, researchers find. (The Conversation)