TRANSITION: The Trump administration is scrambling to weaken environmental protections before the inauguration, with advocates warning of “other disruptive executive actions” in Trump’s final days as president. (The Hill)
ALSO:
• Details have not yet emerged on President-elect Biden’s plans for oil and gas activity on federal land. (E&E News)
• Climate advocates hope the Biden administration will return the Bureau of Land Management headquarters to Washington, D.C. (E&E News)
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CLIMATE:
• Two U.S. oil and gas companies announce plans for reaching net-zero emissions, but neither seem to be taking steps toward developing renewable energy. (InsideClimate News)
• Former FERC chair Neil Chatterjee says it was a “mistake” not to give states a more prominent role in carbon pricing discussions. (Utility Dive)
• A draft of Maine’s new climate plan calls for 100% of car sales in the state to be electric by 2050, rapid increases in weatherization and heat pump installations, and other measures. (Bangor Daily News)
• Down-ballot results from last week’s Western elections could have significant climate and environmental impacts. (Los Angeles Times)
SOLAR:
• A bipartisan House bill would make it easier for solar companies to take advantage of the Investment Tax Credit. (The Hill)
• The Red Lake Band of Chippewa Indians seeks to ramp up solar installations at its northern Minnesota reservation while hopefully serving as a model for other tribes, officials say. (Energy News Network)
CLEAN ENERGY:
• Mayors in Kentucky, Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia call for a “Marshall Plan for Middle America” to replace 100,000 fossil fuel jobs in the Ohio River Valley with climate-friendly industry. (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)
• Tri-State Generation & Transmission announces plans to reduce emissions associated with its Colorado wholesale electricity sales by 80% by 2030. (Craig Daily Press)
HYDROPOWER: Under a unique purchase agreement, 21 public utilities in Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Vermont agree to buy power from dams on the Connecticut River to displace natural gas. (Salem News)
PIPELINES:
• Two Minnesota agencies approve key permits for the Line 3 pipeline reroute and expansion, and labor officials say construction could begin as early as next month after a few remaining permits are secured. (MPR News)
• A circuit court judge orders tree sitters blocking the Mountain Valley Pipeline to leave a southwestern Virginia encampment they have occupied for more than two years. (Roanoke Times)
ELECTRIC VEHICLES:
• Ford unveils the electric version of its Transit cargo van, promising business customers in particular lower long-term operational costs. (Detroit News)
• A new study finds that rural drivers could save more than $1,900 per year by switching from gasoline to electric. (Union of Concerned Scientists)
• Colorado regulators are considering Xcel Energy’s proposal to spend $102 million over three years to increase the number of electric vehicles on the state’s roads. (Denver Post)
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BIOFUEL: A downturn in the restaurant industry due to the COVID-19 pandemic is reducing the availability of used fryer oil — a key feedstock for biodiesel refineries. (Bloomberg)
COMMENTARY:
• Military spending could provide the Biden administration a quick way to make progress on clean energy. (Quartz)
• A legal scholar warns that presidential executive orders can sometimes take a year or more to finalize. (Bloomberg)