COAL: G7 countries agree to “overwhelmingly decarbonize” their power systems in the 2030s, but the U.S. and Japan block a deal to set an end date for coal use. (Politico)
ALSO:
• West Virginia lawmakers respond to a state audit warning about the pending insolvency of state mine cleanup funds by handing off the issue to its congressional delegation in hopes of winning federal funding. (Charleston Gazette-Mail, WV Metro News)
• U.S. Sen. Jon Tester urges the U.S. State Department to address pollution from Canadian coal mines that crosses the border into Montana. (Flathead Beacon)
• An expected compromise energy bill in Illinois would require the 1,600 MW Prairie State Energy Campus to close by 2035, more than a decade ahead of schedule. (E&E News, subscription)
OIL & GAS:
• Global demand for oil is expected to rebound to pre-pandemic levels by the end of next year, the International Energy Agency predicts. (Guardian)
• Royal Dutch Shell considers selling its holdings in Texas’ Permian Basin after a court orders it to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions. (Reuters)
• A troubled oil refinery in the U.S. Virgin Islands that sprayed oil mist twice this year could be at risk of bankruptcy due to significant loan defaults and a growing number of lawsuits. (Inside Climate News)
PIPELINES:
• Environmentalists emboldened by the cancellation of the Keystone XL pipeline press President Joe Biden to revoke permits for other projects. (Bloomberg)
• Tribes in Michigan look to assert treaty rights to help shut down Line 5 and block a planned pipeline tunnel in the Straits of Mackinac. (MLive)
• Dakota Access pipeline opponents ask a federal judge to require the developer and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to provide monthly updates on an extensive environmental review of the project. (Associated Press)
ELECTRIC VEHICLES:
• Lordstown Motors’ CEO and CFO resign days after the electric truck maker warned it’s far behind its production goals and could shut down. (CNBC)
• Electric trucks alone won’t resolve environmental justice concerns around a distribution center being built at a former coal plant site in Chicago’s Little Village neighborhood, residents say. (Energy News Network)
LITHIUM:
• A mining company postpones work on a major lithium project in Nevada in the wake of a lawsuit from environmentalists challenging the project’s Trump-era approval. (Reuters)
• Ranchers and Hualapai tribal members say a proposed lithium mine in Arizona would threaten their water supplies. (Phoenix New Times)
OFFSHORE WIND:
• The Biden administration formally announces its intent to sell leases for offshore wind farm development between New Jersey and New York’s Long Island. (New York Times)
• The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission approves a New England grid proposal opponents say could hurt the emerging offshore wind industry. (E&E News, subscription)
TRANSMISSION: Federal Energy Regulatory Commission Chair Richard Glick says the board will tackle transmission policy goals necessary to decarbonize the power grid this summer. (Utility Dive)
INFRASTRUCTURE: A bipartisan U.S. Senate group will try to push its infrastructure bill this week as Democrats prepare to go at it alone to preserve climate provisions, with a clean electricity standard hanging in the balance. (Washington Post, Inside Climate News)
FUEL CELLS: Residents of a coastal Connecticut town push back against a proposed 9.66 MW fuel cell power plant that would be sited in an area already full of light industrial facilities. (Energy News Network)
TRANSPORTATION: Rhode Island climate advocates still see pathways to join the Transportation and Climate Initiative, while Vermont and other states are in “wait and see mode.” (ecoRI news, Bennington Banner)