CLEAN ENERGY: The U.S. is already halfway to a zero-carbon electricity grid, a study suggests, as actual electricity sector emissions in 2020 were 52% lower than what experts in 2005 predicted they would be. (Bloomberg)
ALSO:
• Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm suggests Democrats develop a clean electricity standard that could be passed with the filibuster-proof reconciliation process, though it would depend on unanimous party support. (Axios)
• Private equity invested a record $23.7 billion in U.S. renewables in 2020, as well as more than $11 billion in other clean tech applications. (Axios)
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PIPELINES:
• Canadian officials tell the Biden administration that the Line 5 pipeline in Michigan is “nonnegotiable” as tensions mount over the project’s future. (Bloomberg)
• U.S. House Republicans warn that the Biden administration’s opposition to Keystone XL could have negative implications for other pipeline projects under scrutiny, including Line 5. (E&E News, subscription)
INFRASTRUCTURE:
• Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg emphasizes the importance of broadening EV accessibility and also ensuring “people have alternatives to bringing two tons of metal along with them everywhere they go.” (Grist)
• The White House does not plan to raise the federal gas tax as part of its infrastructure package, Press Secretary Jen Psaki says, despite a report suggesting otherwise. (The Hill)
CLIMATE:
• Climate envoy John Kerry says the U.S. won’t compromise on human rights when making emissions reductions agreements with China and emphasizes “accountability” ahead of a visit to the country. (Wall Street Journal)
• The Biden administration says it’s close to securing increased emissions reductions pledges from Japan, South Korea, and Canada. (New York Times)
OIL & GAS:
• Oil executives, utilities and other big companies are meeting with U.S. senators to push them toward pricing carbon. (E&E News, subscription)
• A U.S. appeals court upholds a lower court’s decision preserving the Obama administration’s ban on oil and gas drilling in parts of the Arctic and Atlantic Oceans. (The Hill)
• The EPA is asking a Virgin Islands oil refinery for information regarding a February flaring incident that showered oil on surrounding residents and contaminated their water supply. (Inside Climate News)
• A proposed California bill that would have banned fracking and eliminated other forms of oil extraction fails to pass a state senate committee, though the committee advanced three other oil industry-focused measures. (Los Angeles Times, Desert Sun)
OFFSHORE WIND:
• Chevron makes its first investment in offshore wind, putting an undisclosed amount of money into the commercialization of floating wind turbine technology. (Forbes)
• Ørsted and PSEG intend to interconnect their 1.1 GW Ocean Wind project to the grid at decommissioned nuclear and coal plants along New Jersey’s southern coast. (NJ.com)
UTILITIES: Oklahoma lawmakers plan to propose issuing bonds for more than $4.5 billion in electricity costs from February’s storm, even as the question of who pays in Texas plays out in courts and in the state legislature. (CNHI/Claremore Daily Progress, Washington Post)
GRID:
• A top grid security official warns of “unprecedented” new cyberthreats from foreign countries that could temporarily disrupt critical infrastructure, including the electricity grid. (E&E News, subscription)
• Texas’ grid manager issued an electricity conservation watch despite normal spring weather, blaming a combination of capacity taken offline for maintenance and a stalled weather front and sparking larger concerns about energy demand through the summer. (Associated Press; E&E News, subscription)
• Federal Energy Regulatory Commission Chair Richard Glick says if PJM Interconnection stakeholders cannot revise the minimum offer price rule themselves before their December capacity auction. (Utility Dive)
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ELECTRIC VEHICLES:
• The president of a multigenerational family-owned Virginia car dealership greets the state’s sweeping new law to encourage electric vehicles as a “great first step” toward fighting climate change. (Energy News Network)
• A highly valued battery startup promises its breakthrough could extend electric vehicle ranges up to 50% over lithium-ion technology but hasn’t publicly revealed much proof of its development. (Bloomberg)
HYDROPOWER: A hydropower advocacy group pushes for wave-, tide- and current-powered energy generation to get a place in the Biden administration’s clean energy plans, saying they could become a critical baseload power source. (E&E News, subscription)