CLIMATE: A United Nations initiative releases a plan that would help the U.S. reach net-zero emissions by 2050, projected to cost 0.4% of GDP while creating 2.5 million new jobs. (The Hill)
ALSO:
• A new analysis projects $11 trillion will be spent developing clean energy in the coming decades but will still not be enough to limit warming to 2 degrees celsius by 2100. (Bloomberg)
• The Trump administration is taking further steps to limit climate change communications from NOAA in the runup to the election. (New York Times)
• Advocates push Joe Biden to use financial regulation to help fight climate change if he is elected president. (Reuters)
SOLAR: A U.S. trade court rejects President Trump’s effort to expand solar tariffs, saying that proposed fees on two-sided panels could not be enforced. (E&E News)
WIND:
• Rhode Island Gov. Gina Raimondo says the state is looking to procure another 600 MW of offshore wind and its main utility will solicit developers early next year. (Providence Journal)
• Grid operators and offshore wind advocates tell federal regulators rules for transmission interconnections and cost allocation must be overhauled to allow for cost-efficient and timely additions of proposed projects. (RTO Insider, subscription)
GRID:
• A new report says electricity consumption in the U.S. is unlikely to fully rebound even as the coronavirus pandemic eases. (Houston Chronicle)
• Electricity-sector emissions and coal and gas use at power plants have already peaked because of the coronavirus pandemic, according to a new report. (E&E News, subscription)
CLEAN ENERGY: A series of graphics shows how each state’s energy mix has changed from 2001 to 2019. (New York Times)
OIL & GAS:
• The Bureau of Land Management approves a $4 billion oil project in the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska. (Anchorage Daily News)
• Energy firms evacuate workers from offshore rigs as the Gulf Coast readies for Hurricane Zeta. (Reuters)
PIPELINES: A Native American group asks Minnesota regulators to investigate Enbridge’s recent pipeline capacity additions, arguing a Line 3 replacement and expansion project is no longer necessary. (Star Tribune)
NUCLEAR: The Oregon-based company behind the first small modular nuclear reactor complex in the U.S. faces significant safety questions. (Greentech Media)
COAL: The Trump administration finalizes a coal industry-backed rule that changes the timeline for how states respond to reports of mining violations. (Bloomberg Law)
POLITICS:
• Many Democrats see the Green New Deal as a winning issue even as President Trump tries to turn it into a wedge. (The Hill)
• President Trump is reportedly pushing for a federal report showing economic benefits of fracking, which observers see as a play to win votes in the key swing state of Pennsylvania. (Wall Street Journal/The Hill)
• North Carolina’s down-ballot races for lieutenant governor and the state legislature could shape the future of climate and clean energy policy in the state. (Energy News Network)
COMMENTARY:
• Vox writer David Roberts says the controversy over Joe Biden’s energy comments is “absurd,” noting that most Americans support action on climate change.
• An energy think tank says securitization can help utilities retire uneconomic power plants more quickly, but policy support will be needed. (Greentech Media)
• A longtime energy consultant and regulatory staffer says efforts to revive the coal industry are “nostalgia, not serious policy.” (St. Louis Post-Dispatch)