TRANSITION: As politicians pledge to create clean energy jobs for fossil fuel workers, experts say they fail to acknowledge salary gaps, a lack of long-term positions, or that fossil fuel workers may not have the skills or simply won’t want to take those new jobs. (Utility Dive)
UTILITIES:
• Research shows high bills and shutoffs by utilities played a role in putting Black, Brown and Indigenous communities at a disproportionate risk of hospitalization and death during the pandemic, even as companies received federal funds and boosted executive compensation. (Energy News Network)
• Environmental advocates say a Pennsylvania bill won’t give residents “energy choice” as advertised but will lock municipalities into whatever energy sources they currently have. (StateImpact Pennsylvania)
INFRASTRUCTURE:
• The U.S. House passes the bipartisan infrastructure bill, sending it to President Biden’s desk after progressives reverse their pledge to oppose the bill until the reconciliation package was passed. (New York Times)
• The $1.2 trillion package includes billions of dollars each to boost electric vehicle charging infrastructure, efficiency programs, battery storage, and the grid and devotes $47 billion to climate resilience. (E&E News)
• As U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin strips climate provisions from Democrats’ spending package, analyses suggest that not reducing emissions now will ensure West Virginia pays more in human and financial costs later. (Charleston Gazette-Mail)
• All U.S. Senate Democrats, save for Manchin, support including a carbon tax in the reconciliation bill. (Bloomberg)
CLIMATE:
• The U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to hear a case from the coal industry and a coalition of red states that seeks to limit the EPA’s ability to regulate emissions threatens President Biden’s climate plans. (Inside Climate News)
• Countries are vastly underreporting their greenhouse gas emissions and are basing their climate goals on these flawed data, an investigation finds. (Washington Post)
COP26:
• While young women are leading protests at the COP26 conference, older men continue to dominate decision-making when it comes to curbing climate change. (New York Times)
• Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm announces a major investment into carbon removal technology development with a goal of rapidly reducing its cost. (New York Times)
SOLAR: Vote Solar co-founder Adam Browning discusses why he devoted his work to pushing for solar power and what turned it into a success story as he prepares to step back from his leadership role. (Canary Media)
CLEAN ENERGY: California researchers find a combination of wind and solar power could supply about 80% of industrialized nations’ electricity demand even without additional storage. (news release)
TRANSMISSION:
• Maine’s environmental commissioner will consider the results of the recent referendum when deciding whether to suspend the permit for Central Maine Power’s much-derided transmission line, although the utility can continue construction in the meantime. (News Center Maine)
• Multiple ongoing legal disputes threaten to delay or cancel a 101-mile clean energy transmission project between Iowa and Wisconsin. (E&E News)
OIL & GAS:
• The Biden administration is considering tapping into the country’s petroleum reserve amid high crude prices, Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm says. (Politico)
• All 12 federally recognized tribes in Michigan send a letter to the Biden administration seeking support to shut down the Line 5 pipeline in the Straits of Mackinac. (Michigan Advance)