ELECTRIC VEHICLES: President Biden’s electric vehicle manufacturing strategy will reportedly lean on other countries to provide metals needed for batteries and focus on processing raw materials rather than mining. (Reuters)
CLEAN ENERGY:
• U.S. House Democrats seek GOP support for a reintroduced bill to encourage clean energy development on federal lands, noting the bill had bipartisan backing the last time it was introduced. (S&P Global)
• An Ohio Senate committee is set to take up legislation today that would give townships unprecedented control over wind and solar development. (Energy News Network)
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TRANSITION:
• White House climate adviser Gina McCarthy hedges expectations for an immediate shift from fossil fuels, as recommended by the International Energy Agency, noting that hundreds of natural gas projects are still in the works. (Reuters)
• West Virginia lawmakers balk at the International Energy Agency’s call for investors not to fund any new coal, oil or natural gas projects. (Charleston Gazette-Mail)
OIL & GAS:
• The Biden administration will revert to Obama-era practices when waiving offshore drilling safety regulations after environmental groups complained Trump administration standards weren’t transparent enough. (The Hill)
• The United Steelworkers and ExxonMobil dispute a contract at a Texas oil refinery as the broader oil and gas industry moves to cut labor costs. (In These Times)
• An oil well complex in South Los Angeles was deemed unsafe a year ago, but nothing has been done to mitigate the hazard. (Capital & Main)
SOLAR: As the Biden administration promises to create hundreds of thousands of solar jobs, questions remain surrounding who will train them and how unions will fit into the plan. (E&E News, subscription)
PIPELINES:
• The Dakota Access pipeline is in a much stronger position to continue operating after a recent court ruling and the Biden administration’s decision not to seek further intervention. (S&P Global)
• A federal judge denies North Dakota’s request to intervene in the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe’s case against the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ over the Dakota Access pipeline. (Bismarck Tribune)
GRID:
• Texas lawmakers draw close to approving roughly $7 billion in ratepayer-backed bonds to deal with the financial fallout from February’s winter storm and grid failures. (Texas Tribune)
• Rhode Island clean energy advocates want the state to require the potential buyer of Narragansett Electric’s power distribution system to detail how it will reach the state’s goal of 100% renewable energy by 2030. (Energy News Network)
OFFSHORE WIND: The South Fork wind farm agrees to Rhode Island coastal regulators’ request to reduce its number of turbines while maintaining capacity to mitigate fisheries and ecosystem harm. (Providence Journal)
POLLUTION: Eight attorneys general challenge EPA rules for calculating pollution from wood stoves, saying the current rules are prone to manipulation. (E&E News, subscription)
CLIMATE: The U.S. will double the amount of money it devotes to preparing communities for extreme weather as President Biden warns of expected busy wildfire and hurricane seasons. (Washington Post)
COMMENTARY:
• Texas’ storm-driven grid shutdown, the Colonial Pipeline hack and a bridge crack found over the Mississippi River show vulnerabilities in President Joe Biden’s infrastructure plan, write a team of reporters. (Bloomberg)
• Indigenous author and activist Winona LaDuke says pipeline protests against Enbridge in Minnesota and Michigan share similarities. (Inforum)