GRID: A concept to rewire existing transmission line towers with higher capacity cables gains traction in the Biden administration, as studies show it could help move more clean electricity while bypassing years of permitting and construction. (E&E News)

CLIMATE:
• Republican senators rally around measures to cut climate spending in President Biden’s 2024 budget even as millions of Americans face extreme heat and flooding. (E&E News, Guardian)
• As Vermont begins to recover from widespread flood damage, few residents have flood insurance policies, a trend mirrored across the country as the flood insurance market has contracted. (Heatmap)
• Arizona joins the U.S. Climate Alliance for the first time, while Nevada withdraws from the coalition of governors looking to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. (Arizona Republic, Nevada Independent)   

CARBON CAPTURE:
• The U.S. Agriculture Department announces a $300 million initiative to determine how much of the country’s greenhouse gas emissions can be captured and sequestered through agricultural practices. (New York Times)
• Several of the world’s biggest oil companies are investing in direct-air carbon capture projects that can reap them federal dollars for sequestering the greenhouse gas. (E&E News)

POLITICS: Some companies are quietly removing climate commitments from their websites to avoid dealing with Republican lawmakers angry about environmental goals or environmentalists who think they don’t go far enough. (Washington Post)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES:
• Environmental groups call for a study of whether the planned construction of a Scout Motors electric vehicle plant in South Carolina would trigger increased pollution and flooding in nearby Black communities. (The State)
• Ford asks the United Auto Workers union for flexibility to reduce production in case the EV market lags. (Bloomberg)

ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE:
• Advocates deliver Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson a local “Green New Deal” proposal that aims to tackle energy affordability, clean energy job opportunities and environmental justice curricula in schools. (Inside Climate News)
• Advocates push back against a proposed hydrogen pipeline that would cross the Navajo Nation, saying it is a perpetuation of the energy colonialism that has ravaged the region for over a century. (Capital & Main)

OIL & GAS:
• An energy developer announces it’ll develop a 750-acre gas liquefaction plant and export terminal at a Texas port that until now was the state’s last major deepwater port undeveloped by large fossil fuel projects. (Inside Climate News)
• California has slowed oil and gas well permitting nearly to a halt, issuing just seven drilling permits so far this year compared to 200 by this date in 2022. (Reuters)

SOLAR: Researchers find many agricultural crops in the arid West thrive in the shade of solar arrays, further demonstrating agrivoltaics’ feasibility. (Ensia)

INNOVATION:
• A California company creates a carbon-negative cement that an engineering firm says is structurally and chemically the same as conventional cement. (Washington Post)
• Purdue University scientists create the world’s whitest paint, which reflects as much as 98% of the sun’s rays, and partner with a company  to roll it out for commercial use. (New York Times)

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Kathryn brings her extensive editorial background to the Energy News Network team, where she oversees the early-morning production of ENN’s five email digest newsletters as well as distribution of ENN’s original journalism with other media outlets. From documenting chronic illness’ effect on college students to following the inner workings of Congress, Kathryn has built a broad experience in her more than five years working at major publications including The Week Magazine. Kathryn holds a Bachelor of Science in magazine journalism and information management and technology from Syracuse University.