ELECTRIC VEHICLES: A new Biden administration plan aims to build electric semi-truck chargers along high-traffic sections of highway across the country, largely in the Northeast, on the West Coast, and in Texas. (The Hill)
ALSO:
- Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp responds to Rivian’s announcement it will at least delay construction of an electric vehicle plant in the state, saying the state will hold the company to its plans since it put up $1.5 billion in incentives. (WSB)
- The Biden administration seeks information on how automakers’ adoption of Tesla’s electric vehicle charging standard could affect plans for a nationwide charger buildout. (Utility Dive)
- A southern California port unveils the nation’s first all-electric tug boat and expects to begin operations next month. (San Diego Union-Tribune)
POLITICS: President Biden’s proposed 2025 federal budget includes more funding for community energy programs, transmission planning and permitting, and offshore wind siting and construction, among other clean energy programs. (Utility Dive)
CLIMATE:
- Methane has caused about 30% of global temperature increases the world has seen so far, the International Energy Agency finds, and says cracking down on leaks is essential to curbing climate change. (Guardian)
- Florida Republicans are moving to block local governments from enacting workplace heat-exposure rules, even as ever-hotter temperatures are killing farmworkers in the state. (The Lever)
- The Massachusetts Institute of Technology plans to launch a new initiative aimed at connecting climate research to policymakers, but some students and observers worry the university will eventually turn to funding from fossil fuel firms. (Inside Climate News)
GRID:
- Virtual power plants have the potential to preserve power reliability as the U.S. phases out fossil fuels before adequately replacing them with equivalent clean energy, experts say. (Canary Media)
- An analysis finds Texas has experienced 263 power outages since 2019, the most of any state in the country, indicating its power grid is struggling under demand and extreme weather. (Houston Chronicle)
FINANCE: The U.S. EPA prepares to announce $20 billion for nonprofits to expand lending for climate and clean energy projects in low-income communities. (Politico)
UTILITIES: Over 1,000 victims of last year’s deadly Maui wildfires plan to sue Hawaiian Electric and other entities, alleging the utility’s equipment sparked the blaze. (Hawaii News Now)
MATERIALS: The closure of three U.S. aluminum manufacturing plants could threaten the transition to clean energy and electrification, experts say. (E&E News)
ELECTRIFICATION: Colorado restaurants say switching from natural gas to electric induction stoves and ovens has improved their food quality and the kitchen atmosphere. (Rocky Mountain PBS)
CARBON CAPTURE: A North Dakota electric cooperative is betting a $2 billion carbon capture project will allow a coal-fired power plant to comply with Minnesota law, but critics say the plan is absurdly complicated and expensive compared to alternatives. (MPR News)
OIL & GAS:
- Advocates urge policymakers to require long-term monitoring of plugged oil and gas wells following an increase in failed plugging jobs. (Bloomberg Law)
- Pennsylvania’s governor promotes the plugging of the 200th abandoned oil well since he took office, but there’s a long road ahead to plug the estimated 350,000 more across the state. (Butler Eagle)
- A study finds oil and gas flaring and venting-related air pollution disproportionately burdens low-income, Latino and Indigenous communities. (news release)
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