ELECTRIFICATION: The Biden administration proposes a requirement that new or renovated federal buildings be fully carbon-neutral by 2030, with a goal of reducing emissions 90% by 2025. (The Hill)
ALSO:
• The rules aim for net-zero emissions in all 300,000 federal buildings by 2045, achieved by implementing American-made heat pumps, electric water heaters and other efficient appliances. (E&E News)
• Gas industry lobbyists call the goals “impractical” and “expensive,” and raise questions of whether they are actually achievable. (E&E News)
WIND: The first federal offshore wind lease auction in the Pacific Ocean nets $757 million in winning bids for five parcels along the northern California coast, where deep waters will necessitate floating turbines. (CNBC)
CLIMATE:
• Democratic senators call on United Nations climate head António Guterres to create new rules on corporate lobbying at COP climate conferences, noting that more than 600 fossil fuel lobbyists attended this year’s event. (Guardian)
• Burlington, Vermont, has seen the most winter warming in the past half-century than any other locale in the country, a new analysis shows. (Boston Globe)
POLITICS: Sen. Joe Manchin looks to attach his permitting reforms as an amendment to a defense spending bill after Democrats left it out of the package. (E&E News)
OIL & GAS:
• California and Colorado pass bills to reduce the risk of stranding natural gas infrastructure as they transition to clean energy — a problem many other states will soon face. (Canary Media)
• Ohio Senate Republicans pass a bill redefining natural gas as “green energy” and opening state parks and other public land to oil and gas drilling, sending the bill to the state House for consideration. (Cleveland.com)
UTILITIES: Inflation, high natural gas prices and slow economic growth are contributing to a deteriorating financial outlook for public and cooperative utilities, according to a credit ratings agency. (Utility Dive)
SOLAR: Wildfire smoke reduced California solar installations’ output by 10% to 30% in September 2020 compared to previous years, researchers find. (Bloomberg)
TRANSPORTATION:
• While sustainable aviation fuels remain too expensive for widespread use, a research group finds growing demand and federal incentives could quickly expand the industry. (Axios)
• Tesla names a longtime executive who oversaw construction of the company’s gigafactory in Shanghai, China, to run its newest factory in Austin, Texas. (Bloomberg)
FINANCE: Investment firm Vanguard withdraws from a major climate initiative, citing its desire for independence while also facing pressure from state attorneys general threatening boycotts. (Reuters)
GRID: Duke Energy completes repairs to a pair of North Carolina electric substations that were damaged by gunfire and resulted in more than 45,000 customers losing power. (Associated Press)
BIOENERGY: An anaerobic digester in a South Side Chicago neighborhood helps convert tons of food waste into compost while developers also hope to offer clean energy workforce development opportunities. (Energy News Network)
BATTERIES: The U.S. Energy Department awards California researchers $16 million to scale up lithium-ion battery recycling and to develop methods to extend energy storage systems’ lives. (San Diego Union-Tribune)
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