SOLAR: President Biden is expected to announce a 24-month tariff exemption for solar panels imported from four southeast Asian countries and invoke the Defense Production Act to boost clean energy equipment manufacturing. (Reuters, Axios)
ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE:
• The White House looks to update a Clinton-era executive order that marked the first governmentwide acknowledgement of environmental injustices. (E&E News)
• Texas is ignoring White House environmental justice priorities as it allocates infrastructure funding, and other GOP-led states may follow suit. (Inside Climate News)
POLITICS:
• Several Democrats inside and outside the White House’s climate office say it is standing in the way of more radical climate action and putting too much weight on political considerations and relationships with Congress. (Politico)
• Six climate groups will spend $100 million on ad campaigns and field organizing to mobilize voters to elect climate-friendly candidates this fall. (CNN)
CLIMATE: Rising temperatures in the Pacific Northwest and the Northeast — where extreme heat used to be rare — are leading schools without air conditioning to increasingly shut down for “heat days.” (Washington Post)
EMISSIONS: Atmospheric carbon dioxide reached its highest level in human history last month, measuring at 50% higher than the pre-industrial average. (New York Times)
OIL & GAS:
• Lawmakers in several states are modeling legislation on a Texas law that forbids the state from doing business with institutions that “boycott” fossil fuels, although its enforceability is still murky. (Gizmodo)
• A former U.S. energy secretary says President Biden only has “bad options” as he tries to lower fuel prices, including asking Saudi Arabia to boost production. (New York Times)
• A federal court orders the federal government to complete a full environmental impact statement before permitting hydraulic fracturing off the California coast, saying existing analyses are inadequate. (Los Angeles Times)
• The Wyoming oil and gas industry protests an upcoming federal lease sale because too little land is being offered, and environmental groups protest for the opposite reason. (Pinedale Roundup)
ELECTRIC VEHICLES:
• The American electric vehicle industry’s growth will be dependent on South Korea’s battery development and manufacturers. (E&E News)
• Rivian has stepped into Normal, Illinois, with electric vehicle manufacturing plans roughly a decade after Mitsubishi unsuccessfully launched similar efforts there. (Energy News Network)
• Tesla owners say they love their electric cars but have issues with CEO Elon Musk’s “problematic” views and “attention-seeking” personality. (Washington Post)
BUILDINGS: An environmental nonprofit says Massachusetts residents are not electrifying their homes at a quick enough pace. (WCVB)
UTILITIES:
• Memphis, Tennessee, considers leaving the Tennessee Valley Authority for grid operator MISO or one of more than 20 firms that have bid on its electricity supply. (Commercial Appeal)
• One federal judge has approved a $180 million settlement in a shareholder lawsuit against FirstEnergy, but another wants to keep litigating the case. (Reuters)
BIOFUELS: The Biden administration will provide more than $700 million to support biofuel producers with unexpected losses during the pandemic. (Marshall Independent)
COMMENTARY: More states should follow Hawaii and Connecticut’s lead in incentivizing distributed solar and storage development, a scientist writes. (Utility Dive)
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