ELECTRIFICATION: The U.S. faces a shortage of electricians that’s expected to worsen as the country switches to electric appliances and vehicles, industry experts say. (Washington Post)
ALSO: In Maine, a quasi-state agency conducts a demonstration project that may be the first in the country to study how well standalone heat pumps perform in mobile houses. (Portland Press Herald)
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HURRICANE IAN:
• Federal disaster aid to Florida and other Southeast states comes with a word of caution about rebuilding in coastal areas vulnerable to extreme weather exacerbated by climate change. (Associated Press, Guardian)
• Southern cities struggle to prevent development and move people out of hurricane-prone areas as their populations soar. (Washington Post)
• Only a small fraction of Florida homes in areas hard hit by Hurricane Ian have flood insurance, exposing a major challenge as the U.S. increasingly faces climate disasters. (New York Times)
GRID:
• The Biden administration’s efforts to build up a high-speed transmission system could learn from a similar Obama-era effort that only succeeded in quickly building two of its proposed seven lines. (E&E News)
• More than 100,000 customers in Puerto Rico still don’t have power more than two weeks after Hurricane Fiona knocked out its grid. (NPR)
CLEAN ENERGY: The U.S. Energy Department seeks input from stakeholders as it seeks to use the Defense Production Act to spur clean energy development. (The Hill)
ELECTRIC VEHICLES: Federal approval of every state’s electric vehicle expansion plans now leaves most of their implementation in local governments’ hands. (Guardian)
SOLAR:
• Advocates, solar developers, and government officials discuss the potential of community solar to move vulnerable communities off of fossil-fueled power while lowering their utility bills. (Canary Media)
• A Florida community known as “America’s first solar-powered town” that was designed to channel flooding away from houses into its streets navigated Ian with no loss of power and little damage. (CNN)
TRANSITION: The closure of the San Juan coal plant in northwest New Mexico wipes out hundreds of jobs and diminishes property tax revenues to a school district that serves a portion of the Navajo Nation. (Associated Press)
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OIL & GAS:
• Federal regulators permit the operator of a pipeline that spilled 25,000 gallons of crude oil off southern California’s coast last year to repair the line with the aim of bringing it back into service. (Los Angeles Times)
• Rhode Island’s mandate to eliminate greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 kicks off conversations about the future of the state’s gas distribution sector, which heats about half of Rhode Islanders’ homes. (Energy News Network)
• Climate change-induced permafrost thaw in Alaska is damaging oil and gas infrastructure and opening pathways for underground methane to migrate to the surface. (Grist)
HYDROPOWER: Biden administration officials call for the removal of four hydroelectricity dams on the Lower Snake River in Washington state to aid salmon recovery in the Pacific Northwest. (Idaho Statesman)
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