EMISSIONS: The U.S. EPA proposes stricter limits on mercury and other hazardous pollutants emitting from coal-fired power plants, including at plants burning a higher-emitting type of coal. (E&E News)
ALSO:
• After protests from climate scientists and environmentalists, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul removes a proposal from the state budget that would’ve weakened the state’s accounting of methane emissions. (Times Union)
• A federal court dismisses a challenge by several Republican-led states to figures used by the Biden administration to calculate damages from greenhouse gasses. (Associated Press)
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ELECTRIC VEHICLES:
• Analysts say states’ electric vehicle charging plans aren’t taking local grid needs into account, and that better siting considerations could reduce costs and emissions. (Utility Dive)
• Sen. Joe Manchin probably won’t be able to sue the Biden administration over its electric vehicle tax credit rules, experts say. (E&E News)
UTILITIES: Several states want to bar utilities from passing along certain costs, including advertising and political spending, to ratepayers. (E&E News)
OIL & GAS:
• The federal government announces the first $196 million of a $1 billion program to replace aging natural gas pipes around the country. (Associated Press)
• The Willow drilling project represents a third of new U.S. oil and gas projects approved in the past year, not counting fracking projects. (Washington Post)
CLIMATE: The world needs to quintuple its rate of coal plant closures and stop building new plants to meet Paris climate agreement goals, a report finds. (Guardian)
EFFICIENCY: California billionaire Tom Steyer aims to create a “new model of climate investing” by buying residential properties in the West and installing solar panels and other efficiency upgrades. (Bloomberg)
STORAGE: California researchers find compressed air energy storage is cost-competitive and feasible for backing up wind and solar power, but is constrained by availability of suitable geography. (PV Magazine)
GRID: More than 30 utilities, power generators and other entities agree to participate in the first phase of Southwest Power Pool’s regional market. (Utility Dive)
ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE: Chicago Mayor-elect Brandon Johnson ran on a platform that included sustainability and environmental justice, though experts say activists will need to keep up pressure to drive meaningful change. (Grist)
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CARBON CAPTURE: Legislation to limit the use of eminent domain for carbon capture pipelines recently failed in North Dakota, South Dakota and Iowa, signaling lawmakers’ hesitance to regulate the projects. (West Central Tribune)
COMMENTARY:
• The Biden administration’s domestic sourcing rules are a barrier to clean energy development, an editorial board writes. (Washington Post)
• Federal tax incentives for electric vehicles need to be rolled out widely and seamlessly if they’re to successfully spur a clean energy transition, an editorial board argues. (Los Angeles Times)
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