OIL & GAS: The Interior Department cancels offshore drilling lease sales in the Gulf of Mexico and off the coast of Alaska, effectively halting lease sales for the rest of the year. (Washington Post)

ALSO: A new peer-reviewed study of 171 pregnant people across the U.S. finds harmful chemicals tied to fossil fuels in all of them. (Inside Climate News)

SOLAR:
• Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo says she shares the solar industry’s “sense of urgency” regarding the department’s imports probe but says she’s unable to speed up the process, to the ire of industry stakeholders. (E&E News)
• Public Service Company of New Mexico says it expects the solar imports probe to further delay projects to replace generation lost from a coal power plant’s closure until next year. (Albuquerque Journal)

WIND: Duke Energy and TotalEnergies win two lease auctions to develop wind energy off the North Carolina and South Carolina coast, with winning bids totalling $315 million. (Winston-Salem Journal, Coastal Review)

POLITICS:
• U.S. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse prepares legislation to enact a carbon border fee without an explicit carbon price after some Republicans show interest in the idea. (E&E News)
• A House committee votes to throw out a U.S. Postal Service study used to justify its decision to replace aging delivery vans with gasoline-powered models. (E&E News)
• The House will soon vote on a Democratic bill to authorize and fund investigations into allegations of energy price gouging. (E&E News)
• Two Democratic senators look to earmark $9 million for the Justice Department’s environmental justice initiatives. (Axios)

OVERSIGHT:
• House Democrats ask the Justice Department to probe whether the former interior secretary under President Trump pressured the agency to approve a project for an Arizona political donor land developer. (Politico)
• The Securities and Exchange Commission seeks data from more than two dozen businesses detailing their climate risks, plans and expenses ahead of enacting a new rule to mandate further disclosures. (E&E News)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES:
• While electric vehicles have higher sticker prices than combustion vehicles, a report finds their lower repair and fuel costs and government incentives put monthly average cost on par with gasoline cars. (Canary Media)
• Electric vehicle maker Rivian’s CEO says the company is moving past supply chain issues and will meet its current production goals as it prepares to build a factory in Georgia. (Atlanta Journal-Constitution)

GRID:
• U.S. clean energy advancements in recent years could be derailed without a massive investment in transmission and grid infrastructure. (Reuters)
• Maine utilities will now need to undergo a new integrated grid planning process every five years to help support the state’s climate goals, among other new service regulations outlined in a newly passed law. (Utility Dive)

STORAGE: A recycling company announces plans to build in Texas what will be North America’s largest emissions-free and sustainable battery recycling plant. (Houston Chronicle)

EMISSIONS: DTE Energy investors voted down a shareholder climate proposal last week by a wide margin, with 72% rejecting the measure to include “scope 3” carbon emissions from end-user natural gas consumption in the utility’s climate targets. (Energy News Network/Planet Detroit)

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Kathryn brings her extensive editorial background to the Energy News Network team, where she oversees the early-morning production of ENN’s five email digest newsletters as well as distribution of ENN’s original journalism with other media outlets. From documenting chronic illness’ effect on college students to following the inner workings of Congress, Kathryn has built a broad experience in her more than five years working at major publications including The Week Magazine. Kathryn holds a Bachelor of Science in magazine journalism and information management and technology from Syracuse University.