NUCLEAR: One expert says the fusion energy breakthrough, set to be announced today, could be a “Kitty Hawk moment” if it lives up to expectations, though decades of work would still remain before fusion can be used for widespread energy generation. (Washington Post)
ELECTRIC VEHICLES:
• Ride hailing company Lyft rolls out incentives to encourage drivers to adopt electric vehicles, including discounts on public charging. (Canary Media)
• The Ford F-150 Lightning was named MotorTrend’s 2023 Truck of the Year, the second electric pickup in a row to win. (CNN)
WIND:
• Federal regulators publish a draft environmental review of Dominion Energy’s planned 176-turbine wind farm off Virginia’s coast, as well as an extensive review of the 94-turbine Sunrise Wind project off Massachusetts. (E&E News)
• Texas wind farms’ tendency to exceed transmission line capacity is driving investor interest in large-scale battery projects. (Houston Chronicle)
OVERSIGHT: Federal energy regulators are poised to act this week on transmission siting, pipeline rate disputes and two crucial gas pipeline certificates in what could be Democrat Richard Glick’s last meeting as chairperson. (S&P Global)
SOLAR: Major automaker Stellantis is partnering with DTE Energy to build 400 MW of solar to power southeastern Michigan vehicle production sites. (Detroit News)
EMISSIONS: U.S. passenger cars and trucks made only small efficiency gains from 2016 to 2021, EPA data shows, with fuel economy gaining just 5% when an Obama administration deal called for 20%. (Washington Post)
HYDROGEN: Utilities, oil and gas companies, think tanks and governments partner to track the greenhouse gas emissions associated with production of hydrogen made with renewables. (E&E News)
STORAGE:
• Long-duration energy storage projects have brought in $58 billion in global investments since 2019, with the U.S. more devoted to the industry than Europe, analysts find. (Utility Dive)
• California analysts say the state’s push for more electric vehicles is running up against a failure to plan for recycling or disposing of spent EV batteries. (Insider)
• Texas regulators approve Tesla’s proposal to build a statewide “virtual power plant” using customers who own a Powerwall battery after previously launching a smaller pilot program with 200 customers in northern Texas. (Electrek)
BUILDINGS: A carbon-capture startup installs a room-sized filtration and liquefaction system in a New York City apartment tower that it says catches 60% of the building’s gas emissions. (Canary Media)
OIL & GAS:
• Federal analysts forecast the Permian Basin will reach record levels of shale production in January, but the pace of growth seems to be slowing. (Reuters)
• The Keystone pipeline has had nearly two dozen spills since it came into service in 2010, culminating in the worst incident to date last week. (CBS News)
GRID: Energy analysts say Western utilities and states are more amenable to joining regional transmission organizations after September’s heat wave-induced grid strain demonstrated the need for collaboration. (Utility Dive)
POLITICS:
• The author of Ohio legislation that would label natural gas as “green energy” says it is meant to help large natural gas users meet environmental, social and governance (ESG) investing standards. (Energy News Network)
• The same bill would also open state parks and other public land to oil and gas drilling, a politically controversial idea for the last decade that could be approved by the Ohio legislature as soon as today. (Energy News Network)
More from the Energy News Network: Midwest | Southeast | Northeast | West
View this campaign in your browser.