ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE: As the federal government mandates 40% of new energy investments benefit disadvantaged communities, advocates are unsure how to define or measure those benefits. (E&E News)
ALSO: Prioritizing low-income people and people of color for solar panels, heat pumps, efficient home updates, and climate-mitigating technologies can help Boston address centuries of racist housing policies, a report finds. (Boston Globe)
Sponsored Link
Job listings 50% off
Looking to spread the word about your open position? Share your posting on our job board — rates are half price for the rest of March! Listings are also included in our weekly newsletter.
POLITICS: House Republicans pass their energy package, which is expected to fail in the Senate but be used by the GOP to claim they tried to curb high energy prices ahead of the 2024 election. (Politico)
OFFSHORE WIND:
• The U.S. Energy Department’s new offshore wind plan focuses on lowering costs, including for deploying floating turbines, and finding transmission solutions for offshore arrays. (Utility Dive)
• Federal offshore wind officials urge the industry to be transparent with the government as they plan projects and develop new technologies, saying “one bad incident could really set us back.” (Utility Dive)
JOBS: The U.S. needs an estimated 80,000 new electricians every year, but companies say they’re having trouble recruiting, posing a big problem as the country deploys renewables and electrifies buildings. (Marketplace)
ELECTRIC VEHICLES:
• As more Americans switch to electric vehicles, analysts predict publicly available fast chargers will grow exponentially, while slower Level 2 chargers will grow more slowly. (Inside Climate News)
• A Seattle utility consulted customers, labor unions, and advocates when building 30 public electric vehicle chargers last year, providing a model for equitable charging installments in other cities. (Utility Dive)
SOLAR: Tesla has installed approximately 3,000 solar roofs in the U.S. since launching the product in 2016, far fewer than the hundreds of thousands the company predicted it would’ve put up by now. (Canary Media)
RENEWABLES:
• National lab researchers find nuclear, wind and solar power can be combined in a single hybrid system to support the electricity grid. (news release)
• Colleges across the U.S. install geothermal heating systems, biomass power plants, and solar arrays to become more sustainable. (Washington Post)
• Coal industry influence and climate change denial have helped keep Kentucky dead last among states for wind and solar generation. (Inside Climate News)
PUBLIC LANDS: The federal Bureau of Land Management unveils a draft rule that would change the way the agency manages public lands, potentially affecting future energy development. (E&E News)
OIL & GAS: A federal judge rejects environmental groups’ challenge of a Biden administration decision allowing oil and gas exploration to disturb and injure a limited number of polar bears and walruses in Alaska. (Reuters)
EFFICIENCY: A North Carolina House committee advances legislation that would block a proposed update to the state’s building energy conservation code that is opposed by developers, an unexpected development amid ongoing negotiations to hear builders’ concerns. (Energy News Network)
OVERSIGHT: Bank records show that while FirstEnergy was the primary funder of a dark money political group linked to former Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder, other fossil fuel interests contributed hundreds of thousands of dollars to the group. (Energy and Policy Institute)
More from the Energy News Network: Midwest | Southeast | Northeast | West