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GRID:
• Advocates say limited transmission access and interconnection queues are holding up renewable energy projects on Native American lands even after federal reforms let tribes access direct payment tax credits to incentivize clean energy installations. (E&E News)
• The number of smart meters in the U.S. has risen consistently over the past 15 years, reaching 10.3 million deployed as of 2020. (Utility Dive)
ELECTRIC VEHICLES:
• Electric vehicles are on track for continued expansion next year and into the future, but affordability and charger availability remain barriers to adoption, experts say. (Forbes)
• The U.S. Senate passes a bill directing federal agencies to create a strategic plan for electric vehicle battery reuse and recycling, sending the measure to President Biden. (Utility Dive)
Fresh Energy is hiring!
Fresh Energy’s work is speeding the transition to a clean energy economy in Minnesota and beyond. To advance this work, we are seeking a director of inclusive finance to join the Energy Access and Equity team and a policy associate to join the Clean Electricity team. Find both job postings here.
CLIMATE:
• Meteorologists say “one of the most intense storm systems in decades” is poised to hit the Midwest and Great Lakes region tomorrow, with extreme cold and intense weather projected across the U.S. putting 300 million people under winter weather alerts. (Syracuse.com, Axios)
• U.S. college-level biology textbooks — even those published within the last few years — typically offer just a few pages of climate change material, and lack discussion of local and individual climate solutions, a study finds. (Guardian)
OIL & GAS:
• ConocoPhillips says it would abandon the proposed Willow drilling project in Alaska if the Biden administration forces the company to downsize it, saying it would no longer be economically feasible. (Bloomberg)
• Environmental groups sue the Biden administration to halt a planned offshore oil and gas lease sale in the Cook Inlet in Alaska, saying it would open the door to decades of new drilling. (Reuters)
• TC Energy reports that more than half of the 14,000 barrels of crude oil spilled from the Keystone pipeline have been recovered. (Nebraska Examiner)
CLEAN ENERGY: Massachusetts releases a new clean energy and climate report analyzing what the state needs to do to equitably achieve net-zero emissions by 2050. (Boston Globe)
SOLAR: Wisconsin solar advocates and developers say clarifying state law around third-party financing is even more crucial as the federal Inflation Reduction Act opens new tax credits for nonprofits and governmental entities. (Energy News Network)
WIND: North Carolina’s vast potential for wind energy is threatened as Duke Energy’s decarbonization plans envision a smaller role for offshore projects than the governor has called for. (Energy News Network)
OVERSIGHT: The U.S. Senate approves six nominees to the Tennessee Valley Authority’s board, restoring it to its full nine-member size for the first time in more than 20 months. (Chattanooga Times Free Press)
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