U.S. Energy News is one of five regional services published by the Energy News Network. Today’s edition was compiled by Kathryn Krawczyk.
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CLIMATE: The amount of heat-trapping methane emissions in the atmosphere from oil and gas wells, landfills, livestock operations and other sources worldwide saw a record increase between 2020 and 2021, according to a new federal report. (Washington Post)
ALSO:
• Massachusetts lawmakers announce a major climate bill they say would help the state reach its goal of net-zero emissions by 2050. (MassLive)
• A federal appeals court gives Baltimore a win in its climate lawsuit against fossil fuel companies by sending the case back to state court. (Reuters)
• A report evaluates railway industry efforts to slow climate change’s effects on railway infrastructure with nature-based solutions. (Inside Climate News)
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ELECTRIC VEHICLES:
• Electric vehicles tend to be heavier than their combustion counterparts, introducing new crash safety challenges. (Bloomberg)
• Online searches for electric vehicles have spiked in recent months, though supply shortages mean not all interested buyers will likely be able to buy them. (New York Times)
• Tesla delivers its first electric vehicles made at its new Texas manufacturing plant. (Wall Street Journal)
• California drivers use less gas to travel the same distance as drivers in other states, likely because the state has more electric and hybrid vehicles. (E&E News)
SOLAR:
• Advocates of shared solar programs in Virginia grapple with setbacks that include a proposed $55 monthly fee and state lawmakers’ decision to delay expansion to rural communities. (Energy News Network)
• Colorado renewable energy officials say a federal probe of Asian solar imports is drying up equipment supplies, raising development prices and delaying projects. (Colorado Sun)
GRID: Grid operator MISO presents plans for a $10.4 billion transmission line build out it says would provide $37 billion in benefits over 20 years. (Utility Dive)
POLITICS:
• The U.S. Senate and House pass bills to ban oil imports from Russia, despite the White House already taking the same action. (Politico)
• U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin calls for a national push to produce rare earth elements needed for rechargeable batteries, which could provide a use for coal waste in his state — and that his company helped produce. (WV Metro News, E&E News)
ELECTRIFICATION: Industry players and governments take sides as a legal challenge to Berkeley, California’s natural gas hookup ban heads to federal appeals court. (S&P Global)
COMMENTARY:
• A journalist reflects on Houston’s legacy as a fossil fuel hub while considering how clean energy can offer environmental justice for low-income communities of color. (Los Angeles Times)
• Decarbonizing new U.S. buildings by 2030 is possible but will take more robust government incentives and a mentality change from Americans, a journalist and architecture consultant writes. (Bloomberg)
• A columnist test drives the new electric Hummer and contemplates whether it can convert electric vehicle skeptics. (Guardian)
Editor’s note: Yesterday’s story regarding a clean energy critic making a moral case for fossil fuels in poor countries appeared in the Washington Post.
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