CLIMATE: G7 countries agree to more quickly adopt solar and wind power and reach net-zero emissions by 2050, but don’t set a firm goal for closing coal power plants. (Politico, Associated Press)
ALSO:
• A study shows how high-income Americans displaced by climate disasters have an easier time rebuilding than lower-income people who more often are underinsured and struggle to access public resources. (Axios)
• Tornado alley is expanding into populated areas not usually known for severe storms, and scientists aren’t exactly sure why. (The Hill)
ELECTRIC VEHICLES:
• The Biden administration announces a new round of public and private EV commitments, including Madison, Wisconsin’s plans to convert its entire fleet of about 900 vehicles to EVs by 2030. (ABC News)
• A lack of charging stations, a struggling electric grid, and political uncertainty have transportation experts skeptical the Biden administration will be able to execute its electric vehicle goals. (Washington Post)
• Republican-led states and congressional districts have landed a significant portion of federal clean energy incentives, with Georgia leading the way on electric vehicle and battery manufacturing. (Washington Post)
OFFSHORE WIND: The U.S. Defense Department warns that almost all the areas the Biden administration is eyeing for offshore wind development conflict with military operations. (Bloomberg)
ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE:
• Chicago’s Blacks in Green receives a five-year, $10 million U.S. EPA grant to provide technical assistance for the agency’s Justice40 Initiative and support collaboration with five frontline organizations. (Energy News Network)
• Residents of a largely Black community in Texas that was built around the oil industry now face a cumulative climate, housing, and health crisis. (Capital B)
CLEAN ENERGY:
• U.S. climate envoy John Kerry says there’s no turning back on the global clean energy transition now that nations and private companies have made significant investments toward curbing carbon emissions. (Politico)
• Avangrid and the Navajo Tribal Utility Authority look to develop up to 1,000 MW of solar, wind and battery storage facilities on the Navajo Nation. (Albuquerque Journal)
CARBON CAPTURE: Questions over underground land rights and remediation responsibilities derail federal efforts to capture carbon and sequester it in the ground. (E&E News)
GRID: The U.S. power grid racked up an estimated $13.3 billion in grid congestion costs last year, more than double the year before. (Utility Dive)
STORAGE: A startup revamps a NASA-developed energy storage technology used on the International Space Station to make it dramatically cheaper. (Canary Media)
OIL & GAS: A 1.24 GW natural gas-fired power plant will no longer be built at an old rail yard in Pennsylvania’s Clinton County amid environmentalists’ legal efforts to stop it. (Penn Live Patriot-News)
BUILDINGS:
• North Carolina officials attempt to find a compromise between home builders and clean energy advocates to rewrite the state’s 2009-era home energy efficiency code to align with international guidelines, cut energy bills and unlock federal grants and incentives. (Energy News Network)
• Boston adopts an optional, more stringent state building code for new construction and major renovations, encouraging energy efficiency or green energy projects and making it harder to install gas infrastructure. (Boston Globe)
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