CARBON CAPTURE: Industry documents reveal oil and gas giants consider carbon capture their ticket to keep pumping fossil fuels, despite its overwhelming cost and questionable climate benefits. (DeSmog)
ALSO: In a blue state with big geological potential for carbon sequestration, Illinois lawmakers debate competing legislation that would either enable or slow down carbon capture development. (E&E News)
OVERSIGHT:
• U.S. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse looks to restart a federal probe into oil companies’ efforts to mislead the public about climate change. (E&E News)
• The chair of the U.S. Senate environment committee says permitting reform and Inflation Reduction Act implementation are on his agenda this year. (E&E News)
• A union representing U.S. EPA employees calls on Congress to address staffing shortages and a lack of equity and inclusion programs they say are limiting the agency’s ability to carry out federal climate goals. (Grist)
• Oil industry leaders target a federal effort to let qualified private citizens monitor methane leaks at wells and pipelines, saying it gives too much power to environmental advocates. (Reuters)
ELECTRIC VEHICLES:
• Powering heavy-duty boats and trucks at U.S. ports with electricity rather than diesel could dramatically reduce air pollution in neighboring communities, a clean transportation group finds. (Canary Media)
• Ford officials say Inflation Reduction Act incentives were a deciding factor in the company’s selection of a Michigan site for a planned $3.5 billion battery factory that will employ at least 2,500 people. (Detroit News, Associated Press)
POLITICS:
• Republicans look to derail the Biden administration’s clean energy goals by targeting the industry’s reliance on China for battery, solar panel and other renewable technology components. (Politico)
• As Virginia navigates the tricky transition from reliance on coal to renewables, its part-time lawmakers consider rebooting an electric utility regulation commission to review and explain complicated energy policy issues. (Energy News Network)
GRID:
• Recent reports from regional and national grid organizations raise concerns about reliability as polluting power plants retire and are replaced by clean but intermittent renewable generation. (Indianapolis Star)
• As the two-year anniversary and statute of limitations for Texas’ 2021 winter storm arrive this week, lawyers have filed thousands of suits accusing power companies, grid operators and others of failing to properly prepare for it. (Texas Tribune)
OIL & GAS: A University of Chicago study finds states with more transparency requirements around fracking activity have higher water quality. (The Hill)
COAL: An advocacy group calls on federal officials to investigate whether surface coal mines contributed to 35 deaths and one missing person during last year’s historic Kentucky flooding. (Louisville Courier Journal)
HYDROGEN: Southern California Gas unveils a microgrid that runs on hydrogen generated by on-site solar panels. (Los Angeles Business Journal)
BUILDINGS: A New York City skyscraper was built in 2016 with climate mitigation features, but some of those strategies are already considered outdated. (New York Times)
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