POLICY: The Biden administration’s energy policy agenda for the next year includes planned regulations on gas stoves and methane emissions, as well as public land protections and rules to boost transmission expansion and heat pumps. (E&E News)
ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE:
• Environmental justice advocates call the U.S. EPA’s proposed power plant emissions rules a “betrayal” of the Biden administration’s promises, as they would allow fossil fuel plants to install carbon capture or hydrogen capacity to avoid shutting down. (E&E News)
• Xcel Energy abruptly pulls funding for three planned Minneapolis “resilience hubs” that would support environmental justice communities in the event of climate or other emergencies. (Energy News Network)
FINANCE: The U.S. Energy Department launches an online one-stop shop to connect homeowners, renters and drivers with federal electrification and energy efficiency incentives. (Canary Media)
ELECTRIC VEHICLES: Major charging networks follow the lead of General Motors and Ford in adopting Tesla’s electric vehicle charging standard, paving the way to a unified nationwide charging network. (Axios)
CLEAN ENERGY: U.S. Rep. Sean Casten of Illinois says developing labor markets and building major transmission lines are key to making the federal Inflation Reduction Act work as intended. (Canary Media)
BATTERIES: The U.S. Energy Department announces $192 million to expand battery recycling research and development as it projects the lithium battery market will grow tenfold by 2030. (Utility Dive)
POLITICS:
• A House committee advances legislation to weaken Inflation Reduction Act incentives, though Republicans appear to be softening their attacks on the climate package as it financially benefits their states. (E&E News)
• The House passes bipartisan legislation to preemptively block a gas stove ban, though it’s unlikely to pass the Senate and the Biden administration hasn’t proposed a ban. (Politico)
BUILDINGS:
• Massachusetts’ governor announces $50 million to kick off a new green bank within the state housing agency that will help fund home decarbonization retrofits. (WCVB)
• North Carolina officials delay overhauling building codes that would’ve improved energy efficiency in new construction amid developers’ sustained opposition to the proposed rules. (Energy News Network)
• Residents in a historic Detroit neighborhood struggle to balance preservation with energy efficiency upgrades needed in large old homes. (Planet Detroit)
SOLAR:
• A report finds California urban commercial and industrial rooftop community solar-plus-storage installations provide more value to utility customers than facilities in rural areas. (Smart Cities Dive)
• The Biden administration awards $13.5 million to projects aiming to expand the solar energy workforce in underserved and underrepresented communities. (news release)
UTILITIES: An analysis of the 15 largest U.S. power companies finds only Duke Energy has a “detailed plan” to reach net-zero emissions. (S&P Global)
OIL & GAS:
• An expert expects Mountain Valley Pipeline opponents will challenge the project’s congressional approval based on the U.S. Constitution’s “separation of powers” clause that prohibits Congress from overruling federal courts. (Radio IQ)
• A small Pennsylvania town succeeds in requiring an energy company to plug an abandoned well rather than fill it with fracking wastewater, showing the industry doesn’t have to be the inevitable victor in regulatory cases. (Inside Climate News)
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