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CLIMATE: Puerto Rico communities bring the nation’s first climate racketeering lawsuit against oil and gas companies, alleging they conspired with trade associations and paid experts to deceive the public about climate change. (Guardian)
ALSO:
• The world’s goal of limiting global warming to 1.5°C is “gasping for breath,” says the UN’s secretary general. (Guardian)
• The U.S. is one of two countries not part of a global agreement to protect land and water and address biodiversity loss, largely due to Republican opposition. (New York Times)
• Massachusetts’ governor-elect wants to bolster the state’s climate tech sector with major government investments, and plans to make a top U.S. EPA official the state’s first climate chief. (Boston Globe, WBUR/State House News Service)
Fresh Energy is hiring!
Fresh Energy is seeking a Senior or Managing Director of Inclusive Finance to join the Energy Access and Equity Team. This role will focus on equitable implementation of federal funding in Minnesota, building a resilient clean energy economy, and beyond.
UTILITIES:
• Internal documents and public records reveal a consulting firm working with utilities in Florida and Alabama paid six news outlets about $900,000 for positive coverage that benefited the power companies and attacked their critics. (Floodlight/NPR)
• Google and other tech companies call for the Southeast to reform its utility-based power generation system to unleash more renewables as a growing number of large companies make decarbonization a major corporate goal. (New York Times)
ELECTRIC VEHICLES:
• Manufacturers race to develop new battery technologies for electric vehicles, as current lithium-ion batteries rely on scarce imported materials. (YaleEnvironment360)
• Oregon regulators approve a ban on the sale of new gasoline-powered vehicles by 2035, but will allow plug-in hybrid sales. (Oregonian)
GRID:
• Lawmakers push for federal disaster funding to address a distribution system transformer shortage, which is delaying electrification projects and power restoration after storms. (Utility Dive)
• Hundreds of gigawatts of clean energy and storage projects are waiting to be built across the U.S., but long waits to connect to the grid are stalling their implementation. (Washington Post)
OIL & GAS:
• The U.S. is poised to export more crude oil than it imports next year, the first time it will have done so since World War II. (Reuters)
• Oregon’s U.S. senators urge federal regulators to deny a proposed natural gas pipeline expansion in the Northwest, saying it would be incompatible with the Biden administration’s climate goals. (KTVZ)
HYDROGEN: Half of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law’s $1.5 billion for clean hydrogen will go toward electrolysis and fuel cell technology development, the U.S. Energy Department says. (Utility Dive)
BUILDINGS: New York’s climate council votes in favor of a final scoping plan that includes phasing in electric or non-combustion heat pumps and systems among its blueprint for a transition to a climate-neutral economy. (Syracuse.com, The City)
TRANSPORTATION: A coalition of environmental, community and labor groups call on Illinois to adopt rules that would require electric or hydrogen fuel cell vehicles to make up a growing share of heavy- and medium-duty truck sales. (Energy News Network)
COMMENTARY: Community-owned solar installations are key to bringing emissions-free electricity to low-income families facing the brunt of pollution, a former environmental nonprofit fellow writes. (Utility Dive)
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