WIND: President Biden’s directive to “advance clean energy development” in federal waters off Florida, Georgia, and the Carolinas doesn’t end uncertainty over a Trump-era ban on offshore wind in the region. (Energy News Network)

ALSO: The Biden administration announces offshore wind farms near Louisiana and Texas, including one with potential to power 2.3 million homes. (Texas Tribune)

CLIMATE:
• While activists push Biden to declare a climate emergency, “a big open question” is how the conservative Supreme Court would respond. (E&E News)
• Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is backing a bill that would restore the EPA’s authority to regulate greenhouse gases from power plants, in response to the Supreme Court’s West Virginia v. EPA ruling last month. (E&E News)
• Massachusetts legislators pass a climate bill that, if the governor approves it, will allow ten municipalities to ban new buildings’ gas connections; remove biomass from the state renewable portfolio standard; end certain fossil fuel incentives; and alter offshore wind policies. (Boston Globe)

GRID:
• Most U.S. utilities are keeping up with demand as temperatures soar around the country. (NPR)
• A report from the North American Electric Reliability Corp. calls for more natural gas generation to balance a surge of wind and solar power, saying batteries alone won’t be enough in the short term. (Utility Dive)
• Nearly 90% of American homes are now using air conditioning, according to new data from the Energy Information Administration. (Quartz)
• A Texas grid official projects crypto miners will consume 18 GW in coming years — nearly a quarter of the state grid’s current capacity. (NBC News)

TRANSMISSION: State utility regulators urge FERC to ease barriers to interstate transmission lines: “it should not be this difficult to string new lines from state to state.” (E&E News)

OIL & GAS:
• Colorado cities’ air monitors contradict oil and gas industry claims that emissions from their facilities are declining. (Colorado Sun)
• Federal regulators say they’ll inspect a liquified natural gas export plant in September, three months after a fire resulted in its closure and sent shock waves through natural gas markets. (Reuters)

NUCLEAR: Sen. Joe Manchin is introducing a bill that would create an independent federal agency to manage nuclear waste. (E&E News)

EFFICIENCY: An Oregon city considers decarbonizing its building stock by prioritizing electrification and efficiency of existing homes over banning natural gas hookups in new construction. (Register-Guard)

OVERSIGHT: Two years after former Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder was arrested in connection to an alleged bribery scheme, the state still lacks stronger transparency laws while fossil fuel subsidies and weakened renewable energy targets remain. (WKSU)

COMMENTARY:
• An editorial board says the president’s emergency powers are not the right tool to address long-term issues like climate change. (Washington Post)
• A Kansas journalism professor says polite conversations about the weather are stifling more serious discussions about climate change. (Kansas Reflector)

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Ken is the director of the Energy News Network at Fresh Energy and is a founding editor of both Midwest Energy News and Southeast Energy News. Prior to joining Fresh Energy, he was the managing editor for online news at Minnesota Public Radio. He started his journalism career in 2002 as a copy editor for the Duluth News Tribune before spending five years at the Spokesman-Review in Spokane, Washington, where he worked as a copy editor, online producer, features editor and night city editor. A Nebraska native, Ken has a bachelor's degree from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and a master's degree from the University of Oregon. He is a member of the Society of Professional Journalists and Investigative Reporters and Editors.