HYDROGEN: An analysis concludes that “blue” and “green” hydrogen could be cost competitive with natural gas by 2030, but that meeting national demand might consume two-thirds of the country’s current renewable electricity. (Utility Dive)

EMISSIONS:

• A federal court temporarily strikes down the Securities and Exchange Commission’s new rules that would require public companies to disclose their climate risks and emissions. (The Hill)
• Republican attorneys general from 24 states suing over the Biden administration’s new rule to limit methane emissions say the policy is a “blatant attack on America’s oil and gas industry.” (E&E News, subscription)

POLICY: 

• House Republicans plan a slew of energy-related bills that would repeal a federal greenhouse gas reduction fund and deter challenges to energy projects from environmental groups, among other priorities. (E&E News)
• The Biden administration looks to finalize and implement new energy rules in the next few months, before they become vulnerable to a potential Republican administration. (E&E News, subscription)

OFFSHORE WIND: Federal ocean energy officials officially designate a 32 GW wind energy area in the Gulf of Maine that is 80% smaller than what was first marked as a potential leasing area and excludes fishing and lobstering areas. (Maine Public)

NUCLEAR: Oregon small modular reactor firm NuScale shifts from providing grid-scale power facilities to catering to “enormous energy consumers” such as data centers. (Utility Dive)

SOLAR:

• Researchers studying blueberry production under a 4 MW solar farm in Rockport, Maine, find that the array “makes farming difficult and constricts blueberry production” but hope results will guide further investigations. (Maine Monitor)
• Texas added 6.5 GW of solar in 2023, surpassing California now twice in the last three years as the leading state for new solar installations. (Dallas Morning News) 

UTILITIES: Minnesota regulators will soon require the state’s three largest gas utilities to file long-term plans that forecast how they will meet demand while aligning with state policy priorities. (Energy News Network)

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ALSO: U.S. lawmakers introduce legislation that would require federal energy regulators to establish incentives for transmission owners to add grid-enhancing technologies to existing power lines. (Utility Dive)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES: The Biden administration plans to unveil a clean car rule next week that would require carmakers to cut average vehicles emissions 52% by 2032, likely spurring electric vehicle production. (Politico)

OFFSHORE WIND:

• Ørsted and Eversource begin sending power from their 132 MW South Fork wind project to the New York grid, a milestone for the country’s first commercial-scale offshore wind farm. (Associated Press, Bloomberg)
• A proposed marine sanctuary backed by tribal nations could complicate interconnection for offshore wind in California. (E&E News)

HYDROGEN: The U.S. Energy Department announces that it will funnel $750 million in bipartisan infrastructure funding to electrolyzer research and development projects, with a goal of spurring clean hydrogen. (E&E News)

COAL: Fourteen coal plants closed in the U.S. last year, but power generators are largely looking to natural gas to replace that capacity. (Inside Climate News)

CLIMATE:

• The U.S. Chamber of Commerce sues the Securities and Exchange Commission, saying its new climate disclosure mandate makes “harmful changes” to a 50-year-old precedent. (Reuters)
• The U.S. Interior Department announces $120 million for 146 tribal climate resilience projects. (The Hill)

UTILITIES: The role of a decayed power pole in sparking this month’s historic Texas wildfires drives discussion about the state’s general lack of regulations for utilities related to wildfire mitigation. (NPR, Houston Chronicle)

SOLAR:

• A U.S. solar manufacturing executive urges congressional lawmakers to make tax code changes that would prevent Chinese solar companies from benefiting from Inflation Reduction Act incentives. (Utility Dive)
• Ohio regulators are scheduled to consider plans next week for a $1 billion, 800 MW solar project with 300 MW of storage on thousands of acres partially owned by Bill Gates. (Columbus Dispatch)

PIPELINES: A four-week trial ends in North Dakota in a case to determine whether the state or federal government should pay $38 million in policing costs for Dakota Access pipeline protests, though a judgment isn’t expected for weeks. (North Dakota Monitor)

FOSSIL FUELS: A development group finishes dismantling a former oil refinery in south Philadelphia, once the East Coast’s largest such facility, and begins construction on an industrial space and life sciences lab. (Philadelphia Inquirer)

EFFICIENCY: A Virginia company offers a free online calculator to help homeowners navigate federal tax credits and point-of-sale rebates for efficient appliances. (Energy News Network)

BIOMASS: Environmental groups are concerned that the federal Inflation Reduction Act could create tax incentives for wood-to-energy biomass projects and potentially worsen climate emissions. (Inside Climate News)

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ALSO:

• After hitting a record high last year, the International Energy Agency predicts global methane emissions will fall this year. (The Hill)
• The Sierra Club sues the Securities and Exchange Commission, alleging its new disclosure rules don’t give investors the full scope of a company’s climate risks; another 9 Republican-led states meanwhile sue to block the rule altogether. (The Hill)

GRID:

• More data centers, electric vehicles, and manufacturing are driving up power demand and making it even harder to replace fossil fuel power with clean energy. (New York Times)
• U.S. electricity prices rose 3.6% over the last year, outpacing the inflation rate, according to a federal government tally. (Utility Dive)
• A new scorecard says most regional grid operators have been too slow to adapt to market conditions with dysfunctional interconnection processes that slow clean energy projects. (States Newsroom)

CLIMATE:

• Five states decline to participate in a federal program that will soon provide $4.6 billion to cities, states, and tribes to implement local climate plans. (CBS News)
• Pennsylvania’s governor reveals a climate action plan that would see the state operate a carbon pricing program and make utilities buy half of their power from mostly carbon-free resources by 2035. (Associated Press, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)

OIL & GAS:

• Colorado lawmakers will discuss a bill to ban all new oil and gas drilling in the state by 2030, which the state’s Democratic governor opposes. (Colorado Newsline)
• Maine legislators hold back a bill to halt expansion of natural gas infrastructure in favor of studies into the role of gas in the state’s energy future. (Energy News Network)

EFFICIENCY: 

• A decarbonization advocacy group suggests investors, lenders and regulators funnel resources toward helping existing buildings implement efficiency and decarbonization measures, noting their big emissions impact. (Utility Dive)
• Electric utilities partner with labor and other groups to urge U.S. senators to pass legislation to address a shortage of power transformers and to improve the devices’ energy efficiency. (Utility Dive)
• North Carolina’s new climate plan says weatherization and energy efficiency could get the state 60% of the way to its 2030 emissions reduction target. (Energy News Network)

CLEAN ENERGY: The Department of Energy estimates a rapid adoption of renewable energy could save Alaskans more than $1 billion on utility bills by 2040. (Anchorage Daily News)

TRANSPORTATION: Members of California’s Air Resources Board say staff members are disregarding their concerns about the state’s emphasis on biofuels to reduce transportation emissions and are withholding key information. (Canary Media)

COMMENTARY: An electric vehicle rideshare company representative calls for federal incentives that encourage EV charging stations in cities and that cover both upfront costs and maintenance. (Utility Dive)

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POLITICS: President Biden’s proposed 2025 federal budget includes more funding for community energy programs, transmission planning and permitting, and offshore wind siting and construction, among other clean energy programs. (Utility Dive)

CLIMATE: 

• Methane has caused about 30% of global temperature increases the world has seen so far, the International Energy Agency finds, and says cracking down on leaks is essential to curbing climate change. (Guardian)
• Florida Republicans are moving to block local governments from enacting workplace heat-exposure rules, even as ever-hotter temperatures are killing farmworkers in the state. (The Lever)
• The Massachusetts Institute of Technology plans to launch a new initiative aimed at connecting climate research to policymakers, but some students and observers worry the university will eventually turn to funding from fossil fuel firms. (Inside Climate News)

GRID:

• Virtual power plants have the potential to preserve power reliability as the U.S. phases out fossil fuels before adequately replacing them with equivalent clean energy, experts say. (Canary Media)
• An analysis finds Texas has experienced 263 power outages since 2019, the most of any state in the country, indicating its power grid is struggling under demand and extreme weather. (Houston Chronicle)

FINANCE: The U.S. EPA prepares to announce $20 billion for nonprofits to expand lending for climate and clean energy projects in low-income communities. (Politico)

UTILITIES: Over 1,000 victims of last year’s deadly Maui wildfires plan to sue Hawaiian Electric and other entities, alleging the utility’s equipment sparked the blaze. (Hawaii News Now)

MATERIALS: The closure of three U.S. aluminum manufacturing plants could threaten the transition to clean energy and electrification, experts say. (E&E News) 

ELECTRIFICATION: Colorado restaurants say switching from natural gas to electric induction stoves and ovens has improved their food quality and the kitchen atmosphere. (Rocky Mountain PBS)

CARBON CAPTURE: A North Dakota electric cooperative is betting a $2 billion carbon capture project will allow a coal-fired power plant to comply with Minnesota law, but critics say the plan is absurdly complicated and expensive compared to alternatives. (MPR News)

OIL & GAS:

• Advocates urge policymakers to require long-term monitoring of plugged oil and gas wells following an increase in failed plugging jobs. (Bloomberg Law) 
• Pennsylvania’s governor promotes the plugging of the 200th abandoned oil well since he took office, but there’s a long road ahead to plug the estimated 350,000 more across the state. (Butler Eagle)
• A study finds oil and gas flaring and venting-related air pollution disproportionately burdens low-income, Latino and Indigenous communities. (news release)

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CLIMATE: 

• Former President Trump’s allies craft a plan to once again exit the Paris Agreement if the Republican is elected, and pull out from the treaty underpinning the climate deal so it’s harder for another president to rejoin. (E&E News)
• A Biden administration official notes the significance of states and cities covering more than 96% of the U.S. population crafting climate action plans to compete for Inflation Reduction Act funding. (CNN)
• Michael Bloomberg’s charity will put $200 million toward helping 25 U.S. cities access federal funding for emissions-reducing programs. (Axios)

OIL & GAS: 

• The U.S. led the world in crude oil production for a sixth straight year in 2023. (Reuters)
• Texas oil companies are charging ahead with drilling test wells for carbon capture in a race to capture federal permits and incentives available through the Biden administration’s climate package. (Houston Chronicle)

COAL:

• The U.S., Canada and Indigenous groups announce a plan to tackle British Columbia coal mine pollution contaminating Northwest rivers and lakes. (Associated Press)
• Industry groups argue in court that the U.S. EPA’s 2015 coal ash rules don’t specifically bar coal ash at an Ohio power plant from contact with groundwater, and that the agency’s enforcement efforts amount to new federal rulemaking. (Energy News Network)

PIPELINES:

• An Indigenous attorney recounts a frustrating experience testifying in a case between North Dakota and the federal government over Dakota Access pipeline costs, noting tribal sovereignty is at the heart of the case. (North Dakota Monitor)
• Residents who live along the Mountain Valley Pipeline complain that Virginia regulators are ignoring erosion and pollution complaints as construction nears completion. (WVTF)

BUILDINGS: A New York City public housing pilot project currently underway shows promise in reducing greenhouse gas emissions and making apartments more comfortable through window-mounted heat pumps. (Associated Press)

GRID: Connecticut regulators approve the first round of pilot projects in a new program aimed at testing innovative hardware and software to decarbonize the electric grid. (Energy News Network)

MINING: Tribal nation citizens urge a federal human rights commission to push back on a predicted uranium mining boom, saying Indigenous communities continue to suffer from Cold War-era extraction of the fuel. (Inside Climate News)

BIOFUELS: California advocates call on the state to overhaul its low-carbon fuel standard program to support and fund electric vehicles and charging infrastructure rather than biofuels. (Canary Media)

COMMENTARY: An ecologist suggests that solar projects designed to have synergy with agriculture and ecosystems can preserve farmland and natural environments as the U.S. builds out solar arrays. (The Conversation)

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