👋 Hello and welcome to Energy News Weekly!

Solar power just had a really big year.

A report from the Solar Energy Industries Association and consulting group Wood Mackenzie last week counted 32.4 GW of new solar generating capacity installed last year, a more than 50% increase from the two years before.

As Grist noted, it’s the first time a renewable power source grew faster than other types of electricity since World War II, when hydropower surged. And when it comes to total gigawatts installed, two states led the pack: Texas with 6.5 GW of new solar, and California with 6.2 GW. Florida, Colorado, and Ohio rounded out the top five.

That’s a whole lot of new power ready to join the grid in those states and nationwide. But there’s a big problem: The U.S.’s current power lines can’t handle the growing electricity supply from new solar and wind projects. States Newsroom this week spotlighted how grid-enhancing technology could squeeze more clean electricity onto the power lines we already have, and make sure newly built solar panels don’t end up collecting dust.

More clean energy news

👀 A new climate crackdown: The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission approves new rules requiring public companies to disclose their greenhouse gas emissions and climate risks, but they exclude emissions that come from the use of their products. (Grist)

💰 Supercharging clean energy investment: For every dollar the Inflation Reduction Act put toward clean energy incentives, policy analysts say the private sector has matched $5.47, totaling nearly $750 billion in the first year after the law passed. (Grist)

🙈 LNG’s hidden risks: Liquified natural gas terminals don’t have to disclose what chemicals they use and what risks they pose to their neighbors, leaving nearby residents in the dark about the danger of potential accidents. (Floodlight)

⛄ Yep, it’s climate change: The continental U.S. experienced its warmest winter on record, and scientists say it was driven largely by climate change during which average temperatures throughout the Midwest and Northeast exceeded past averages by as much as 10°F. (Axios, New York Times)

🔌 Heat pumps stay winning: A recent study shows electric heat pumps reduce emissions compared to other heating systems, even when they run on fossil-fueled grid power. (Canary Media)

🏭 Coal plants’ lifeline: Several states consider giving regulators more power to step in when coal plants are slated for retirement, with sponsors of legislation contending coal is necessary as renewables expand and electric rates rise. (E&E News)

📢 We want to hear from you! Send us your questions, comments, and story tips by replying to this email.

💸 Support our work: The Energy News Network is powered by support from readers like you. If you like Energy News Weekly, share it with a friend! Or give today and help us keep our news open and accessible for all.

📧 Want more energy news? Sign up for our daily digests.

Solar power’s record-breaking year is an article from Energy News Network, a nonprofit news service covering the clean energy transition. If you would like to support us please make a donation.

👋 Hello and welcome to Energy News Weekly! I’m glad to be back this week, so let’s dive in.

The Biden administration spent the last year preparing to roll out one of the biggest emissions-fighting regulations the U.S. has ever seen. Now, one of its most ambitious provisions may not happen.

As far as climate regulations go, this one was pretty big: The U.S. EPA would require all new and existing fossil fuel plants to sharply cut or capture their emissions in the next decade, or else face shutdown. But now, the agency has decided to exempt the nation’s 2,000 or so existing gas plants, E&E News and other sources reported last week. 

The EPA said that it’s instead planning a “stronger, more durable” rule for existing gas plants that also would crack down on how they pollute nearby, often disadvantaged communities. But the New York Times reports that agency officials also worried the rule could be overturned in court, and that it wouldn’t help get skeptical voters on President Biden’s side before the election. 

Whatever comes next, if it doesn’t get done well before November, the EPA may miss its chance to regulate gas plant emissions altogether.

It’s only been a few weeks since reports suggested the EPA would also weaken its proposed tailpipe emissions rule, which would push automakers to speed up their transition to electric vehicles. But after automakers raised concerns about EV costs and still-weak charging infrastructure, it too may be on the chopping block.

More clean energy news

🌎 Kerry’s last stand: As John Kerry steps down as U.S. climate envoy, he made a final push for phasing out new gas infrastructure construction and cautioned that capturing carbon emissions won’t replace the need to decarbonize. (The Guardian)

🛰️ Measuring methane: A methane-tracking satellite launched Monday, and aims to collect emissions data and map out leaking oil and gas infrastructure around the world. (NPR)

💰 Rural clean energy boost: The U.S. Department of Energy announces $366 million for rural renewable energy projects across 20 states and 30 tribal nations. (The Hill)

💸 Cracking down on utility spending: At least a dozen states seek to limit utilities from spending ratepayer money on lobbying, advertising, and other costs in the wake of corruption scandals like the FirstEnergy scandal unfolding in Ohio. (States Newsroom, Floodlight/Mother Jones)

🌊 Offshore wind’s ‘terrifying’ threat: Offshore wind industry leaders say former President Trump’s election poses a “terrifying” threat to their already struggling industry, with one official saying that “anyone who is telling themselves that they’ll find a way around it is kidding themselves.” (E&E News)

☀️ A big leap for solar: A clean energy group’s analysis finds a $7 billion federal program is on track to help more than 700,000 lower-income households install solar and storage systems, making it the largest such investment in U.S. history. (Canary Media) 

🔥 Energy storage heats up: At least 30 startups look to store renewable power by heating up rocks and other materials, hoping thermal storage can solve solar and wind’s intermittency challenges. (Canary Media)

🧟 Zombie hunt: Environmental groups propose policies that could help states clean up and repurpose nearly 1 million acres of idled, unreclaimed “zombie” coal mines across 12 states. (Daily Yonder)

📢 We want to hear from you! Send us your questions, comments, and story tips by replying to this email.

💸 Support our work: The Energy News Network is powered by support from readers like you. If you like Energy News Weekly, share it with a friend! Or give today and help us keep our news open and accessible for all.

📧 Want more energy news? Sign up for our daily digests.

Clock is ticking on power plant emissions rule is an article from Energy News Network, a nonprofit news service covering the clean energy transition. If you would like to support us please make a donation.

⛷️ Good morning! Kathryn is just back from a much-deserved vacation and will return to the Weekly next week.

Meanwhile, gather ’round! We need to talk about hydrogen.

In theory, hydrogen sounds like a miracle fuel. Split water molecules with clean power, use the hydrogen to fuel everything from trucks to steelmaking, boom: endless clean energy. Doesn’t that sound nice?

Reality, of course, is never that simple, and with all the news about hydrogen hubs and the rainbow of green vs. blue vs. pink and so on, it’s easy to get lost.

But if you only have the bandwidth for one hydrogen story right now, it should be the debate over a tax credit called 45V, that could have major implications for future emissions.

As reporter Kari Lydersen explained in a story earlier this month, draft rules for the 45V tax credit require “green” hydrogen to be produced by new, adjacent renewable energy to qualify, much like the illustration above.

But promoters of hydrogen hubs, which energy writer David Roberts has dismissively dubbed “subsidy-farming machines,” sent a letter Monday urging the Treasury Department to allow green hydrogen produced from existing renewable energy to qualify, arguing the proposed rules are so strict they’ll be unable to bring productions costs down quickly enough to meet federal goals.

Earthjustice attorney Lauren Piette calls that a “loophole” that will simply divert existing clean energy capacity that would then be backfilled by coal and gas generation, potentially causing a net increase in emissions and spiking utility bills.

Beyond grid implications, advocates are also warning of other unintended climate consequences if hydrogen is not used or handled carefully — potentially creating more heat-trapping emissions than burning natural gas. 

More clean energy news

🚘 Something we can agree on: While policies to phase out gasoline cars have become politically polarized, a study finds electric vehicles are popular with Democrats and Republicans alike. (CNN)

🌊 A milestone for offshore wind: Vineyard Wind last week became the first large-scale offshore wind farm in the U.S. to begin delivering power, a step Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey calls “a turning point in the clean energy transition.” (Associated Press)

🏡 Building tension: Policies to improve energy efficiency in housing have faced strong opposition from builders associations, who frequently deploy inflated cost estimates to fight code upgrades. (Washington Post)

✅ Just in case: Federal regulators are scrambling to implement policies to cut heat-trapping emissions and meet U.S. climate obligations in case the White House changes hands after the 2024 election. (Bloomberg)

💡 Looking to the future: State and local governments are preparing applications for a $5 billion federal grant program to implement big ideas in climate action plans. (Energy News Network)

🏢 Greener cities: A Chicago environmental justice organization is helping to build out a geothermal heating and cooling network on the city’s South Side. (Grist)

👷 Learning from history: A new weatherization jobs resource hub in Wisconsin is part of advocates’ effort to avoid the boom-and-bust cycle that followed previous increases in federal energy efficiency funding. (Energy News Network)

📢 We want to hear from you! Send us your questions, comments, and story tips by replying to this email.

💸 Support our work: The Energy News Network is powered by support from readers like you. If you like Energy News Weekly, share it with a friend! Or give today and help us keep our news open and accessible for all.

📧 Want more energy news? Sign up for our daily digests.

Why you should be paying attention to hydrogen right now is an article from Energy News Network, a nonprofit news service covering the clean energy transition. If you would like to support us please make a donation.

👋 Hello and welcome to Energy News Weekly!

Big boxes of steel, iron, and mineral oil.  

That’s how John Gajda, a long-time utility engineer and professor at North Carolina State University, described power transformers in a recent interview with the Energy News Network. But that unassuming description disguises just how important these hunks of metal are for the clean energy transition.

Transformers do exactly what their name suggests: Transform electricity made at power plants to a voltage suitable for transmission, then transform the voltage again for us to use at home. And as more solar panels and wind turbines are built and more electric cars and appliances add to power demand, they’re becoming more essential than ever.

But there’s one big problem: The average large power transformer in the U.S. is about 40 years old, according to the U.S. Department of Energy, and many are in need of replacement. And because of a global shortage of the devices, it can now take as much as five years to get a new one.

A new transformer factory coming to Charlotte, North Carolina, could help plug the gap. Siemens Energy is expanding and refitting its existing plant to build 57 massive transformers every year — a critical new supply as the DOE projects the U.S. will need to buy 900 new transformers annually in just three years.

Read more about the future of transformers at the Energy News Network.

More clean energy news

💸 Methane fee math: The top 25 U.S. oil and gas producers would’ve been liable for $1.1 billion in charges had the federal climate law’s methane emissions fee been applied over the year ending in March 2023, an analysis finds. (Grist)

🚗 Tailpipe rule tossup: The Biden administration reportedly plans to give automakers more time to meet its ambitious tailpipe emissions rules meant to speed electric vehicle adoption; White House officials say the rule is still in play. (New York Times, E&E News)

🌬️ Bright spots for offshore wind: The U.S. offshore wind industry enters 2024 with lowered ambitions after a series of canceled projects last year, though analysts say those that survived now have a better chance of being built. (E&E News)

🏦 Banks back off climate: Big financial firms have quit an international coalition aimed at curbing investment-related greenhouse gas emissions and back out of other climate commitments,  saying the promises could expose them to legal challenges. (Reuters, New York Times)

🤝 Better together: Combining state, local and private-sector efforts to reduce emissions are more effective than any efforts on their own, researchers find, noting that when governments make emissions rules, they often drive companies to follow suit. (The Hill)

🗳️ Clean energy’s political future: Republicans pushing for climate action and clean energy vow to keep working even if former President Trump is elected and turns the tide against them. (E&E News)

🛣️ Stay in your lane: Environmental justice advocates call for a moratorium on expanding highways, saying they disproportionately affect nearby communities of color through displacement and pollution. (Washington Post)

📢 We want to hear from you! Send us your questions, comments, and story tips by replying to this email.

💸 Support our work: The Energy News Network is powered by support from readers like you. If you like Energy News Weekly, share it with a friend! Or give today and help us keep our news open and accessible for all.

📧 Want more energy news? Sign up for our daily digests.

A cleaner power grid needs more transformers is an article from Energy News Network, a nonprofit news service covering the clean energy transition. If you would like to support us please make a donation.

👋 Hello and welcome to Energy News Weekly!

Nine states just made a big electrification commitment: They want electric heat pumps to make up 90% of their residential heating, air conditioning and water heating sales by 2040.

Officials in California, Colorado, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Oregon and Rhode Island signed on to the agreement last week. And while it’s legally nonbinding and the states haven’t set aside any funding to achieve the goal, it’s a step toward making heat pumps the norm for homeowners when they install new HVAC equipment.

The residential sector is a big contributor to U.S. greenhouse gas emissions, especially in cold Northeastern states that heavily rely on fossil fuels for heating. Heat pumps meanwhile use electricity to both heat and cool homes, and while much of that electricity may come from fossil fuels for now, they use that power far more efficiently than gas boilers. They also help keep natural gas and its health and safety risks out of homes.

And if you’ve got questions about just how well electricity can heat a home, this study from 2022 shows heat pumps kept Maine residents cozy even when temperatures dropped below freezing. It’s a big goal, but another record year for heat pump sales suggests it’s within reach. An industry group reported the electric appliances outsold natural gas furnaces by 21% in 2023, marking the second year in a row that heat pumps have outsold gas.

More clean energy news

🏭 Cutting soot, saving lives: The U.S. EPA is tightening airborne soot regulations to reduce coal plant and diesel truck pollution, a move expected to save as many as 4,500 lives in 2032 and bring $46 billion in health benefits by that year. (E&E News)

Read more: Air quality monitoring data suggests Arizona, California, Pennsylvania and Texas will have the hardest time meeting the new soot limits, though 99% of counties will likely comply with the rules by 2032. (E&E News, Utility Dive)

📈 The IRA’s price tag is growing: The estimated cost of implementing the federal climate law has more than doubled since its passage in 2022, largely because forecasters think its clean energy, electric vehicle and other incentives will be more popular than originally expected. (The Hill)

🚨 ‘Dangerous greenwashing scheme’: Democratic senators call on federal regulators to crack down on “responsible” and “certified” natural gas claims, saying the selling of low-emissions methane is a “dangerous greenwashing scheme” that undermines the clean energy transition. (The Guardian)

💧 Keeping hydrogen clean: As some developers look to weaken proposed rules for federal clean hydrogen tax credits, environmental advocates warn that could divert existing clean energy generation to hydrogen production and prolong fossil-fuel-fired generators. (Energy News Network)

🏫 Stolen lands’ legacies: State trust lands taken 150 years ago from Indigenous territories in Western and Midwest states provide public universities with millions of dollars of annual funding, largely via oil and gas drilling. (Grist)

🚚 Long road ahead: Waning interest in Ford’s F-150 electric truck reflects a broader cooling market for electric vehicle sales, though experts still predict long-term demand to grow. (New York Times, NPR)

🌎 Climate rights: Several states are considering amending their constitutions to guarantee residents’ right to a safe climate amid a nationwide campaign by environmental advocates. (The Hill)

☑️ Voting for clean energy: The World Resources Institute says the 2024 presidential election will perhaps be the biggest driver of the U.S. clean energy sector’s near-term future. (Utility Dive)

📢 We want to hear from you! Send us your questions, comments, and story tips by replying to this email.

💸 Support our work: The Energy News Network is powered by support from readers like you. If you like Energy News Weekly, share it with a friend! Or give today and help us keep our news open and accessible for all.

📧 Want more energy news? Sign up for our daily digests.

These states ❤️ heat pumps is an article from Energy News Network, a nonprofit news service covering the clean energy transition. If you would like to support us please make a donation.