Discover the Latest News and Initiatives for a Sustainable Future

EMISSIONS: The U.S. EPA announces $3 billion to deploy zero-emission freight and ferry infrastructure to curb ports’ climate impacts. (Associated Press)

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ALSO:

• A new report finds planet-warming pollution has reached its highest level in human history, while two others show global emissions reduction policies are falling short. (The Guardian, Inside Climate News)
• A new report finds Britain and EU residents are twice as likely to die prematurely from exposure to gas stove pollutants than from a car crash, emphasizing the importance of proper ventilation and the transition to induction stoves. (New York Times)

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UTILITIES: Climate change and the clean energy transition add to complications for utilities looking to shore up system resilience. (Utility Dive)

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GRID:

• Five governors urge grid operator PJM to modify its capacity market rules and interconnection queue process, saying the current approach could raise costs without encouraging more development. (Utility Dive)
• A growing number of battery storage projects have helped stabilize Texas’ wobbly power grid, but local boards have wavered on some projects because residents fear facilities could overheat and catch fire. (Houston Chronicle)

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SOLAR:

• U.S. manufacturers say federal tax incentives given to an Ohio solar panel manufacturing plant whose minority owner is a China-based company undermines efforts to create a domestic supply chain. (Bloomberg)
• A large solar components manufacturer in Michigan plans to leverage new federal tax credits to build what would be the third U.S. factory that makes solar wafers, which act as a foundation for panels. (Solar Power World)

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POLITICS:

• Both Harris and Trump are likely to maintain or increase heavy tariffs on clean energy imports if they win the election, as both campaigns seek to boost domestic manufacturing. (E&E News)
• A new survey shows Democrats still haven’t convinced most Americans of the Inflation Reduction Act’s successes, with just 24% saying the legislation has improved their lives. (Politico)

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LITHIUM: The U.S. Energy Department finalizes a $2.26 billion loan to the controversial Thacker Pass lithium mine under development in Nevada as part of the Biden administration’s effort to bolster the domestic battery supply chain. (Reuters)

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ELECTRIC VEHICLES: A nonprofit “green bank” launches a $250 million financing program to help small freight companies serving the Long Beach and Los Angeles ports purchase about 500 electric trucks. (Canary Media)

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EFFICIENCY: Massachusetts, New York, and Pennsylvania lead the country in passive house adoption, but these highly energy-efficient homes remain out of reach for many in the middle class. (Washington Post)

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ALSO:

• Construction of energy efficient homes accelerates in Maryland as more builders pursue the federal Zero Energy Ready designation. (Capital Gazette)
• New Jersey utilities PSE&G and New Jersey Natural Gas receive state approval for their latest 30-month energy efficiency programs, which will offer low-interest financing, rebates, and other incentives to help residents and businesses use less energy. (news release)

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TRANSPORTATION: New Jersey and New York ports receive $400 million in federal funding to electrify a ferry fleet and cargo handling equipment, provide plug-in power for ships in port, and help truck drivers get zero-emissions vehicles. (NJ Spotlight News)

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FOSSIL FUELS: Northampton becomes the 10th Massachusetts municipality — and the only one in the western part of the state — authorized to ban fossil fuels in new construction as part of a pilot program. (Daily Hampshire Gazette)

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NUCLEAR: Plans to revive the Three Mile Island plant, once synonymous with disaster, highlight the country’s shifting attitudes toward nuclear power. (New York Times)

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POLITICS: The future of fracking in Pennsylvania is central to the two major presidential candidates’ pitches to voters in the important swing state. (TribLIVE)

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TRANSMISSION: A Maryland state senator plans to propose legislation to delay the construction of a proposed 70-mile transmission line through the state. (Fox Baltimore)

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ELECTRIC VEHICLES: More than $80 million in federal and state grants help Maryland expand electric vehicle charging infrastructure, particularly in underserved communities. (Southern Maryland Online)

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GAS: A plant converting the methane from landfill emissions into natural gas opens in Pennsylvania, and could produce enough energy to heat 39,000 homes each year, developers say. (Republican Herald)

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COMMENTARY:

• With Pennsylvania’s remaining coal plants set to close in coming years, state leaders must craft a plan to help employees and communities that are losing jobs, benefits, and tax revenue, says a sustainable development advocate. (Tribune-Democrat)
• Pennsylvania is poised to capitalize on the growth of power-hungry AI data centers by embracing natural gas rather than focusing too narrowly on renewable energy, says a former U.S. Congress member and natural gas advocate. (RealClear Energy)

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ELECTRIFICATION: Maine’s whole-home heat pump rebate program picks up speed after it replaced a previous incentive that was not having the hoped-for impact on fossil fuel use. (Maine Public)

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TRANSPORTATION:

• New Jersey lawmakers propose a delay in a rule requiring increasing sales of zero-emission trucks, saying the state’s charging infrastructure is inadequate and the vehicles are too pricey. (New Jersey Monitor)
• The state also announces federal funding to boost plans to build 24 new charging stations along the New Jersey Turnpike. (NJ Spotlight News)

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EMISSIONS: Business groups and utilities object to a potential carbon market program in Maryland, claiming the system would increase energy bills and hurt the state’s economy. (E&E News, subscription)

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GAS: Natural gas pipeline operators in Maine seek to raise their prices, likely increasing the cost of gas service and electricity for consumers. (Portland Press Herald)

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CLIMATE:

• The Biden administration’s two signature climate bills have sent $5.6 billion in federal funds to Pennsylvania in the form of clean energy tax breaks, grants to reduce industrial emissions, support for hydrogen hubs, and more. (StateImpact Pennsylvania)
• The Maine Climate Council removes green hydrogen goals from its draft climate plan and instead raises its target for getting new electric vehicles on the road. (Portland Press Herald, subscription)

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GRID: Long-duration batteries, small modular nuclear reactors, and synthetic natural gas could all help the New England grid maintain reliability as the region transitions to more variable renewable energy sources like solar and wind, according to a report from ISO New England. (RTO Insider, subscription)

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RENEWABLE ENERGY: Maryland lawmakers and advocates push to remove trash incineration from the state’s definition of renewable energy, noting how often these facilities are located in low-income neighborhoods. (Inside Climate News)

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UTILITIES: Eversource kicks off deployment of smart meters throughout its Massachusetts territory, allowing consumers to better monitor and manage their power consumption, the company says. (news release)

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OFFSHORE WIND: U.S. offshore wind executives worry about the future of the industry if Donald Trump wins the presidential election. (Reuters)

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COMMENTARY: A proposed natural gas pipeline from New Jersey to Massachusetts is unnecessary as offshore wind and heat pump adoption gain steam in Massachusetts, an environmental advocate argues.  (CommonWealth Beacon)

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ELECTRIFICATION: California launches an $80 million program aimed at electrifying low and moderate-income households with rebates for heat pumps, appliances and efficiency upgrades. (Sacramento Bee)

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CLIMATE:

• A national green bank awards an Alaska Native economic development nonprofit $10 million for climate-related initiatives including heat pump installation and building out electric vehicle charging infrastructure. (KTOO)
• The Nez Perce Tribe in Idaho launches a federally funded climate-resiliency program that includes installing solar arrays, deploying electric vehicles, upgrading building efficiency and planting hundreds of thousands of trees. (ICT)

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ELECTRIC VEHICLES: Washington state allocates $100 million for 575 new electric vehicle charging sites, but an expert says the private sector must build thousands more to meet future demand. (Cascade PBS)

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OIL & GAS:

• California lawmakers advance legislation aimed at managing high fuel prices by requiring refiners to maintain minimum reserves, but shelve a proposal to increase ethanol blends in gasoline. (CalMatters)  
• Conservationists look to defend the federal Bureau of Land Management’s oil and gas leasing rule raising royalty rates and reclamation bonds from an industry lawsuit seeking to overturn it. (news release)

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SOLAR:

• Researchers successfully test a solar-powered water desalination system in New Mexico that follows the rhythm of the sun, eliminating the need for batteries. (news release)
• A developer plans to build a 1.6 MW solar installation on a logistics warehouse in southern California. (news release)

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UTILITIES: The upcoming election for two seats on Montana’s utility regulatory commission comes as the state’s energy industry reckons with the federal push toward clean power and a court decision mandating climate be considered in energy permitting. (Montana Free Press)

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NUCLEAR: Wyoming lawmakers advance legislation that would enable firms to establish temporary high-level radioactive waste storage facilities in the state. (WyoFile)

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HYDROPOWER: An Oregon city brings an in-conduit hydropower installation online that is integrated into its drinking water system. (Hydro Review)

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MINING: Arizona regulators advance a proposed copper mine in the southern part of the state by approving a tailings pipeline through state land. (Arizona Daily Star)

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COMMENTARY:

• An Arizona solar industry official urges residents to vote in the state utility regulatory commissioner election, saying it is one of the most consequential races on the ballot. (Arizona Capitol Times)
• A Colorado energy journalist mulls ways Xcel Energy might replace generation and economic benefits lost after the Comanche coal plant closes in 2030. (Colorado Newsline)

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CORRECTION: Alabama Power has not promised to line coal ash pits as part of an EPA settlement, an item in Thursday’s newsletter incorrectly stated that it had.

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TRANSITION: West Virginia officials embrace a plan to convert a long-troubled coal plant into a coal-powered facility to produce hydrogen and graphite, but the project has stalled as the company running it juggles multiple projects and a history of loan defaults. (Floodlight/Mountain State Spotlight)

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EMISSIONS: “It’s all smoke and mirrors:” Former Texas employees blow the whistle on the state’s pollution monitoring team, which analysis finds has been systematically weakened dating back to the early fracking boom in 2010. (Inside Climate News)

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HELENE:

• Only a small fraction of Tennessee residents have flood insurance, which could complicate cleanup and recovery from widespread flooding during Hurricane Helene. (Knoxville News Sentinel)
• Local, state and federal officials determine Hurricane Helene damaged or destroyed 519 homes and 83 businesses in Virginia. (Cardinal News)

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GRID: Federal officials offer up to $360 million to support a $2.6 billion project to link Texas’ standalone grid with a high-voltage transmission line running 320 miles from Mississippi through Louisiana to Texas. (Houston Chronicle)

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WORKFORCE: Virginia industry leaders call for the state to support more workforce programs to train workers to fill shortages of electricians, mechanics and technicians, as well as for the emerging electric vehicle industry. (Virginia Mercury)

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PIPELINES: Federal regulators tell a court they have good reason to grant the Mountain Valley Pipeline three more years to complete an extension into North Carolina, since they were waiting for the project to receive federal permits for its main line. (Bloomberg, subscription)

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ELECTRIC VEHICLES: West Virginia residents increasingly consider switching to electric vehicles because of a wave of new all-terrain vehicles and a program that lets them test drive four different models. (WV News)

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OIL & GAS: A Congress member says Texas oil companies that withdrew from Russia because of U.S. sanctions over its invasion of Ukraine are now being targeted for breach-of-contract lawsuits. (Houston Chronicle)

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COAL:

• West Virginia residents express concern about the effects of nearby coal mining and coalbed methane extraction on a state park. (Charleston Gazette-Mail, subscription)
• A West Virginia lawmaker and former miner discusses how mechanization and the shift away from coal to produce power has diminished the prospect of long-term employment for miners. (WV News)

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POLITICS:

• Damage by Hurricane Helene in Georgia and North Carolina — both hard-fought swing states — could influence the presidential election with just weeks to go. (E&E News)
• “Nobody get distracted by that question:” Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin provides updates on the state’s recovery from Hurricane Helene but avoids a question about climate change. (Virginia Mercury)

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COMMENTARY:

• Driven largely by Donald Trump and the Republican candidate for North Carolina governor, disinformation and outright lies about the federal response to Hurricane Helene have run rampant on social media, writes an editorial board. (Greensboro News & Record)
• The widespread destruction caused by Hurricane Helene should spur North Carolina officials to push back against the home-building industry to improve building codes and channel development away from flood risks across the state, writes an opinion editor. (Raleigh News & Observer)

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GAS: California Gov. Gavin Newsom vetoed a bill Friday night that would have required public health warning labels on gas-burning ranges and cooktops, saying the measure was “highly prescriptive” and would be difficult to amend in the future as scientific knowledge evolves. (Washington Post)

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ALSO: After a federal court struck down Berkeley’s ban on new natural gas hookups, a growing number of California cities are pushing forward with efficiency-based building codes to continue the push toward building electrification. (Inside Climate News)

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WIND:

• Federal officials canceled an upcoming floating offshore wind auction off the Oregon coast Friday due to insufficient bidder interest, saying only one of five eligible companies was still interested in the project. (OPB)
• A developer completes a 161-megawatt wind project in northern Arizona that will help power a future Google data center. (Independent Newsmedia)

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ELECTRIC VEHICLES:

• More than 3,000 Washington residents have claimed the state’s new electric vehicle rebates since they launched on Aug. 1, putting them on track to run out as soon as next month. (Washington State Standard)
• School officials and community members tour one of Las Vegas’ first electric school buses as advocates kick off National Drive Electric Week. (Review Journal, KSNV)

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SOLAR:

• California Gov. Gavin Newsom vetoed legislation Friday that would have allowed schools and apartment buildings to use on-site solar instead of having to buy it back from utilities. (Solar Power World)
• A Montana retailer discusses how solar power is helping to cut energy costs and keep the power on even when neighbors face outages. (NBC Montana)

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UTILITIES: PG&E warned more than 12,000 customers in northern California that preemptive shutoffs are likely this week as high temperatures and gusty winds elevate wildfire risks. (SF Gate)

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CLIMATE: As erosion and melting permafrost destroys an Alaska Native village, its residents prepare to complete one of the first large-scale relocations because of climate change. (Associated Press)

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OIL & GAS:

• After earthquakes prompted a local pause on fracking three years ago, a New Mexico state agency seeks a “cautious approach” as it ramps up drilling activity in the area. (Santa Fe New Mexican)
• California officials are investigating nearly 400 gallons of spilled oil in a Stockton canal as an illegal dumping case. (KCRA)

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POLITICS: Early plans suggest Donald Trump would radically remake the Interior Department, weakening environmental protections and expanding mining and oil and gas development across the West, including on currently protected public lands. (The Guardian/Type Investigations)

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COMMENTARY: A wildlife conservationist writes that the Bureau of Land Management’s current Western Solar Plan lacks balance and would put Nevada landscapes at risk. (Nevada Independent)

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Environmental advocates are hailing a decision by Massachusetts regulators that will give more than 1.3 million households access to lower winter electricity prices if they use a heat pump in their home.

Public utilities regulators on Monday ordered National Grid, the state’s second-largest electric company, to develop a lower, seasonal rate for houses with heat pumps. The decision comes three months after the state approved a similar rate plan by Unitil, an electric utility that serves 108,500 Massachusetts households.

“They hit the nail on the head here,” said Kyle Murray, Massachusetts program director for climate and energy nonprofit Acadia Center.

Heat pumps are a major element of Massachusetts’ strategy for going carbon neutral by 2050. However, high electricity prices and historically low natural gas prices make switching to a heat pump financially difficult for many people. Unitil’s pricing plan is an attempt to bridge that affordability gap and make heat pumps more accessible, said spokesman Alec O’Meara.

National Grid had proposed a technology-neutral “electrification rate” that would have offered a discounted rate to high-volume electric consumers, whether the power demand was coming from an efficient heat pump, inefficient electric resistance heat, or even a pool heater. Environmental activists, advocates for low-income households, a solar industry group, the state energy department, and the state attorney general all filed comments objecting to this approach and pushing for a heat pump-specific rate like Unitil’s.

“The proposal that National Grid had filed wasn’t going to do anything to ensure that customers who opted into their electrification rate were actually participating in our decarbonization efforts,” said Priya Gandbhir, a senior attorney with the Conservation Law Foundation, one of the groups that pushed for a heat pump specific rate.

In their order, regulators sided with the objectors. They concluded that National Grid’s proposal did not meet the state’s legal mandates to consider the impact of rate design changes on greenhouse gas emissions and energy efficiency, as opposed to Unitil’s approach, which removes a barrier to lower emissions and greater efficiency.

“The heat pump rate will reduce kilowatt hour electricity rates for these customers during winter when heat pumps replace fossil fuel heating equipment, furthering the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions,” said Alanna Kelly, spokesperson for the state department of public utilities.

The order also encouraged National Grid to create the rate quickly so it could be in effect before the coming winter heating season.

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BATTERIES: The U.S. Energy Department awards a Colorado electric vehicle battery manufacturer $50 million as part of an effort to beef up the nation’s battery supply chain. (CPR)

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ALSO: The U.S. Energy Department awards a manganese and zinc mine under development in southern Arizona $166 million to spur production of the battery metals. (Arizona Daily Star)

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CLIMATE: A California report finds greenhouse gas emissions have dropped across all sectors in the state except residential and commercial, with transportation seeing the largest year-to-year decline as electric vehicle sales climb. (KTLA, news release)

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ELECTRIC VEHICLES:

• California advocates say slow grid connections are stifling electric truck charging infrastructure buildout and zero-emission big-rig adoption. (Canary Media)
• Industry observers blame a lack of a cohesive plan for Nevada failing to build out its electric vehicle charging infrastructure on schedule. (Nevada Independent)

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SOLAR:

• A western Colorado county approves new land-use regulations aimed at preserving agricultural areas by encouraging utility-scale solar development on previously disturbed land. (Telluride Daily Planet)
• A rural Nevada county pushes back on the federal Bureau of Land Management’s plan to open hundreds of thousands of acres to solar development, fearing it will become “an industrial park.” (Las Vegas Review-Journal)
• A firm breaks ground on a 400 MW solar-plus-battery storage project in rural eastern Utah. (Solar Industry)
• California regulators schedule a public meeting on a proposed 1,150 MW solar-plus-battery storage system and green hydrogen generator in Fresno County. (news release)
• The federal Bureau of Land Management seeks public input on the proposed Copper Rays solar project in Nye County, Nevada. (news release)

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GRID: The Western power grid reached a record-breaking peak load on July 10 even though demand was relatively moderate on California’s system. (RTO Insider, subscription)

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WIND: A Hawaii wind facility’s operator says a new system designed to deter bats and prevent collisions with turbines has been successful so far. (Hawaii Public Radio)

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OIL & GAS:

• New Mexico regulators propose raising oil and gas permitting fees to help fund staff to process applications and enforce rules. (Santa Fe New Mexican)
• New Mexico advocates warn that Project 2025, the right-wing playbook for a second Trump administration, calls for nixing the oil and gas drilling ban around Chaco Culture National Historical Park. (NM Political Report)

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URANIUM: The Navajo Nation and a mining company continue working to negotiate a deal that would allow uranium ore shipments across tribal land. (AZ Mirror)

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UTILITIES: The Tennessee Valley Authority rolls out a long-term plan that presents 30 different pathways to balance energy generation with growing power demand, including the construction of between 9 GW and 26 GW of new power by 2035. (Knoxville News Sentinel)

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SOLAR:

• A study finds several Southeast states could attain 45% solar generation by 2035, which would save utilities roughly $20 billion per year. (PV Magazine)
• FirstEnergy subsidiaries Mon Power and Potomac Edison break ground on a 5.75 MW solar farm, their third utility-scale solar project in the state. (news release)

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WIND: A long-delayed plan to build a 75 MW onshore wind farm in Virginia is pushed back yet another year, with plans to begin construction next year and begin generating power by 2026. (Roanoke Times)

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ELECTRIC VEHICLES: A planned Hyundai electric vehicle and battery plant in Georgia that’s being supported by local, state and federal incentives sparks protests from farmers and residents concerned that it will use roughly 4 million gallons of water per day. (E&E News)

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PIPELINES: An energy analyst discusses how the 580-mile Matterhorn Express Pipeline between west Texas and Houston will relieve bottlenecks and likely spur more oil and gas production in the Permian Basin. (Texas Standard)

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OIL & GAS:

• Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton sues two federal agencies and Biden administration officials for declaring the dunes sagebrush lizard endangered, saying the listing is intended to undermine the oil and gas industry. (Texas Tribune)
• University of North Carolina Chapel Hill and five other major U.S. universities have accepted more than $100 million from oil and gas companies over the last 20 years, placed fossil fuel leaders among their boards, and failed to disclose conflicts of interest for fossil fuel industry research, student organizers report. (The Guardian)

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NUCLEAR: U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin trumpets the federal climate package’s role in a deal to restart Three Mile Island Nuclear Generating Station in Pennsylvania. (WV News)

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GRID:

• A Duke Energy official discusses the utility’s grid-hardening efforts in Florida, including plans to bury more than 700 miles of power lines. (St. Pete Catalyst)
• Georgia Power projects data centers will account for more than 80% of its new large customer power demand. (Atlanta Business Chronicle, subscription)

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POLITICS: Republican governors from Louisiana, Nebraska, South Carolina and Tennessee meet in Chattanooga, Tennessee, to discuss energy efficiency, nuclear power, ethanol and the grid’s growing demand for power. (Chattanooga Times Free Press)

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COMMENTARY:

• A Southeast clean energy group and an Appalachian advocacy organization criticize the Tennessee Valley Authority’s new long-term plan for vagueness and apparent reliance on building out more natural gas infrastructure to meet escalating energy demand. (Southern Alliance for Clean Energy, Appalachian Voices)
• Texas’ companies’ plans to invest big in carbon capture would prolong the oil and gas industry with technology that endangers water supplies and wouldn’t be viable without government subsidies, write two environmentalists. (Austin American-Statesman)
• A Texas election for a powerful regulatory post currently held by a Republican “queen of the oil patch” has been largely overlooked because of a misleading name and failure by voters to understand what’s at stake, writes a columnist. (Houston Chronicle)

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GRID: A White House infrastructure advisory council calls for the U.S. to build a “strategic virtual reserve” of electric transformers to help speed electrification efforts. (Utility Dive)

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ALSO:

• Rising AI use, coupled with building and vehicle electrification, are set to drive U.S. electricity demand up 13% over the next 20 years, a consulting firm estimates. (Axios)
• A study finds heat pumps, rooftop solar and other clean energy and efficiency measures have helped operators balance the Pacific Northwest’s grid. (OPB)
• Some conservationists say a planned Maryland power line project would undo “hard-won” protections on thousands of acres of state park and nature preserve land. (Bay Journal)

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EMISSIONS:

• Federal officials look to carbon markets to fund overseas climate and clean energy projects, though the markets have often overestimated offsets, discrediting their climate bonafides. (E&E News)
• Data center emissions from Apple, Google, Meta and Microsoft are likely more than seven times higher than the companies report, according to a news organization’s analysis. (The Guardian)
• Four Ohio cities will use $10 million in Inflation Reduction Act funding to develop new voluntary building performance standards and a resource hub to connect commercial building owners with services and incentives to cut energy use and emissions. (Energy News Network)

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TRANSITION: The future of vice presidential candidate JD Vance’s hometown may hinge on a $500 million federal grant to help the city’s steel plant build a massive hydrogen-powered furnace to replace coal — though the company is considering abandoning the funding. (The Guardian, Politico)

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OIL & GAS: Lake Charles, Louisiana, has become the locus of America’s natural gas industry, but its location between Houston and New Orleans exposes it to the brunt of climate change. (The Guardian)

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ELECTRIC VEHICLES:

• GM is reportedly in talks to buy electric vehicle batteries that use technology from a Chinese company but are produced in the U.S., similar to rival Ford’s EV battery plan. (Reuters)
• Virginia moves haltingly toward vehicle electrification, with Volvo and other manufacturers moving to add EV lines even as Republicans try to decouple the state from California EV goals. (Virginia Mercury)

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ELECTRIFICATION: California advocates call on Gov. Gavin Newsom to sign a bill that would allow utilities to electrify entire neighborhoods rather than replace costly natural gas lines. (Canary Media)

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POLITICS: Oil industry leaders say they’re disappointed with former President Trump after he made an “incoherent” case for continued fossil fuel use at last week’s debate. (Politico)

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