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NATURAL GAS: A lack of spare pipeline capacity into the region could threaten the reliability of New England and New York’s natural gas system in extreme cold weather, the North American Electric Reliability Corp. says. (Utility Dive)
ALSO: A Connecticut company signs a $160 million deal to build a 7.4-MW power plant in the state capital using natural gas fuel cells, which officials say will produce no emissions and contribute to state renewable energy goals. (CTpost)
OFFSHORE WIND: A Maine Congressman introduces legislation to prohibit offshore wind development in certain key fishing areas with the aim of protecting his state’s lobstering industry. (Maine Morning Star)
TRANSPORTATION: Ongoing projects to improve New York’s infrastructure, including adding solar generation to public transportation facilities, electrifying bus fleets, and improving transit infrastructure, will not be deterred by the Trump administration, officials say. (City & State New York)
GRID:
ELECTRIC VEHICLES: A Maine education official asks the EPA for relief as school districts that received problem-plagued electric buses grapple with financial loss, but officials still stand behind the importance of electrifying the state’s school bus fleets. (Kennebec Journal, subscription)
SOLAR:
CLIMATE: New Jersey environmental advocates lay out a wish list of goals they’d like to see gubernatorial candidates embrace, including reaching 100% clean energy by 2035 and advancing the electrification of public transportation. (New Jersey Monitor)
HYDROGEN: New York awards $1.2 million to four clean hydrogen research and development projects that show promise in making the production process cleaner and more efficient. (news release)
Correction: Illinois environmental and consumer advocates launched a $1 million ad buy opposing rate increases for a Peoples Gas pipeline replacement program. An item in Wednesday’s newsletter misstated the size of the ad buy.
GRID: Minnesota regulators approve permits for a 180-mile, $1 billion transmission line that two utilities say is needed to improve grid reliability as they transition from fossil fuels. (MPR News)
ALSO:
OHIO: Republican lawmakers introduce a bill that backers say would cut regulations on power produced in the state from nuclear, coal and gas plants to meet growing demand from manufacturing and data centers. (Toledo Blade)
CARBON CAPTURE: The owner of a large Illinois ethanol plant pursuing an onsite carbon capture project, along with the state’s corn lobby, has contributed millions of dollars to state lawmakers to support carbon capture policies as opponents worry the project could harm a local aquifer. (Investigate Midwest)
ELECTRIC VEHICLES:
OIL & GAS:
SOLAR:
UTILITIES: Xcel Energy spent the most on lobbying among companies and organizations in Minnesota in 2023, with most of the $1.4 million involving cases before the state Public Utilities Commission. (MinnPost)
CLIMATE: Dozens of Iowa residents speak out against proposed state science standards that would water down references to climate change in school curriculum. (KCCI)
NUCLEAR: North Dakota lawmakers consider legislation that would begin to study the potential of small nuclear plants making up a greater share of the state’s power generation. (KXNET)
WIND: National laboratory researchers find floating offshore wind facilities along the West Coast could add as much as 33 GW of generating capacity by 2050, but transmission constraints and the technology’s newness could hamper development. (Utility Dive)
CLEAN ENERGY:
SOLAR: A developer nears completion of a 13 MW solar installation in California to provide power to a glass manufacturing facility. (Glass International)
OIL & GAS:
POLITICS: Wyoming Gov. Mark Gordon calls Trump’s energy-related executive orders a “win” for the state even though they lack specifics and could jeopardize funding for efficiency and grid resiliency projects. (WyoFile)
UTILITIES:
GRID: Videos show Southern California Edison distribution lines catching on fire in an area burned by a Los Angeles blaze days after the fire was extinguished. (Los Angeles Times)
TRANSPORTATION: California awards the Port of Los Angeles $31 million to test harbor craft emission-reduction technologies and develop zero-emission capable boats. (Biofuels Digest)
BATTERIES:
BIOFUELS: California advocates push back against proposed wood pellet plants and an export terminal, citing adverse community, climate and ecological impacts. (news release)
POLLUTION: The U.S. EPA launches an investigation into claims that a New Mexico city’s health department discriminated against residents when issuing air pollution regulations. (news release)
CLIMATE: Michigan climate officials say the state is on track to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 26% over 2005 levels by the end of 2025 and is on pace to reach a carbon neutrality goal by 2050. (Michigan Public)
PIPELINES:
NUCLEAR: Officials at a northern Michigan electric cooperative want to buy power from a nuclear plant slated to restart this year, in part to help meet the state’s climate goals a decade ahead of time. (Interlochen Public Radio)
ELECTRIC VEHICLES:
UTILITIES: Ameren Missouri customers push back on the utility’s proposed 15% rate increase that executives say is needed to pay for various grid infrastructure investments. (St. Louis Public Radio)
SOLAR:
CLEAN ENERGY: Rural Minnesota electric cooperatives receive more than $17 million in federal funding for renewable energy projects and load management through virtual power plants. (KIMT)
OFFSHORE WIND: Officials and climate advocates assess the likely impact of President Trump’s pause on new offshore wind leases and permits, with some expressing optimism that most ongoing developments will be unaffected and others worrying about stranded investments, job losses, and delayed progress toward climate goals. (WBUR, Boston Globe, Maine Morning Star)
ALSO: Days before the inauguration, federal regulators give a wind farm off Massachusetts the go-ahead to continue construction and energy production after the failure of a turbine blade in July halted the operation. (Vineyard Gazette)
EFFICIENCY:
CLEAN ENERGY:
UTILITIES: New Hampshire regulators instruct utilities to buy some electricity on day-to-day markets rather than acquiring it all in six-month advance contracts, a move the state’s consumer advocate says could make residents vulnerable to unexpected price spikes. (Concord Monitor)
TRANSPORTATION: New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy, a longtime opponent of New York’s congestion pricing, asks Trump to take a “close look” at the program, saying it did not receive enough federal scrutiny before its launch earlier this year. (The Hill)
NATURAL GAS: In Maryland, Democratic state lawmakers contemplate turning to natural gas to help address tight power supplies and rising prices. (Fox Baltimore)
COAL: Maryland identifies nearly 100 coal ash dumps holding 200 million pounds of ash across the Chesapeake Bay region, many of which are unmonitored or poorly mitigated, allowing toxins to seep into the groundwater. (Bay Journal)
COMMENTARY: Connecticut should modify policies and increase program funding to unlock community solar’s benefits for disadvantaged communities, says a local college student studying urban planning. (CT Mirror)
WIND: President Trump issues an executive order halting work on the recently approved Lava Ridge wind project in southern Idaho, saying it “is allegedly contrary to the public interest and suffers legal deficiencies.” (Idaho Statesman)
SOLAR:
CLEAN ENERGY: A California lawmaker introduces legislation that would extend state renewable energy tax incentives in an effort to preempt Trump administration cuts. (E&E News, subscription)
LITHIUM: The Biden administration finalized a nearly $1 billion loan for the contested proposed Rhyolite Ridge lithium mine in Nevada. (Nevada Current)
COAL: PacifiCorp cancels scheduled coal plant retirements in Utah, citing state and federal regulatory changes. (Utah News Dispatch)
UTILITIES:
GRID: Urban Alaska utilities warn customers to prepare for rolling blackouts as a natural gas shortage intensifies. (Northern Journal)
OIL & GAS: Portland, Oregon’s city council begins considering issuing a permit to Zenith Energy’s contested oil storage facility and terminal. (KOIN)
BUILDINGS:
CLIMATE: New Mexico advocates rally at the state capitol and call on lawmakers to take immediate action to mitigate the climate crisis. (Source NM)
NUCLEAR:
BIOFUELS: Northern California advocates look to shut down a biomass power plant fueled by wood waste, saying it emits climate-warming carbon and other pollutants. (JPR)
EMISSIONS:
President Trump was sworn in Monday, and immediately got to work signing executive orders targeting climate action, wind power, electric vehicles and other priorities of the previous administration.
One of Trump’s biggest moves was to declare a national emergency on energy, noting that power demand is growing and that the country needs to move quickly to meet it. The move unlocks strong executive powers that Trump said he’d use to encourage fossil fuel production — and could open him up to legal challenges if he can’t prove there’s a true energy emergency.
To address the declared emergency, Trump ordered federal agencies to review policies that “burden the development of domestic energy resources” and dismantle them as soon as possible.
But the growing need for energy at home didn’t stop Trump from ending a freeze on permitting for liquefied natural gas exports. And at the same time, Trump also halted federal permitting for new wind projects, even though the industry added 5 GW of new power capacity to the grid last year.
Trump also froze unspent federal subsidies for EV purchases and for automakers to build EV and battery factories, taking away a big incentive for manufacturers and consumers to move away from gas-powered cars.
All of these day-one orders have a clear beneficiary: the fossil fuel industry. But as pollution continues to drive climate change, communities on the front lines of worsening winter storms, hurricanes and wildlifes won’t be sharing in the win.
🔋 Clean energy first: A group of young conservative climate advocates say President-elect Trump’s return to office creates an opportunity for an “America-First” climate strategy to “win the clean energy arms race.” (Grist)
🇺🇲 Getting nonpolitical: Experts say focusing on “nonpolitical” benefits like grid resilience and energy security will help expand virtual power plants during the upcoming Trump administration. (Utility Dive)
🚗 Tesla’s paradox: Although Tesla CEO Elon Musk is leading Trump’s charge to slash government programs, his company has received $10.7 billion from federal climate credits over the last decade, according to securities filings. (E&E News)
🐑 A wooly good pairing: A 900 MW Texas solar farm uses roughly 3,000 sheep to maintain vegetation at its 4,000-acre site, illustrating a broader trend pairing livestock with solar energy development across the U.S. (Associated Press)
💸 Last loans: In what could be a final Inflation Reduction Act disbursement, the Department of Energy announced $22.4 billion in conditional loans for utilities to help cut emissions and bolster the grid. (Canary Media)
🐄 Cleaning up co-ops: A $6 billion round of funding announced by the USDA last week will help rural electric co-ops around the country develop new clean energy resources. (Canary Media)
Plus, some confirmation hearing updates
EFFICIENCY: A new report finds utilities in Tennessee and other Southeast states have the lowest energy efficiency ranking of any region in the U.S. (Tennessee Lookout)
OIL & GAS: Texas regulators adopt updated oilfield waste rules that now cover drill cuttings, mud that oozes from wells and the wastewater that comes to the surface during fracking. (Inside Climate News)
SOLAR: A 900 MW Texas solar farm uses roughly 3,000 sheep to maintain vegetation at its 4,000-acre site, illustrating a broader trend pairing livestock with solar energy development across the U.S. (Associated Press)
POLITICS:
COAL:
ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE:
GRID:
CARBON CAPTURE: The U.S. EPA approves West Virginia’s request for primary enforcement authority for the drilling of injection wells for carbon capture projects. (Charleston Gazette-Mail)
EMISSIONS:
COMMENTARY:
POLITICS: On his first day in office, President Trump declares a national energy emergency to give himself broad powers to encourage fossil fuel production to meet growing power demand, though the move could face legal challenges. (The Guardian, The Hill)
ALSO:
ELECTRIC VEHICLES:
WIND: Trump orders a stop to new permitting for onshore and offshore wind projects and directs the Interior Department to find out whether it can end or amend existing leases. (E&E News)
OIL & GAS: Trump issues executive orders aimed at spurring more oil & gas drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and revoking policies that “burden the development of domestic energy resources.” (The Hill)
OVERSIGHT: President Trump names a longtime Virginia utility regulator to lead the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. (Cardinal News)
SOLAR:
CLIMATE: A study shows how fossil fuel companies collaboratively used Twitter to seed doubt about international climate action. (Grist)
GRID: Illinois lawmakers and advocates are drafting legislation that would allow merchant transmission line developers to access subsidies under the state’s renewable energy credits program to help remove cost barriers for wind and solar developers. (Energy News Network)
EFFICIENCY: A new report finds utilities in Tennessee and other Southeast states have the lowest energy efficiency ranking of any region in the U.S. (Tennessee Lookout)
As long-distance transmission line capacity emerges as a bottleneck for Illinois’ clean energy transition, state lawmakers and advocates are drafting legislation to establish state incentives for power line projects.
One proposal under consideration would allow independent transmission developers to access subsidies through the state’s Renewable Energy Credit (RECs) program, the same mechanism that has fueled the state’s solar boom.
“Merchant transmission developers are essentially building a road — generators pay to put their electricity on that road and send it to customers,” said James Gignac, Midwest senior policy manager for the Union of Concerned Scientists, a member of the coalition working with legislators on an energy bill building on 2017’s Climate & Equitable Jobs Act, or CEJA.
The Illinois legislation being prepared for this spring’s session would create another source of revenue for such projects, lowering the cost burden on wind and solar developers looking for a more direct route to power customers. Unlike projects funded by utility ratepayers, merchant lines do not need to go through the lengthy planning and financing process overseen by regional grid operators such as MISO and PJM.
“These [high voltage, direct current] lines can serve a different purpose,” Gignac said. “It’s an overlay or additional feature of the transmission system. They can provide important benefits that supplement the [regional transmission organization] plan.”
CEJA mandates that almost all of the state’s fossil fuel generation cease by 2045. Especially with the boom in data centers, some are worried Illinois won’t be able to meet its energy needs with renewables and nuclear if coal and gas plants close.
“Transmission is a huge part of the equation, it will be important in helping us take inefficient coal and gas plants off-line, and it will help bring on extraordinary amounts of clean energy,” said Christine Nannicelli, Sierra Club Beyond Coal senior campaign representative.
In December, MISO, which manages the grid for most of Illinois and a large part of the central U.S. spanning from the Dakotas to the Gulf Coast, approved a batch of 24 long-distance transmission projects on top of 18 interregional transmission lines approved in 2022. But these lines will likely take a decade or more to build, given lengthy bureaucratic processes.
Merchant lines can be constructed much more quickly, as they do not need to be studied and deemed necessary through the regional transmission organization process. They just need to be interconnected to the regional grid system, as well as receive certain approvals in the states they pass through. Illinois advocates have also proposed that legislation designate merchant lines as public utilities, giving them an easier path to eminent domain powers.
Merchant lines including the Grain Belt Express, which would stretch from Kansas through Missouri to the Illinois-Indiana border, have faced opposition from landowners concerned about the routes and eminent domain. Merchant lines also introduce competition for utility companies, which have pushed for legislation in various states to limit such competition.
Some advocates argue competition can be good for ratepayers and the environment. Merchant lines could bring renewable power into Illinois from other states, and also make it easier for new renewables to be built in Illinois and connected to the grid. There can be long delays for new wind and solar farms to get approval to be connected to the MISO grid. These renewables could connect to merchant lines without delay.
Grain Belt Express developer Invenergy, based in Chicago, is among the backers of a transmission incentive bill.
Another merchant transmission line seeking to deliver power to Illinois is SOO Green, a proposed 350-mile underground cable between Iowa and Illinois following a railroad right-of-way.
Both projects would facilitate sharing power between MISO and PJM grids, a necessity especially as extreme weather events increase, experts say. Last May, the two organizations for the first time agreed to coordinate on their long-range planning,
The Clean Grid Alliance, a national organization, advocates for grid expansion both through the regional transmission organizations’ planning processes, and through merchant lines. The alliance supported a proposal during the last Illinois legislative session that would have created RECs for merchant transmission. Clean Grid Alliance vice president of advocacy Jeff Danielson said he does not know of any other states that have created RECs for this purpose.
“We encourage states to help in any way possible to get the electric interstate superhighway built,” said Danielson. “It really is up to the states to secure their own economic future around a resilient and commerce-friendly grid. Whether it’s a REC concept, direct power purchase agreements, permitting reform, we encourage all of it. We literally need to build the transmission everywhere all at once.”
Since projects like Grain Belt Express and SOO Green cover multiple states, it may seem unfair for one state to carry more of the financial burden by offering subsidies. But Danielson said that may be necessary to tip the balance and make sure transmission gets built; and other states should follow Illinois’s lead.
“There’s the idea it will just get built,” without state action, Danielson said. “But it won’t, it hasn’t. Merchant lines are incredibly difficult to build. A governor has to understand the value to his state, his colleagues in other states have to understand this is what’s going to drive economic growth. Every time they’re in a meeting they should be saying, ‘We have to get to yes.’ It’s a shared opportunity and shared responsibility.”
A March 2024 study by the Illinois Power Agency estimated that credits for the SOO Green line would cost ratepayers $430 million per year, while reducing utility bills to save them $178 million per year. The line would also add $414 million in economic benefit to the state’s economy, the agency found.
The Laborers’ International Union of North America is among the labor unions supporting a transmission-incentives bill. The union’s Midwest governmental affairs director, Sean Stott, noted that Invenergy’s Grain Belt Express, for example, is projected to create 1,500 construction jobs in central Illinois.
“They’ve made a commitment to employing residents of central Illinois to do that work, including members of the Laborers union,” he said. “Any time you do that, you’ll have money in the pockets of workers. It would definitely generate a significant amount of economic activity in the local community.”
He doesn’t think union members would resent the additional charges on electric bills to fund transmission incentives.
“There are no free lunches in life, there would be a small charge, however they would receive by virtue of an influx of lower-cost power, downward pressure on their electric bills,” he said.
The Illinois Manufacturers’ Association also supports such legislation.
“We’ve seen warnings for the last couple years both in PJM and MISO of potential brown-outs,” said association president Mark Denzler. “When there are challenges, the first folks they ask to reduce load are industries. Transmission projects are one place where the state has the ability to work on making sure we have reliability.”
The legislation might also include a component known as “next generation highways,” allowing transmission lines to be co-located with highways, a situation currently prohibited under Illinois law. Minnesota last year passed similar legislation.
“We want to at least allow utilities the option to consider that,” said Gignac. “It’s something states can do, allowing some flexibility in the location of transmission lines.”
Danielson framed the relationship to highways as symbolic on a larger level.
“We have never thought about our grid in an integrated interstate commerce way like we thought about the highway system in the 1950s, and we really need to,” he said. “Because resilience to weather events and connecting economies through clean energy and 24-7 internet commerce are going to be the reasons Midwest states and the U.S. in general are going to be an economic leader in the future.”
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