Discover the Latest News and Initiatives for a Sustainable Future

GRID: Grid-enhancing technology that could expand existing power lines’ capacity is catching on worldwide but struggling in the U.S. as utilities shy away from high upfront costs. (E&E News)

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ALSO:

• Data centers are taking off across the country, including in the Permian Basin, raising concerns over the power grid’s ability to keep up. (E&E News)
• A new report predicts extreme heat will drive U.S. households’ utility costs up 8% this summer. (The Guardian)

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CLEAN ENERGY:

• Clean energy and transportation investments totaled a record high of $71 billion in the first quarter of the year. (Utility Dive)
• The world isn’t on track to meet a 2030 renewable energy goal, the International Energy Agency says. (The Guardian)
• U.S. solar deployment has skyrocketed since the Inflation Reduction Act’s passage, but wind projects have slowed amid growing backlash, supply chain challenges, and permitting delays. (New York Times)

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CLIMATE: Oil and gas corporations ask the U.S. Supreme Court to block lawsuits brought by states seeking to hold the industry liable for billions of dollars of climate change-caused damage. (Los Angeles Times)

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GEOTHERMAL: A Massachusetts utility this week will launch the nation’s first utility-operated underground thermal energy network. (Canary Media)

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POLITICS:

• Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse calls former President Trump’s reported promise to aid fossil fuel companies if they fund his campaign the “definition of corruption” as the Democrat leads an effort to investigate the issue. (The Guardian)
• Three Republican Congress members who own car dealerships are fighting White House efforts to boost the electric vehicle industry. (E&E News)
• Sen. Joe Manchin leaves the Democratic party, but will remain at the helm of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee. (E&E News)

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ELECTRIC VEHICLES: Car dealers say they’re seeing more blue-collar electric vehicle buyers as federal incentives and price drops make EVs more affordable. (New York Times)

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NUCLEAR: U.S. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm calls for the construction of 98 more nuclear plants on the scale of new units at Georgia Power’s Plant Vogtle. (Associated Press)

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PIPELINES: Federal records identify roughly 130 potential problem areas revealed during testing of the Mountain Valley Pipeline earlier this spring, raising further concern about the pipe’s integrity. (Roanoke Times)

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EFFICIENCY: Attorneys general from 23 states threaten legal action if the Biden administration moves forward with new energy-efficiency standards on stoves, cooktops and ovens. (Nebraska Examiner)

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HYDROGEN: Minnesota-based 3M is investing in research that aims to lower the costs of producing green hydrogen and make it more competitive with renewables and fossil fuels. (Star Tribune)

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GRID: Data centers are creating a climate dilemma in states like Michigan, where a Democrat proposes incentives to lure the facilities while acknowledging their spiking electricity use could move the goalposts for the state’s renewable energy goals. (E&E News)

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SOLAR:

• A Wisconsin technical college expects to save up to $30,000 a year on utility costs after adding a solar project with battery storage to a series of energy efficiency investments. (WKOW)
• Rooftop solar generated the most support among clean energy options during a recent survey of local officials in Michigan on expanding clean energy infrastructure. (Route Fifty)

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CLEAN ENERGY: Illinois regulators approve the state’s first roadmap to reach 100% carbon-free power by 2050 as required under a 2021 law. (E&E News, subscription)

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PIPELINES:

• Eight hours of public hearings over Enbridge’s plan to reroute Line 5 in Wisconsin bring out supporters touting economic benefits and opponents with environmental and Indigenous rights concerns. (Journal Sentinel)
• North Dakota regulators complete a series of public hearings on the proposed Summit carbon pipeline, with the final session dominated by public safety concerns and landowner frustrations about dealing with the company. (North Dakota Monitor)
• At least 14 South Dakota state legislators lost their primary races on Tuesday as a controversial carbon pipeline project remains a top wedge issue. (South Dakota Searchlight)

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OVERSIGHT: Attorneys representing Ohio energy regulators continue to claim that there is no record of the names of staffers who recommended a protective order that hid key details about an audit into the state’s power plant bailout law. (Checks and Balances Project)

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TRANSPORTATION: Michigan House Democrats propose a 10-year, $6 billion economic development plan that would direct a portion of business incentives toward statewide transit. (Bridge)

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EFFICIENCY: The market monitor of grid operator PJM claims FirstEnergy and other utilities should be barred from collecting nearly $130 million in revenue for failing to show they are eligible for the energy efficiency capacity payments. (Utility Dive)

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BIOFUELS: Production of renewable diesel, which can be made from similar products as biofuels but doesn’t need to be added to traditional diesel, exceeded biodiesel production in the U.S. for the first time in 2022-2023. (Farm Progress)

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COMMENTARY: Michigan needs legislation to allow independently owned community solar projects that benefit the grid while taking advantage of new federal funding, a solar advocate writes. (Bridge)

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GRID: California advocates call on Gov. Gavin Newsom to reverse proposed funding cuts to virtual power plant and demand response programs, saying they support grid reliability and distributed storage. (Canary Media)

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ALSO:

• A report predicts expanding use of energy-intensive generative AI will more than double Arizona data centers’ share of the state’s overall electricity use by 2030. (Axios)
• The developer of the Boardman-Hemingway transmission project in Oregon and Idaho proposes expanding the project’s site boundaries. (Capital Press, subscription)
• A California agency brings online three new natural gas peaker plants designed to provide backup during peak demand. (Modesto Bee)

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CLIMATE: A California city votes to block testing of an experimental cloud brightening technology aimed at slowing climate warming, even though a study found it posed no health risks. (New York Times)

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OIL & GAS:

• The U.S. Energy Department awards a Colorado university $20 million to research ways to reduce methane emissions from oil and gas infrastructure. (CBS News)
• A developer advances a proposed natural gas pipeline from Alaska’s North Slope to the south-central part of the state by inking a supply agreement with an oil and gas company. (Alaska Public Media)

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UTILITIES:

• Puget Sound Energy plans to ramp up overdue bill collection efforts in Washington state, raising concerns that thousands of low-income families may lose electricity and natural gas service. (Washington State Standard)
• A campaign to replace San Diego Gas & Electric with a municipal utility collects enough signatures to force a city council vote on whether to put the issue on the ballot. (San Diego Union-Tribune)

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STORAGE: Pacific Gas & Electric agrees to purchase power from a 112.5 MW battery energy storage system under construction in southwestern Arizona. (Solar Industry)

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SOLAR:

• The San Carlos Apache Tribe seeks a firm or organization to develop, operate and finance a proposed 500 MW solar project on the tribe’s land in Arizona. (news release)
• Tri-State Generation and Transmission purchases two solar installations in western Colorado with a combined 255 MW capacity. (Power)
• A dispute over funding for a county road expansion delays progress on a proposed 771 MW solar installation in Wyoming. (Cowboy State Daily)  
• An Arizona megachurch completes construction on a rooftop solar array expected to cut its energy costs by a third. (Solar Quarter)

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CLEAN ENERGY: A U.S. courthouse in Montana is awarded $24 million in federal funding to upgrade the structure’s efficiency and install electric heat pumps. (Missoulian)

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BIOFUELS: Montana residents and advocates push back on an aviation biofuel producer’s plans to inject wastewater into spent oil and gas wells. (Montana Public Radio)

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POLITICS: Former President Donald Trump indicates he would do away with the Interior Department — which oversees energy development on federal land — if he is elected to another term. (E&E News)

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GRID: California’s grid operator approves a $6.1 billion plan to build 26 new transmission projects and greenlights Pattern Energy’s proposal to tie the SunZia line into the state’s power network. (E&E News)

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ALSO: An Arizona utility proposes constructing a high-voltage transmission line and substation in the Phoenix area to support new development. (Phoenix Independent)

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UTILITIES: Oregon wineries and vineyards file a lawsuit seeking $100 million from PacifiCorp over its alleged role in sparking the 2020 Labor Day fires that damaged grapes and reduced harvests and sales. (Associated Press)

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OIL & GAS: The federal Bureau of Land Management blocks oil and gas drilling and mining for 20 years around a complex cave system in southeastern New Mexico. (Carlsbad Current-Argus)

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ELECTRIFICATION: More California cities suspend natural gas hookup bans after Berkeley’s ban was shot down by a federal court. (Planetizen)

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CLEAN ENERGY:

• Montana analysts worry a lack of adequate transmission will stifle the state’s clean energy buildup. (Billings Gazette)
• A report finds utility-scale clean energy development in Colorado is fueling demand for skilled workers. (KUNC)
• Washington state awards five tribal nations $7.5 million to develop solar and wave energy projects. (news release)

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WIND: Oregon regulators schedule a series of public meetings on proposed offshore wind leasing along the state’s southern coast. (Yachats News)

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CLIMATE:

• Montana advocates accuse state utility regulators of improperly stalling action on a petition that would require them to consider climate change in decisions. (Daily Montanan)
• Arizona officials begin opening cooling centers at night as part of a ramped up effort to cope with extreme heat after metro Phoenix saw 645 heat-related deaths in 2023. (Associated Press)
• A study finds a California experiment aimed at fighting climate change by brightening clouds poses no health or safety risks in advance of a city’s vote on whether to allow the test to proceed. (East Bay Times)

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TRANSPORTATION: Republican congress members demand information on California’s high-speed rail project’s costs and delays and call it a “highly questionable endeavor.” (ABC News)

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STORAGE: Southern California residents step up opposition to a proposed battery energy storage system after a blaze at a similar facility nearby occupied firefighters for over a week. (KPBS)

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GEOTHERMAL:

• Utah’s geothermal industry says the federal Bureau of Land Management’s decision to defer 177,000 acres of energy leases until next year could imperil investments and development. (Deseret News)
• Colorado awards a state university nearly $700,000 to study the feasibility of deploying geothermal energy on its campus. (Times-Call)

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ELECTRIC VEHICLES: The Cow Creek Umpqua Tribe installs Oregon’s largest non-Tesla electric vehicle charging station at a tribally owned casino and travel center. (KTVL)

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LITHIUM: Utah advocates and residents continue to push back against a proposed direct lithium extraction project over water use and potential aquifer contamination, even though the developers say it is “as green as possible.” (Utah News Dispatch)

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GRID: An Oregon utility invests in the proposed $3.2 billion North Plains Connector transmission project in Montana designed to link the Eastern and Western grids. (Montana Standard)

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ALSO:

• A new Colorado law requires Xcel Energy to create a virtual power plant program by early next year that includes a performance-based compensation tariff. (Utility Dive)
• A southern California utility’s maps show it undergrounded distribution lines in wealthier neighborhoods before doing so in low-income areas. (Voice of San Diego)

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MINING:

• The Navajo Nation plans to regulate a Grand Canyon-area uranium mine’s ore shipments along federal and state highways across its lands, since it can’t ban the transports outright. (KJZZ)
• Alaska advocates raise concerns about a company’s proposed pipeline that would ship 20 billion cubic feet of natural gas annually to fuel a planned gold mine. (KYUK)

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SOLAR:

• Southern California residential solar installers launch a skywriting campaign criticizing utilities and regulators for slashing net metering compensation for rooftop arrays. (Fox 5 San Diego)
• A developer brings a 50 MW solar-plus-storage project online in southern California to power Meta data centers. (news release)
• Tesla finishes adding 1 MW of solar capacity to its Nevada gigafactory’s rooftop. (Microgrid Knowledge)

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GEOTHERMAL:

• Federal wildlife officials propose protecting the endangered Dixie Valley toad’s critical habitat in the path of a proposed geothermal facility in Nevada. (news release)
• A Utah research center successfully tests its enhanced geothermal well stimulation technology, saying it is a major industry breakthrough. (Renewable Energy Magazine)

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POLLUTION: Advocates urge the U.S. EPA to force Wyoming to broaden the scope of and strengthen its regional haze implementation plan aimed at restoring “natural visibility” at national parks and wilderness areas. (WyoFile)

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OIL & GAS:

• Northwestern New Mexico advocates and residents call on federal and state regulators to identify, plug and reclaim dozens of abandoned oil and gas wells in the San Juan Basin, and to hold the industry accountable for cleanup. (Albuquerque Journal)
• California plans to use $35 million in federal funds to plug and reclaim more than 200 abandoned oil and gas wells and 40 associated facilities. (Beverly Press)
• An Alaska oilfield accident kills a worker, the industry’s third such fatality on the North Slope in 13 months. (Alaska Journal of Commerce)
• The federal Bureau of Land Management schedules its smallest oil and gas lease sale in years, drawing complaints from industry. (Cowboy State Daily)

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TRANSPORTATION: Colorado advocates laud a city’s decision to eliminate minimum parking requirements for new development and replace them with limits, saying it will encourage public transit, walking and biking. (news release)

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STORAGE: A Utah battery and flywheel manufacturer signs on to provide energy storage capacity and virtual power plant services to a commercial real estate firm’s properties. (news release)

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ELECTRIC VEHICLES: The Biden administration awards Western state school districts nearly $170 million to purchase electric buses. (Source NM)

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GRID: ISO New England’s recent energy demand forecasts show the pace of the energy transition is faster than expected, and is weighing several changes to address potential future shortfalls. (Concord Monitor, Utility Dive)

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WIND:

• Maine environmentalists disagree as to whether Sears Island, which has avoided industrialization for years, should be the future site of an offshore wind hub or if the nearby, already developed Macks Point should be used instead. (Portland Press Herald)
• Maine applies for a $456 million federal transportation grant to build an offshore wind hub at Sears Island. (Portland Press Herald)
• The Martha’s Vineyard Commission decides to allow for the laying of three power export cables in the Muskeget Channel, although further approvals are needed and some commissioners question seafloor impacts. (MV Times)
• Eight additional New Jersey towns have filed lawsuits in the past week to stop offshore wind development along the state’s coast. (Asbury Park Press)

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HYDROELECTRIC:

• A former hydroelectric dam is one of two in Yarmouth, Maine, that is closer to being removed to aid in rewilding the Royal River, with federal officials presenting their plan to the town council. (Maine Monitor)
• Environmentalists prepare to argue before federal energy regulators in favor of additional fish protections at four hydroelectric dams undergoing relicensing on Maine’s Kennebec River. (Spectrum News 1)

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POLICY:

• With Vermont poised to make major fossil fuel companies pay for climate disasters, officials and scientists will need to decide who pays and how much is owed. (Grist)
• Some New York environmental groups say they will campaign against lawmakers who don’t vote for the NY Heat Act. (City & State)

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NUCLEAR: New York’s governor is reportedly wondering about the feasibility of bringing small modular nuclear reactors to the state. (E&E News, subscription)

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FOSSIL FUELS:

• Pennsylvania’s Stonycreek River was once heavily polluted by coal mining acid drainage but is now a regional jewel for whitewater rafting and tourism revenue. (Trib Live)
• Officials in Brookfield, Connecticut, ask top state officials for help in blocking a planned natural gas compressor station expansion near homes and a middle school. (New Haven Register)

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ELECTRIC VEHICLES:

• Four grant-funded electric school buses in Winthrop, Maine, have been deemed inoperable despite months of being serviced by the supplier. (Kennebec Journal)
• A Vermont lumberyard purchases the state’s first two outdoor electric forklifts with state rebates, projecting $8,000 annual fuel savings on each compared to the previously used diesel models. (WCAX)

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TRANSPORTATION: A federal judge presiding over one of the lawsuits against the Manhattan traffic congestion pricing plan questions the argument that the tolls are just a cash grab. (Gothamist)

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