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Early test for Biden: Car emissions rules
As one of his biggest steps to tackle climate change, President-elect Joe Biden is expected to undo President Trump’s rollback of clean car standards and set new auto emissions rules. But experts have one pressing question for the former vice president: How aggressive will the new tailpipe rules be? [ read more … ]
Wind Energy
Offshore wind threatened by ship shortage — report
The offshore wind industry by 2025 could see a major shortage of the big, expensive ships used to install turbines, creating the prospect of inflated costs for projects across the globe, according to an analysis released last week. The “heavy-lift” ships cited by researchers at Norway-based firm Rystad Energy AS are crucial for the complicated task of fastening foundations into the ocean floor and installing turbines several hundred feet tall. The ships’ price tags can run into the hundreds of millions of dollars. [ read more … ]
The Transition
Big business is divided on climate. Could that help Biden?
Last year, as the Trump administration worked to finalize a rollback of Obama-era regulations on oil field methane emissions, a series of major oil companies wrote EPA to express their displeasure. Total SE, the French oil giant, called the rollbacks “a substantial risk to our companies’ efforts to reduce methane emissions and address climate change.”
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Energy industry braces for Biden-era court clashes
As the official transition to the Biden administration begins, the energy industry is preparing for a new round of courtroom battles against the president-elect’s anticipated tightening of restrictions on U.S. fossil fuel development. Trade groups are watching carefully to gauge how far Biden is willing to go to regulate the energy sector and limit activities like hydraulic fracturing. Some organizations are already preparing to bring the new administration to court. [ read more … ]
Top California air, climate regulator hopes to run Biden EPA
Over four decades, Mary Nichols has been the regulator behind some of the nation’s most ambitious climate policies and, in recent years, she’s been their staunchest defender against President Donald Trump’s effort to dismantle them. With Joe Biden heading to the White House, Nichols hopes she is not done yet. [ read more … ]
Climate Change
States Explored Litigation to Challenge U.S. Policy on Climate Change
Nearly two dozen Democratic-led states at odds with the Trump administration on climate-change policy joined forces last year to explore using the courts to secure federal mandates on greenhouse-gas emissions, according to records and interviews. The coalition agreed to cooperate in planning litigation against the federal government and consulted with former Environmental Protection Agency officials as part of the discussions, according to documents reviewed by The Wall Street Journal and people involved in the effort. [ read more … ]
More nations aim for net-zero emissions by 2050
Are governments tripping over one another to set 2050 as a deadline to hit net-zero emissions because they fear being left behind in a new global clean-tech arms race? Experts said they believe so, especially following the election victory of Joe Biden in the United States. The latest example is Canada, which announced last Friday forthcoming legislation in its Parliament that would “legally bind the government to a process to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050,” according to a statement. [ read more … ]
Grid
DOE grid security push a test for Biden
With less than 8 weeks until a new administration takes over in Washington, the clock is running out for the Energy Department to deliver one of President Trump’s most public and far-reaching efforts to protect grid security. Aimed at protecting the U.S. electric grid from equipment sourced from countries like Russia and China, Trump’s May 1 executive order on bulk power system security tasked DOE with carrying out what could be one of the administration’s last major cyber policies — if the agency can finish a pared-down rule that focuses on U.S. military facilities.
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EVs
Environmental group launches clean transportation push
The Environmental Defense Fund today launched a national campaign to rally support for 100% clean electric power and clean transportation under the Biden administration and the new Congress. The “Power Up, America” campaign kicked off with a six-figure digital and television ad buy in Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Nevada and Ohio. One overarching goal of the campaign is for the United States to reach 100% clean electric power by 2035 — a goal already endorsed by President-elect Joe Biden. [ read more … ]
FirstEnergy
Consumers’ lawyer seeks refunds as FirstEnergy ratings fall
The lawyer for FirstEnergy Corp.’s 1.8 million residential electric customers in Ohio stepped in Wednesday to try to assure they get refunds should state legislators or the courts halt the charges the utility giant was expecting as part of a now-tainted nuclear bailout bill. [ read more … ]
Note: News clips provided do not necessarily reflect the views of coalition or its member governors.