Battery storage systems’ hidden fire risks

STORAGE: Nearly a quarter of the world’s battery storage systems have defects related to fire detection and suppression, an advisory firm estimates. (Utility Dive)

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OFFSHORE WIND:

• The U.S. Energy Department partners with two states and research institutes to establish an academic center to train offshore wind workers and study how to best expand the industry. (Inside Climate News)
• The Biden administration finalizes two areas for floating offshore wind facilities off southern Oregon’s coast. (Associated Press)
• A Biden administration push to develop offshore wind along California’s coast collides with another administration effort to protect the region’s waters with marine sanctuaries. (Bloomberg)
• Eversource Energy says it will sell its stake in the Northeast’s South Fork and Revolution wind projects to Global Infrastructure Partners for $1.1 billion as it posts a fourth-quarter loss. (Reuters)

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OIL & GAS:

• A $26 billion merger underscores recent consolidation in the Permian Basin’s oil and gas industry. (Financial Times)
• Florida lawmakers consider legislation to allow utilities to charge customers for “renewable gas” projects, but clean energy advocates warn the move could keep the state tied to gas combustion and fossil fuels. (Miami Herald)

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PIPELINES: The FBI began tracking Native American opponents of the Keystone XL pipeline as early as 2012 as part of a sweeping law enforcement strategy to counter civil disobedience aimed at fossil fuels. (Grist)

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ELECTRIC VEHICLES: Consultants trace Republican opposition to electric vehicles back to the early 2010s, when the federal government first offered EV companies loans to get off the ground. (E&E News)

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CLIMATE:

• Google and the Environmental Defense Fund partner to track methane emissions via satellite. (Canary Media)
• A peer-reviewed study finds most polar bears are unlikely to be able to adapt to climate change-affected diets, driving them to starvation. (Associated Press)

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SOLAR: A company encourages Black farmers in the Southeast to lease some of their property for solar projects to add a new source of income. (Civil Eats)

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CLEAN ENERGY:

• Wyoming advocates worry state spending on unproven technologies aimed at prolonging the life of the coal industry will pull investments from clean energy. (Inside Climate News)
• Corporate climate commitments along with federal incentives are helping get clean energy projects off the ground, panelists say at a Cleveland event. (Energy News Network)

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GEOTHERMAL: The Biden administration awards $60 million to three enhanced geothermal energy pilot projects in California, Utah and Oregon. (The Hill)

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