Back
Climate activists and legislators in Massachusetts are pushing a series of bills aimed at stopping further expansions of the natural gas system in the state.
The proposed legislation attempts to build on a groundbreaking order late last year that set the explicit policy goal of transitioning the state from natural gas. The bills include measures to prohibit the construction of more pipelines, stop expansion of service into new cities and towns, and encourage the growth of utility-scale networked geothermal projects.
“The order said they need legislative changes to fully implement their directives,” said Jess Nahigian, state political director for the Massachusetts Sierra Club. “We need to see something out of the legislature this year that moves us towards meeting our legal reductions mandates.”
Massachusetts has set a goal of going carbon-neutral by 2050. A considerable obstacle, however, is the prevalence of natural gas as a heating source: More than half the homes in the state use natural gas as their primary heating fuel. So in 2020, state regulators launched an investigation into the future of natural gas in the state and what utilities’ role would be in the transition from fossil fuels.
After two and a half years of filings, arguments, and deliberation, the state released an order in December 2023 that many hailed as transformational for its clear vision of transitioning from natural gas and holding utilities accountable for reducing emissions. The document laid out a set of principles to guide the process, leaving utilities, regulators, and legislators to build out the specifics.
That’s what some lawmakers are pushing for with the current slate of bills.
House Bill 3237 would stop utilities from bringing natural gas into municipalities that don’t already have service. While most cities and towns are already served by gas pipelines, several dozen, largely in central and western Massachusetts, are still without service. The bill would also prohibit state regulators from approving proposals to build new pipelines to import more natural gas until at least 2026.
Another bill proposed in both the House (H.3203) and Senate (S.2105) contains measures to facilitate home electrification and the development of utility-scale networked geothermal, systems that use thermal energy below the earth’s surface to heat and cool buildings. The legislation redefines a “gas company” as an entity that provides either natural gas or thermal energy, and specifies that the companies’ legal obligation to provide service can be met by natural gas, or alternatives such as heat pumps or networked geothermal.
The legislation would also create a fund that could be used to help low- and moderate-income residents switch from gas to electric appliances. The fund could also pay to retrain gas utility workers to build and maintain geothermal pipes and infrastructure, creating more secure employment for these workers during the transition away from natural gas.
“That way they can gradually transition to this new system while not being laid off, while still being able to feed their families,” said Audrey Schulman, co-founder of HEET, a nonprofit that champions networked geothermal developments.
A third bill, H.3227, would allow any city or town to prohibit fossil fuel use in new construction or major renovations. A 2022 clean energy law created a pilot program allowing these bans in 10 municipalities that had previously voted for the policy. Several additional cities and towns, however, came forward after the law was passed, expressing interest in enacting such rules. Climate activists have long argued these communities — and any additional municipalities that vote for the measure — should be allowed to enact their own bans.
Supporters of these bills point to the environmental impacts of burning less fossil fuel, but also make an economic argument in favor of restricting the growth of gas. The economics of gas companies’ current course of action just doesn’t make sense, advocates argue. Any new infrastructure built now — when the state has explicitly declared a move away from natural gas — is likely to become unneeded or underused long before the normal end of its lifespan. Ratepayers would be left continuing to pay for an obsolescent system.
“Should we be building this infrastructure now that, as we transition off of gas, will be a stranded asset in the ground?” asked Cathy Kristofferson, board member of the Pipeline Awareness Network of the Northeast.
At the same time, the utilities recently filed their grid modernization plans, seeking approval to pass on about $2.4 billion in costs to consumers. While these plans are necessary to make the grid ready for the electrified future, they will inevitably increase costs for consumers, said Sen. Michael Barrett, co-chair of the Senate telecommunications, utilities, and energy committee. It makes sense to take steps to keep natural gas costs in check, he said.
“You do that by making sure that new pipes that take 30 years to pay off don’t go into the ground unless they’re absolutely necessary,” Barrett said. “If you’re going to maximize the electric system you should minimize the gas system. There’s a nice balance there.”
Some, however, argue the push against natural gas is going too far, too fast. Many homebuyers prefer gas for both cooking and hearing, said Emerson Clauss III, a board member and past president of the Home Builders and Remodelers Association of Massachusetts. Though some studies have found minimal cost increases, Clauss says many association members find all-electric homes considerably more expensive to build than houses with gas hook-ups. As the state grapples with a serious housing shortage, new policies should not make it more expensive to build homes, Clauss said.
“I don’t know how we resolve our housing crisis without some good planning and options — and that’s what they’re taking off the table,” he said. “At the end of the day, we have to get people into housing they can afford.”
Advocates generally expect provisions from these individual bills to be wrapped into an omnibus climate bill. Sen. President Karen Spilka at the end of April declared plans for the Senate to tackle a major, comprehensive climate bill, led by Barrett and majority leader Cynthia Creem, before the session closes at the end of July.
“I hope large parts will make it into any omnibus bill,” Schulman said. “This is the time.”
NATURAL GAS: A new study finds using a gas stove on average accounts for 75% of people’s exposure to nitrogen dioxide, a pollutant also found in car exhaust and other sources, which can trigger asthma attacks. (Guardian)
ALSO: Efforts by Republicans and a building industry group to launch ballot initiatives aimed at blocking the state’s transition away from natural gas are facing multiple legal hurdles. (Washington State Standard)
ELECTRIC VEHICLES:
TRANSPORTATION:
CLEAN ENERGY:
SOLAR: A new Virginia law will expand community solar into the state’s western coal country, and create an opportunity for regulators to revisit how utilities charge customers for it. (Energy News Network)
PIPELINES: A section of the Mountain Valley Pipeline in Virginia ruptures during hydrostatic testing with water, damaging a section of pipe and leaking into a nearby stream just weeks before its in-service date. (Roanoke Times)
OIL & GAS: Injection wells owned by an Ohio state senator leaked fracking waste deep underground before releasing at the surface, prompting a $1.3 million cleanup paid for by the state in 2021. (Cleveland.com)
COAL: A deal with grid operator PJM to keep two Maryland coal plants open past 2025, when they’re slated to be replaced with natural gas or oil, could cost ratepayers an extra $5 a month. (Baltimore Banner)
CLIMATE: Vermont’s House sends a bill to the governor that would aim to hold fossil fuel companies accountable for climate disasters in the state, like last year’s extreme flooding. (NBC5)
After languishing since 2022, a revamped measure to launch a shared solar program in southwest Virginia found daylight this year.
The General Assembly gave the go-ahead to a pair of measures (SB 255, HB 108) directing utility regulators to set up Appalachian Power’s inaugural 50 megawatt program by Jan. 1.
Despite the modest size laid out in the new law, Charlie Coggeshall, Mid-Atlantic regional director with the Coalition for Community Solar Access, is content with the breakthrough into a part of the state historically dependent on the coal industry.
“Our expectations had to be tempered significantly,” Coggeshall said. “But we got to a place where we’re putting a stake in the ground in Southwest Virginia, a win for continuing the advancement of shared solar in Virginia.”
It isn’t yet clear how soon Appalachian Power customers will be able to subscribe. The utility must provide tariff information and other related requirements by July 1, 2025.
Relatedly, the Senate and House of Delegates passed separate legislation, SB 253 and HB 106, to enlarge Dominion Energy’s existing shared solar initiative to 350 MW from its current 200 MW limit.
Shared solar, also known as community solar, allows Virginians to purchase solar power via subscriptions to communal, off-site arrays typically built and owned by third-party entities, not utilities.
The arrangement is attractive to customers who can’t afford the upfront cost of rooftop panels, residents with shaded southern exposure or subject to homeowner association restrictions, and apartment renters and condominium owners without control of their rooftops.
Ideally, subscribers earn credits in the form of savings on their monthly electric bills while also helping to pay down the cost of constructing the shared array.
Proponents are encouraged that programs for both investor-owned utilities could eventually include incentives for shared solar projects that are sited on underused surfaces such as rooftops, landfills and brownfields or that incorporate advances such as combining solar with agriculture ventures.
The Virginia Department of Energy will be organizing a stakeholder group to shape the particulars of such inducements.
Coggeshall and other advocates were disappointed two years ago when legislation aiming to set on-the-ground goals for shared solar at Appalachian Power was scuttled in favor of a bipartisan law calling on utility regulators to meet with interested parties to evaluate the program’s possibilities.
Peter Anderson, the director of state energy policy at Appalachian Voices, said proponents had no choice but to persist. Now, he added, it’s up to the State Corporation Commission to institute an affordable model that attracts subscribers and solar developers.
“I’m over the moon that we are establishing shared solar in Appalachian Power territory,” Anderson said. “But my fear is that if we don’t have demonstration projects to build from, we’ll have to go back and rewrite the bill.”
One continuing fractious issue with Dominion’s shared solar program is the debate over what’s called the “minimum bill.” It’s a monthly fee the utility is allowed to charge enrollees to account for the costs of implementing the program and for use of the utility’s grid infrastructure.
In 2022, regulators opted to set that fee at $55, but agreed to exempt lower-income participants from paying it.
Advocates argued that such a high charge for a renewable energy initiative designed to save customers money would prevent wealthier residents in Dominion territory from enrolling. That has indeed been the case since operators began enrolling participants last July 1.
On the other hand, the Appalachian Power program will include a minimum bill, but does not include an exemption for lower-income customers.
“This makes it risky for solar project developers,” Coggeshall said. “With Dominion, at least developers can be somewhat confident about building a project that’s 100 percent for low- and middle-income customers. Appalachian Power doesn’t have that kind of backstop.
“Still, the interest is there. I have coalition members asking me about Southwest Virginia. I tell them the economics are to be determined. We won’t know for about a year.”
Utility regulators are tasked with setting Appalachian Power’s minimum fee. The utility pushed to reshape the legislation this session because it didn’t want non-participating customers to be burdened by any costs of adding shared solar.
“This issue is specifically listed within the bill as a factor the SCC must consider when determining the minimum bill,” spokeswoman Teresa Hamilton Hall said. “Appalachian Power worked hard to get this language inserted in the legislation, and we believe the SCC will be mindful of the financial impacts to non-participating ratepayers when making decisions.”
While advocates will be weighing in on that docket to be sure it sets a fair minimum bill, they’re also heartened that the new Dominion law directs regulators to recalculate the current $55 minimum bill charged to market-rate subscribers.
Specifically, the commission must calculate the benefits of shared solar to the electric grid and the state, then deduct those benefits from other costs. Regulators must spell out each cost, benefit or other value used to determine the minimum charge.
The law basically requires a reconsideration of the minimum bill, Coggeshall said, adding that other states already recognize that shared solar and other distributed generation projects help utilities offset the cost of transmitting and generating power.
“Dominion has failed to look at the other side of the ledger and ask what the benefits of solar really are,” he said. “This law is forcing that discussion. Nothing is guaranteed. It’s still going to be a big fight.”
Anderson said it will be intriguing to watch how the three-member SCC — which has two new commissioners — approaches assigning a value to solar that will help dictate a minimum bill.
“The commission is where the rubber meets the road,” he said. “I’m an optimist. We’ll take our swings in front of the commission. My fingers are crossed and I’m hopeful we get projects in the ground.”
Robin Dutta, the acting executive director of the Chesapeake Solar and Storage Association, said having shared solar folded into Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s 2022 Energy Plan gave it priority status among legislators.
“It’s a great example of how clean energy should be bipartisan because it’s a step forward in building an equitable clean-energy economy,” he said. “Seeing the program expand in megawatts and territory is valuable.”
Quashing any growth since shared solar legislation was first authorized would have been the worst outcome, he said.
In 2020, Fairfax County shared solar champion Sen. Scott Surovell ushered in the original legislation by reluctantly capping Dominion’s program at 150 MW. That was permitted to stretch to 200 MW if at least 30% of the enrollees qualified as lower income. No project can be larger than 5 MW.
Thus far, Dominion has greenlighted 41 shared solar projects totaling close to 150 MW, according to its website. Operators began enrolling participants last July 1 when the law took effect. Another 15 projects — which add up to 60-plus MW — are on Dominion’s waiting list.
Under the new law, half of the additional 150 MW in Dominion’s territory can cater to lower-income subscribers. However, the other 75 MW must basically be split between market-rate and lower-income subscribers.
Another switch in the Dominion program allows the utility to keep the renewable energy credits from each project so they can count toward compliance with the state’s renewable portfolio. Appalachian Power also will benefit by holding onto its renewable energy credits.
“Before, developers in Dominion territory could do anything at all with the credits,” Coggeshall said. “Monetizing the credits helped developers recover costs of building projects, so that’s a lost economic advantage. That change might provide ammunition to regulators to lower the minimum bill.”
Even though Virginia’s shared solar program is relatively small overall, Coggeshall and other advocates are hopeful a federal infusion of $156 million announced on Earth Day can widen its reach.
The Virginia Energy Department will use its Solar for All grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency — part of the $7 billion national Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund — to design and expand residential solar programs serving marginalized communities. Funding for the five-year program begins in 2025.
Surovell, the Senate Majority Leader who represents suburbs of Washington, D.C., latched onto the idea of shared solar in Virginia more than five years ago when he clicked on an ad for a program while visiting his vacation house in New York’s Adirondack Mountains.
He signed up in five minutes during that summer of 2019 and soon discovered that tapping into an off-property array would about cover his entire electric bill.
Though the Democrat admits the learning curve has been steeper in his home state, he has doggedly sponsored legislation every year since 2020 to enlarge shared solar’s overall footprint and ensure that access to renewable energy doesn’t solely benefit affluent homeowners.
This year, he was the patron behind both Senate versions of the bills that became law. Notably, neither was amended by Youngkin. Last year, Surovell introduced Senate Bill 1266, which would have boosted total capacity to 1 GW. It passed the Senate with a nine-vote margin but failed to advance out of committee in the House.
Regulators’ decision to set a high minimum charge has continually frustrated Surovell. He has always maintained that such fees must be reasonable to attract subscribers seeking fairly priced renewable energy.
For Coggeshall, this session’s shared solar gains only reinforce the reality that Virginia is poised to embrace incremental progress, not great leaps forward.
“Virginia is not New York,” he concluded. “It has been a roller coaster trying to strike a balance to meet Virginia where it is at instead of where we want it to be.”
GRID: Eversource jabs at Connecticut’s utility commission, saying it hasn’t been “a constructive regulatory environment” and announcing a $500 million decrease in grid investments over the next five years; the governor will reappoint the commission’s chair regardless. (CT Mirror, Hartford Courant, CT Mirror)
ALSO:
FOSSIL FUELS:
FINANCE: A number of Schoharie County towns sue New York state over the constitutionality and fairness of its solar and wind project taxation rules. (CBS 6)
POLICY: Climate advocates and policymakers say the New York Power Authority hasn’t been transparent enough in its planning to comply with the Build Public Renewables Act for anyone to see if the agency is on track to meet its mandates. (Canary Media)
ELECTRIC VEHICLES:
WIND: The Brigantine, New Jersey, city council pushes for fellow municipalities and its county board of commissioners to use legal action to fight offshore wind development. (Press of Atlantic City)
SOLAR:
ELECTRIC VEHICLES: Rivian receives $827 million in state incentives to build the company’s mid-sized electric SUV in Normal, Illinois, and add at least 550 jobs over the next five years. (WIFR)
ALSO: North Dakota’s two U.S. senators sponsor legislation to eliminate federal tax incentives for electric vehicles. (North Dakota Monitor)
RENEWABLES:
CLIMATE: A public speaker, podcast host and environmental justice advocate discusses creating a bigger Black, Brown and Indigenous presence in the climate movement at a recent event in Chicago. (Energy News Network)
COAL:
SOLAR:
UTILITIES:
BIOFUELS: Updated federal guidance on a biofuel carbon credits program could provide a path to profitability for the developer of a large sustainable jet fuel plant in South Dakota. (South Dakota Searchlight)
MANUFACTURING: The developer of a low-emissions aluminum plant receiving $500,000 in federal funding is considering sites in Kentucky and surrounding states, which could mean a huge influx of jobs and nearby renewable energy development. (Grist)
WIND: Ameren shuts down a northeastern Missouri wind project to determine why a turbine broke apart and fell to the ground last week. (KTVO)
OIL & GAS: A pipeline leak releases about 10 barrels of oil into nearby waterways in western North Dakota. (Dickinson Press)
OIL & GAS: Major oil and gas companies have donated millions of dollars to universities for climate initiatives that often resulted in research affirming their policy positions, a congressional report finds. (Axios)
ALSO: California’s petroleum industry mounts a multi-pronged campaign to block legislation aimed at easing oil and gas pollution’s burden on underserved communities. (Inside Climate News)
TRANSPORTATION:
SOLAR:
CLIMATE:
PIPELINES: The rupture of a Louisiana pipeline that released 107,000 gallons of carbon dioxide raises concerns about similar issues among opponents of a proposed carbon pipeline in South Dakota. (Verite News, SDPB)
RENEWABLES:
MANUFACTURING: The developer of a low-emissions aluminum plant receiving $500,000 in federal funding is considering sites in Kentucky and surrounding states, which could mean a huge influx of jobs and nearby renewable energy development. (Grist)
EFFICIENCY: New federal water heater efficiency regulations will generate more energy savings than any single previous appliance rule, the U.S. Energy Department says. (Utility Dive)
As a mother and former truck driver, Ticole Smith, better known as Colah B Tawkin, has experienced both being unhoused and receiving international recognition through her popular podcast Black in the Garden.
From her home base in Atlanta and through her collaboration with Atlanta public radio station WABE, Atlanta Botanical Garden, and speaking engagements across the country, Tawkin works to (re)connect Black and Brown people in primarily — but not exclusively — urban environmental justice communities with their innate connection to the natural world as a means of resilience against disinvestment and climate change.
It’s well established that BIPOC communities disproportionately bear the dual burden of disinvestment and adverse environmental impacts from the effects of climate change. At the same time, the climate movement lacks diversity — specifically, leadership remains overwhelmingly White, and to a somewhat lesser extent, male. Added to the mix is a persistent and inaccurate perception that people of color, and especially Black folks, don’t care about environmental issues, and are fundamentally disconnected from nature.
“There is no relationship more sacred than that between Black folks and the natural world. Within the roots and branches of trees, Black folks find mirrors to their deep ancestral strength and resilience. These earthly wonders narrate our lives, weather our storms and bear witness to histories untold. They remind us of who we once were, and who we are meant to be,” said Tawkin during a recent virtual interactive presentation with the Morton Arboretum, located in the Chicago suburb of Lisle, Illinois.
Events like these are par for the course for Tawkin, who represents one of a handful of Black female advocates in the environmental realm.
“There’s not a lot of Black people doing the kind of stuff that I do. So naturally, when the word gets around where [environmental organizations] are trying to figure out, ‘How do we diversify our programming?’, my name tends to come up at the top of the list,” Tawkin said during an interview.
Tawkin also views herself as a pioneer — her very presence a challenge not only to the predominantly White composition of the environmental movement, but also active resistance among White people who refuse to embrace change.
“Being a Black woman in a world that I know does not really represent me in a very robust way makes me feel like a pioneer, and pioneers are revered when we’re looking in hindsight at history and people who started something. But we don’t so closely consider what the experience of a pioneer is like, and how they had to be the first person to venture into a territory that very well could have been hostile.
“I don’t feel like there is a lot of hostility on a frequent basis, but I do know, at the very least [there are] people who see what I’m doing and know what I’m capable of and they’re not okay with that … [but] I do not think about those people. I think about who does want to support me,” Tawkin said.
Tawkin’s work with the Black in the Garden podcast and related endeavors reflect not only a deep and longstanding love of nature, but a recognition of a need for greater Black, Brown and Indigenous presence in the green movement.
“I’ve always had a vision for this from the start, so failure was never an option,” she said. ‘That’s precisely why I chose the name Colah B Tawkin — because I’m always talking. It’s a stage name that reflects my readiness to start the podcast. When you hear my name, you know exactly what I do.”
She also aimed high, targeting her podcast for the national public broadcasting market and structuring the format and the length of her show accordingly. That has paid off with a newly announced partnership with Atlanta-based WABE, which will distribute the show online as part of the NPR Podcast Network.
“When I started Black in the Garden, I knew 1000% that it would be a successful platform,” she said. “I knew that it would resonate with those who it resonated with.”
“There was no gardening programming that I felt spoke to me, and I recognized that there’s an opportunity for me to start one … there are so many of these stories that are specifically related to our relationship with the land and agriculture and horticulture that really are so just grossly undertold,” Tawkin said.
“I remember in the beginning … people don’t ask me this no more, but in the beginning, Black people would ask me, well, ‘Why Black in the Garden? Like, don’t you want to be relatable to everybody?’ And that put me straight into Toni Morrison mode, and I was just like, we get to tell our stories about us because it’s us and we want to make sure that it’s reaching us. And so, I was intentional from the beginning and including ‘Black’ in the title,” Tawkin said.
And while her audience of “soil cousins” enthusiastically bridges racial and other categories, her focus remains firmly on embracing Black people and overcoming decades of generational hurt from slavery, Jim Crow, redlining and other manifestations of racism — including, she says, “some darker aspects to our relationship with nature.”
“That was why I discussed lynchings in the in the talk that I did … What am I going to talk about if I’m going to emphasize Black people’s relationships with trees?” Tawkin said. “The good, the bad, and the ugly was literally the first thought that came up … and then when I thought about the bad, I was just like, oh no, it gets real bad.
“But it cannot be overstated that nature is just what it is. It’s a very neutral thing.”
Disinvestment in environmental justice communities represents a significant driver of generational pain among Black, Brown and Indigenous communities. The work of stakeholder-based organizations is essential in working toward healing this generational hurt, Tawkin said.
At the same time, she said, nonprofit organizations — as well as government at all levels — also bear a level of responsibility in providing financial and other resources to address these challenges.
“So in order to be able to cope with all of the challenges that come with attaining liberation, and just get through it to actually enjoy liberation, resilience is kind of like the fuel, or it’s the fuel,” Tawkin said. “What other choice do we have besides to be resilient?”
During her presentation for the Morton Arboretum, Tawkin explained that witness trees, such as The Survivor Tree in Oklahoma City, serve as living reminders of significant points in history.
“They are often found near sites of historical significance, and serve as living witnesses to events, such as slavery, civil rights, struggles, and African American settlements, and so much more when you consider the age of trees,” Tawkin said.
The survivor tree sits near the site of the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing, and was almost chopped down to recover evidence of the deadly terrorist attack.
“We may be able to identify or not identify, but rather find, like blast shards, bullets, or something that could penetrate a tree, could actually be lodged in that tree,” Tawkin explained.
For Tawkin, trees — and specifically witness trees — also bear a vital role in promoting resiliency, especially among people of color, who often create and maintain spiritual rituals in green spaces.
“There are trees that are connected to different cultures across the diaspora and different parts of the world that have deep spiritual meaning. People of color and Indigenous people in particular have these spiritual kinds of practices that are connected to trees,” she said.
“The ritual literally takes place with the tree being a physical … Basically, it’s a sanctuary,” Tawkin said.
The Oklahoma survivor tree “absorbed some physical evidence” of the explosion, not only “witnessing the events that it was there for, but the spirits around it, like people are dying around it,” Tawkin said during a subsequent interview. “It’s easy to believe that these spirits are able to connect with or merge into the tree.”
As an example, she cited a particular tree located at the Fairchild Botanic Garden in Miami, whose presence and its network of thick sprawling roots swirling along the ground around its trunk draws many visitors who come specifically to conduct spiritual rituals.
“When we were talking about that particular tree, [people] were telling me how it has a lot of spiritual significance to many people just around that physical area. And so people would come into the garden, but they would be coming for that tree in order to engage in certain spiritual rituals,” Tawkin said.
“What better example do we have of what resilience looks like than an ancient tree, a witness tree?”
For Tawkin, her appearance is also an essential element to appealing to young people, and to providing representation in the green space for people who look like her.
“I’m showing up the way that I show up … for those who need to see someone who looks as much like either themselves or someone who they know, someone who they can relate to doing the thing,” Tawkin said.
“I’m youngish, so I like to show up with like my hairstyle in a certain way and have my nails done in a certain way and show up with a sense of style that resonates with young people, because they’re just not going to pay as much attention to the person with the washed up polo shirt and the khakis on and some busted up shoes.
”Young people really are very instrumental in how our culture moves. And they are not respected enough for that. I get that. And so there’s a way to relate to kids, ‘cause like they just have a sixth sense about knowing when someone’s being real with them or not,” Tawkin said.
That connection is a key part of Tawkin’s broader vision.
“Not only is it necessary to have Black people of color, Black people, Black youth involved, not only is it necessary to have them interested in nature and involved with it, and taking up the reins and being the future keepers of the Earth, but it’s also important to understand how to connect with them,” she said.
“Because if we’re not connecting with them in a real way, then they’re not going to be interested in it.”
OIL & GAS: Oil and gas producers are installing “enclosed combustors” that hide flaring of unwanted natural gas, making it harder for scientists to detect greenhouse gas emissions and hold major emitters accountable. (Guardian)
ALSO:
COAL: Experts predict the U.S. EPA’s new power plant emissions rules will further drive coal power’s rapid decline, and maybe even kill the industry completely. (Guardian)
CLEAN ENERGY:
GRID:
SOLAR: A solar material manufacturing facility in Washington state reopens after sitting idle since 2019, sparking hopes of establishing a complete domestic photovoltaic panel supply chain. (New York Times)
CLIMATE: A federal appeals court rejects a lawsuit filed by young Oregon climate advocates arguing the government’s fossil fuel-friendly policies violate their constitutional rights. (Associated Press)
BIOFUELS: New Treasury Department rules governing sustainable aviation fuel tax credits don’t go far enough to incentivize newer, cleaner types of fuel, some agriculture and environmental advocates say. (E&E News)
CLIMATE: A federal appeals court rejects a lawsuit filed by young Oregon climate advocates arguing the government’s fossil fuel-friendly policies violate their constitutional rights. (Associated Press)
ALSO: Montana regulators extend the public input period on a proposal to require utility commissioners to consider greenhouse gas emissions’ environmental and health impacts in decisions. (Daily Montanan)
OIL & GAS:
RESEARCH: Stanford University plans to investigate its long-running energy program funded by fossil fuel companies after its impartiality is questioned. (E&E News, subscription)
UTILITIES: Oregon utilities step up wildfire hazard mitigation efforts as forecasters predict an unusually hot and dry summer in the Northwest. (KGW)
COAL: Federal lawmakers from Montana push back against new U.S. EPA regulations on coal plant pollution, saying they will harm the state’s fossil fuel industry. (Daily Montanan)
CLEAN ENERGY: The Biden administration awards $43 million to 11 projects in Western states to expand rural and tribal communities’ access to small-scale clean energy. (news release)
SOLAR:
HYDROGEN: A U.S. military base in Hawaii plans to integrate hydrogen production, storage and utilization technology into an existing solar-powered microgrid. (H2 View)
GRID: Officials say attacks on Western power grid infrastructure by white supremacists and other extremists is on the rise. (High Country News)
MINING: The U.S. Senate and House pass legislation that would ban low-enriched uranium imports from Russia and boost efforts to revive idled mines in Utah, Colorado and Wyoming. (World Nuclear News)
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine’s administration is seeking $189 million in federal Inflation Reduction Act funding to help implement the state’s first climate action plan.
The proposal, submitted to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in late March, would establish a statewide fund to help electrify government fleets, retrofit public buildings, and install solar generation on city, county and state properties.
State agencies and local governments would be invited to apply for grants covering 100% of project costs in areas identified as local-income and disadvantaged. Elsewhere, grants would cover half of project costs, with the rest eligible for a subsidized, revolving loan program.
The Ohio Environmental Protection Agency and the Ohio Air Quality Development Authority chose to focus on direct, government investments because it’s an approach they think can achieve quick and substantial impacts without needing to cause widespread behavior changes in a state where public opinion is divided on policy actions to address climate change.
“Governments really control significant assets in terms of fleets and building stock across Ohio,” said Brooke White, an air quality evaluation and planning supervisor with the Ohio EPA.
Ohio is among 45 states and nearly 70 metropolitan areas competing for a share of up to $4.6 billion in federal funding as part of the U.S. EPA’s Climate Pollution Reduction Grant program, which has already distributed almost half a billion dollars to participating states and metro areas to develop or refine climate action plans.
That initial round of funding prompted Ohio to produce its first statewide climate action plan. The Priority Resilience Plan identified transportation electrification as the highest priority strategy for cutting emissions, followed by renewable electricity generation and building energy efficiency.
Electric power generation is Ohio’s largest greenhouse gas emissions sector, emitting 28% of the state’s total greenhouse gas emissions, according to the plan. Transportation comes in second at 26%. And direct fossil fuel emissions from buildings account for one-fourth of the total, although almost all electricity produced in the state winds up being used in buildings.
The plan also notes various measures that can help cut emissions from different sources, with transportation and buildings being a major focus. A more comprehensive plan will be due next year.
“The plan is the first statewide step for Ohio to reduce and mitigate the impacts of climate change,” said Nolan Rutschilling, managing director of energy policy for the Ohio Environmental Council.
States that submitted climate plans were invited to compete for implementation grants. Criteria include substantial reductions of greenhouse gas emissions and community benefits, particularly for low-income and disadvantaged communities. Policies and programs should also complement other funding sources. And they should be appropriate for scaling up across multiple jurisdictions.
Under the proposal, state agencies and local governments could apply for money to purchase electric vehicles or install or repair charging stations. Building projects could include things like adding rooftop solar or upgrading lighting or HVAC systems. Efficiency upgrades are “not the hottest topic, but they are sort of the biggest bang for your buck,” White said.
The state’s application estimates the transportation projects would avoid the equivalent of more than 4 million metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions by 2030. From 2025 through 2050, cumulative emissions reductions would exceed 32 million metric tons. The program also would provide technical assistance to agencies, counties and cities.
The grant program would direct 60% of its funding to low-income and disadvantaged communities. Other benefits for those areas would include improvements in air quality, as well as added jobs in fields related to electric vehicles, energy efficiency and renewable energy.
“We are not planning just environmental benefits. We are also creating socioeconomic benefits and building a workforce for market transformation,” said Laura Quiceno Waltero, an environmental specialist with the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency, speaking at the Ohio State Bar Association’s Environmental Law Institute last month in Columbus.
Another expected benefit: Lower energy bills can free up funds to provide better services overall for communities, “which is where we want their dollars going,” White said.
A 2022 report by Scioto Analysis for the Ohio Environmental Council and Power a Clean Future Ohio estimated climate change impacts would increase budget needs for the state’s local governments between $1.8 and $5.9 billion per year by midcentury.
Ohio’s emphasis on transportation and buildings is in line with other states’ priority climate action plans, according to an April 11 analysis from RMI, ClimateXChange and the Evergreen Collaborative.
The 47 plans submitted by states, Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia included descriptions of 186 measures to address transportation emissions. Colorado and North Dakota were the only states that did not highlight transportation, the analysis found. And all 47 plans had at least one measure to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from buildings. Plans generally emphasized voluntary actions, with few including possible regulatory measures.
Ohio’s proposal has received enthusiastic support from environmental advocates in the state.
“We all need to be working hand-in-hand to bring more federal investment to our state,” said Crystal Davis, the senior Midwest regional director for the National Parks Conservation Association. She spoke on a panel about environmental, health and legal justice at the Ohio State Bar Association program.
The proposal for building efficiency is somewhat limited by its focus on public buildings, noted Rutschilling, of the Ohio Environmental Council. Yet he applauded the focus on benefits for low-income and disadvantaged communities, which will bear the brunt of climate change impacts. “We also appreciate the workforce development components, particularly the focus on job creation in Appalachia,” he said.
Power a Clean Future Ohio has already been working with local governments in Ohio on projects to help them cut greenhouse gas emissions. So far, 50 local governments are members. Ohio’s proposed program “could be transformative if done in a transparent and bottom-up approach” that lets communities set priorities based on their needs, said Joe Flarida, executive director for the organization.
“Resilience funding is climate funding, and it’s also smart city planning,” Flarida said. Yet, he added, “local governments are just the start of this work. It’s the tip of the iceberg.”
The U.S. EPA is expected to announce awards in July.
.svg)
