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OVERSIGHT: Hydrogen industry leaders and environmentalists expect the U.S. EPA to exclude hydrogen from its final power plant emissions rule, leaving carbon capture as the only option for gas plants looking to reduce emissions to meet the regulation. (E&E News)
FOSSIL FUELS:
PIPELINES: A major CO2 pipeline leak this month in Louisiana that took more than two hours to fix should raise “alarm bells” about the country’s readiness to expand the carbon capture industry, advocates say. (Guardian)
CLIMATE:
GRID:
WIND:
OIL & GAS:
OHIO: The death of Ohio’s former top utility regulator stokes a growing sense of urgency among plaintiffs and prosecutors to gather evidence and testimony in HB6 corruption cases before it’s lost to time. (Energy News Network)
OIL & GAS: The Biden administration blocks new oil and gas drilling on 13 million acres of the 23-million-acre federal petroleum reserve in the Alaskan Arctic; the ban will not affect the controversial Willow project. (Associated Press)
ALSO:
PUBLIC LANDS:
COAL: California researchers find coal train dust significantly affects the health of people living near rail lines, with underserved communities bearing a disproportionate burden of the impacts. (news release)
UTILITIES:
GRID: California utilities and energy agencies seek $2 billion in federal funding to increase statewide transmission capacity and streamline clean energy interconnections. (Reuters)
WIND: A Washington state energy siting council recommends approval of a scaled-back version of the proposed Horse Heaven Hills wind facility in endangered hawk habitat in the southern part of the state. (Crosscut)
SOLAR:
STORAGE: A 300 MW battery energy storage system comes online on federal land in southern California. (Solar Industry)
GEOTHERMAL: The federal Bureau of Land Management greenlights a geothermal exploratory drilling project in northern Nevada. (news release)
ELECTRIC VEHICLES: Disneyland plans to replace gasoline-powered cars with fully electric vehicles at its Autopia attraction by fall 2026. (Los Angeles Times)
SOLAR: Critics charge that Duke Energy’s revised green tariff program in North Carolina will do little to accelerate new renewable development because it requires large customers to choose from projects among losing bids in the utility’s solar procurement process. (Energy News Network)
ALSO:
ELECTRIC VEHICLES: Construction has stalled on Vietnamese electric vehicle maker VinFast’s planned North Carolina factory after the company revised its plans for a smaller building footprint but hasn’t yet submitted new documents to the state. (Raleigh News & Observer, WRAL)
ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE: Republican attorneys general from Florida and 22 other states petition the U.S. EPA to stop taking race into account when regulating pollution. (Floodlight)
GRID:
UTILITIES:
COAL: Democratic U.S. senators in Virginia and West Virginia applaud a new federal rule to more tightly regulate silica dust, which factors into black lung disease. (Bluefield Daily Telegraph)
EMISSIONS:
CLIMATE: Advocates and families of people incarcerated in Louisiana prisons say the state has failed to protect prisoners from extreme summer heat, while officials say they’ve asked for state funding to install air conditioning in two prisons. (Verite News)
NUCLEAR: Virginia lawmakers approve Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s changes to a bill that allows utilities to seek regulatory approval to charge customers for the cost of developing small modular nuclear reactors. (Cardinal News)
CLIMATE: Unmitigated climate change and continued burning of fossil fuels would cost the world an estimated $38 trillion in damages by 2050, six times the cost of transitioning to clean energy and curbing warming, according to a peer-reviewed study. (Axios)
ALSO:
ELECTRIC VEHICLES:
WIND: The offshore wind industry is recovering after a series of project cancellations and setbacks last year, but experts warn rising inflation, an insufficient supply chain, and other challenges remain. (CNN)
MATERIALS: The United Nations estimates that 62 million tons of e-waste went to landfills in 2022, including hard-to-come-by metals essential to solar panels, electric vehicle batteries, and other clean energy components. (Grist)
SOLAR:
GRID:
ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE:
INDUSTRY: The U.S. Department of Energy announces $28 million in grants for research aimed at decarbonizing steel production. (Canary Media)
COAL: Democratic U.S. senators in Virginia and West Virginia applaud a new federal rule to more tightly regulate silica dust, which factors into black lung disease. (Bluefield Daily Telegraph)
COMMENTARY: Michigan regulators’ denial of a utility’s request to recoup expenses from uneconomic coal plants sets an example for other states, clean energy policy advocates write. (RMI)
TRANSMISSION: A Colorado think tank finds Western states are poised to generate billions of dollars by exporting clean energy to other regions, but only if they can significantly expand the power grid. (Inside Climate News)
MINING: Navajo Nation President Buu Nygren proposes requiring mining companies to notify the tribe and post a bond prior to transporting uranium across tribal land. (Fronteras)
OIL & GAS: Colorado lawmakers advance legislation that would limit the length of trains passing through the state as a way to reduce the risk of spilling crude oil or other hazardous materials. (Colorado Sun)
CLIMATE:
TRANSITION:
SOLAR:
STORAGE: A California community choice aggregator agrees to purchase 180 MW of power from a battery energy storage system under development in the San Francisco area. (Energy Storage News)
UTILITIES:
CARBON CAPTURE: Alaska lawmakers remove minimum payment requirements from a carbon capture bill, saying the legislation is aimed at encouraging fossil fuel development, not raising revenue. (Alaska Beacon)
BIOFUELS: The operator of a Colorado power plant fueled with beetle-killed trees closes the facility, saying it is not financially viable. (Vail Daily)
SOLAR: New Hampshire’s Supreme Court decides a town can’t block solar projects over aesthetic or property value fears if the project otherwise satisfies local ordinances. (New Hampshire Bulletin)
ALSO:
GAS:
RENEWABLE ENERGY:
ELECTRIC VEHICLES:
OFFSHORE WIND: With some residents for siting an offshore wind hub on Sears Island and others against it, officials in Searsport, Maine, are publicly neutral on the matter, which the town manager says local officials hold no sway over regardless. (WABI, Bangor Daily News)
FINANCE: A state board approves the formation of the New Jersey Green Bank to help make clean energy, zero-emission transportation and building decarbonization investments. (news release)
POLICY:
COAL: A former coal town in Washington state could serve as a model for Pennsylvania towns facing existential questions over a coal-free future. (WITF/StateImpact PA)
GRID: Virtual power plants, dynamic line ratings, and other advanced grid technologies could open up space on the grid for more electricity while staving off the need for costly, time-consuming transmission construction, a new U.S. Energy Department roadmap finds. (Canary Media)
ALSO:
EMISSIONS:
WIND: The world installed a record 117 GW of new wind power generation capacity last year, up 50% from the year before, a wind power advocacy group finds. (The Hill)
ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE: Black Americans are more likely than other racial groups to say they’re “very” or “fairly” concerned about pollution, and are more likely than White Americans to be displaced by environmental contamination, a survey finds. (The Hill)
CARBON CAPTURE: Illinois bills would add a series of restrictions on carbon sequestration and pipeline projects as developers seek to capitalize on the state’s geology and lucrative federal tax credits. (Energy News Network)
SOLAR:
ELECTRIC VEHICLES: Cities across the U.S. are building out electric vehicle charging networks to meet anticipated EV growth. (Utility Dive)
POLITICS: House Republican leaders are poised to cut a provision to reverse the Biden administration’s LNG permitting ban from critical foreign aid packages. (E&E News)
TRANSMISSION: A federal judge rejects tribal nations’ and advocates’ bid to halt work on a segment of the SunZia transmission project in a culturally and ecologically significant part of southern Arizona. (Associated Press)
MINING:
OIL & GAS:
CLIMATE:
WIND: A Colorado electric cooperative and wholesale power supplier agree to purchase the full output of a 200 MW wind facility in the eastern part of the state. (news release)
UTILITIES:
COAL:
GEOTHERMAL: The federal Bureau of Land Management plans to exempt some geothermal exploration projects from environmental reviews to expedite development. (E&E News, subscription; news release)
ELECTRIC VEHICLES: An Arizona community college launches an electric vehicle technician training course. (news release)
COMMENTARY: Nevada advocates urge the federal Bureau of Land Management to push utility-scale solar projects toward low-conflict, previously disturbed public lands. (Nevada Independent)
Carbon dioxide pipeline and sequestration projects would face significant new scrutiny and regulations under proposed legislation introduced this week in Illinois.
Advocates who helped draft the proposal (SB 3930, HB 5814) say it is crucial to institute standards and protections, as multiple companies seek to sequester carbon in Illinois’ Mt. Simon sandstone geology and reap lucrative federal tax credits. The legislation was formally introduced Monday.
State lawmakers held a hearing earlier this month on separate bills (HB 4835, SB 3441) that would place a moratorium on carbon dioxide pipelines for four years or until new federal safety regulations are adopted by the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA).
Many Illinois residents and pipeline opponents are hoping both bills pass, to stop pipeline construction while the state studies safety issues, appropriate setbacks and other factors.
Companies seeking to sequester carbon dioxide in Illinois have so far failed to secure county approvals for proposed sites, and two major carbon dioxide pipeline proposals — from the companies Navigator CO2 Ventures and Wolf Carbon Solutions — were withdrawn from consideration by the Illinois Commerce Commission last year.
But Wolf is expected to refile its application for a necessary certificate of authority. And the commerce commission is currently considering a proposal from One Earth Energy for a six-mile pipeline that — if built — is expected to spur proposals for longer pipelines that would connect to it and a proposed sequestration site.
The newly proposed legislation, as described in a summary, includes: “pipeline setbacks for safe evacuation, limits on eminent domain, expanded monitoring at carbon sequestration sites, provisions for long-term liability in the event of disaster, a ban on the use of captured carbon dioxide for enhanced oil recovery.”
It would also mandate that when sequestration sites are proposed, regulatory agencies review life-cycle greenhouse gas emissions and consider alternatives to carbon sequestration. The legislation bans injecting carbon dioxide through the Mahomet Aquifer, labeled by the U.S. EPA as the area’s only sole-source aquifer. And it would mandate halts in sequestration if certain magnitudes of seismic activity are detected.
The bill would require the state to study appropriate setbacks from residences, businesses and infrastructure to protect from harm if a pipeline ruptures or leaks. Little or no government guidance or regulation currently exists on carbon dioxide pipeline setbacks, advocates note.
“There is not any federal law, any state law, nothing right now that says you cannot be located ‘x’ distance from people’s homes, schools, daycares,” said Jenny Cassel, an Earthjustice senior attorney involved in drafting the bill. “The problem is the federal government is never going to do it, because local zoning is not part of their purview.”
Pam Richart, a central Illinois resident and co-founder of the Coalition to Stop CO2 Pipelines, added that, “The proposed legislation would demand the state study setbacks based on how carbon dioxide behaves. If it were to rupture, where would it go?”
Cassel explained that once the study is done, the Illinois EPA would be tasked with developing routing standards and modeling criteria that a company must follow when applying for a pipeline route permit. Currently, no such requirement for a permit exists. Pipelines must receive a certificate of authority from the Illinois Commerce Commission, but the commission focuses largely on whether the pipeline would be in the public benefit.
“As long as we have this tax incentive that is dangling money in front of these companies, until they have a clear set of protections that makes them think twice about whether it really is worth it, or until the state of Illinois says ‘We’re not willing to take this risk,’” proposals will continue, Cassel said.
The legislation goes beyond similar bills introduced last year and would mandate extensive research and state permitting be done before a company can apply to the Illinois Commerce Commission for a certificate.
Currently there are no requirements that companies create or release models showing how a carbon dioxide plume would likely spread in case of a rupture. The new bill would require such modeling for a necessary Illinois EPA permit. And it would mandate companies put up funds for future cleanup and maintenance of sequestration sites.
“Industry is trying to hand the keys to the state as soon as they’re done and say, ‘Good luck with that,’” Cassel said. “We think Illinois already has enough Superfund sites, mines, wells, all sorts of other environmental hazards that need to be reclaimed. We need to set aside real cash to address if something goes wrong.”
She stressed that unlike in other geologies, carbon dioxide will likely remain gaseous and unstable in the state’s sandstone formation. This could especially be a concern if new injection wells are added for expanded sequestration, she said.
“The more you mess with an underground formation, the more you’re creating the possibility the plume is going to be shifted underground,” Cassel said. “If you change pressure over here, there’s a decrease in pressure in the same underground formation. It’s not like you can count on the pressure remaining the same over time.”
In recent years, companies including One Earth and Navigator have applied for pipeline permits without having secured rights for a place to sequester the carbon dioxide.
Obtaining necessary permission from landowners and local county boards has proved difficult. Navigator offered to pay county boards for help facilitating their sequestration applications, but multiple boards turned them down.
The state’s Renewable Fuels Association, a trade group representing ethanol producers, did not respond to requests for comment. One Earth Energy also did not respond.
“Industry needs legislation,” said Richart. “They can’t move forward without addressing the regulatory gaps that exist for ownership and utilization of pore space.”
In 2011, Illinois passed a law to facilitate the construction of carbon dioxide pipelines and sequestration, and specifically to facilitate the proposed FutureGen project, a multibillion-dollar effort to store carbon dioxide underground at the site of a Meredosia, Illinois, coal plant.
That law says in part: “carbon dioxide pipelines are critical to the promotion and use of Illinois coal,” and are “a benefit to the welfare of Illinois.”
The FutureGen project died in 2015, but the law continues to be the only specific state guidance on carbon dioxide sequestration and transport.
The pipelines recently proposed in the state are primarily linked to ethanol plants. But carbon dioxide pipelines are also increasingly likely to be proposed to sequester carbon dioxide from the production of “blue hydrogen” — made from natural gas — since the federal government is offering lucrative tax incentives for hydrogen and $1 billion for a Midwestern hydrogen hub.
Kathy Campbell, an audiologist and professor emeritus at Southern Illinois University, testified before the commerce commission regarding the proposed Wolf, Navigator and One Earth pipelines.
The Navigator pipeline would have passed right through Campbell’s land in central Illinois. Though that proposal was canceled in the wake of massive public opposition and skepticism from the commerce commission, Campbell feels this is only the beginning of a carbon dioxide rush.
“I won’t feel real comfortable until we get some legislation passed,” Campbell said. “We need our moratorium bill, and we need more study.”
Yet another Illinois bill (SB 2860), backed by the Illinois Farm Bureau, would prohibit the use of eminent domain to secure carbon dioxide pipeline rights of way. Illinois farmers are worried about their land being seized through eminent domain for pipelines.Industry players with interests in carbon dioxide transport and sequestration meanwhile are backing a bill (HB 0569) that would allow sequestration operators to use underground pore space even if landowners are opposed, while setting procedures for land access and compensation for damage to land.
When you hear “geothermal,” what comes to mind?
Maybe it’s bubbling hot springs in Yellowstone, or that one volcano in Iceland that won’t stop erupting. (It still is, I checked).
Either way, it’s probably a massive field of heat and steam that you’d rather observe from afar, and not something you’d want in your backyard or the alleyway next to your apartment.
But a new generation of heat pumps are taking advantage of the Earth’s heat to both warm and cool big buildings and whole neighborhoods, no volcanoes required. Ground-source heat pumps work similarly to electric air-source heat pumps, which transfer heat in and out of a room to warm or cool it without need for fossil fuels, but find a more powerful and reliable source of heat in the Earth.
And they’re already taking off. Minnesota is piloting networked geothermal systems to keep government buildings, housing developments and schools warm through the winter and cool in the summer. A Chicago neighborhood wants to connect more than 100 homes to a networked system, squeezing boreholes in the alleys between buildings. And a Massachusetts gas utility has already unveiled networked geothermal in a Boston-area neighborhood, and is looking to repurpose existing infrastructure for future projects.
Despite their potential to slash emissions and low operating costs, for now, geothermal heat-pump systems remain too expensive for most homeowners and to install. But they’ve still got potential as a way to repurpose oil and gas drilling equipment and infrastructure, and could help pave a new, zero-emission path forward for the fossil fuel industry.
— Kathryn Krawczyk
🚗 EVs go farther: While the average electric vehicle today gets the equivalent of 106 miles per gallon, new technology could double that number to more than 200 in the coming decades, a report suggests. (Washington Post)
🏭 Questioning a gas buildout: Utilities across the Southeast want to build new natural gas-fired power plants to meet escalating power demand, even though advocates say clean energy and battery storage can handle the job. (Canary Media)
🔌Grid waitlist grows: About 2.6 TW of power projects — 95% of them solar, battery and wind developments — were waiting to connect to the U.S. grid at the end of last year, up 27% from the year before. (Utility Dive)
🍳 Electrification’s still simmering: Clean energy advocates and professional cooks continue to work to electrify restaurant kitchens and homes in Berkeley, California, even after a court shot down the city’s natural gas-hookup ban. (Guardian)
💵 Cleaner for cheaper: The U.S. Interior Department finalizes a rule that will cut fees as much as 80% for solar and wind projects on federal land as it celebrates a milestone of permitting more than 25 GW of renewable projects under President Biden. (The Hill, Reuters)
📄 Getting clean energy to tribes: An Indigenous researcher says tribes need application support, better access to information, and resources to build better infrastructure, in addition to funding to adopt clean energy. (Grist)
📦 Prime charging: Amazon has installed more than 17,000 electric vehicle chargers at its warehouses over the last two years, making it the biggest U.S. private charging operator as it easily surpasses competitors’ clean vehicle goals. (Bloomberg)
🧩 Steel the deal: Experts discuss the pitfalls and potential for green hydrogen to clean up the emissions-heavy steelmaking industry. (Canary Media)
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