Clean-energy super PAC names its target list for general elections

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Midterm elections are less than a month away. For the Invest in Tomorrow Coalition, it’s the perfect time to double down on fighting clean energy opponents in races across the country.

Invest in Tomorrow announced last week that it’ll spend $15 million to defeat Republicans in seven U.S. House races. The list includes incumbent Reps. Lauren Boebert of Colorado, Scott Perry of Pennsylvania, and Victoria Spartz of Indiana, along with four challengers: Mike Beltran of Florida, Anthony Constantino of New York, Brandon Herrera of Texas, and David Flippo of Nevada. All the incumbents voted last year to end Biden-era renewable energy tax credits.

The coalition shared a few more details on where its money will go this week as it unveiled a $2 million ad buy targeting Spartz. Like its previous campaigns, these ads don’t focus on Spartz’s push to repeal the Inflation Reduction Act’s clean energy tax credits, but rather criticize her record on healthcare funding and accuse her of using her office to enrich herself.

“Attacking American energy now comes with a real political cost,” Tom Matzzie, chair of Invest in Tomorrow, said in a statement. ​“And between now and Election Day, every voter in the 5th District is going to hear how Victoria Spartz turned her back on them.”

Notching wins now may prove more difficult than the coalition’s earlier endeavors. The candidates Invest in Tomorrow homed in on during the primaries were all in pretty vulnerable positions even before the PAC stepped in, and it’s hard to prove that its money played a decisive role in those races. For example, Rhode Island Gov. Dan McKee (D) was facing a bridge-construction debacle when the coalition turned its barbs against his clean energy backtracking.

Things are different with this round of candidates. Herrera, Spartz, and even Boebert (despite her many scandals) are all expected to win their elections.

Still, Invest in Tomorrow does have some tailwinds going into general elections. Polling indicates Beltran and Perry have a chance of losing their races, and a carpetbagging controversy has left Flippo vulnerable too. Even these few losses would help Democrats on their quest to win the House this fall — an outcome that polling and analyses suggest is pretty darn likely.

More big energy stories

Supreme Court considers local lawsuits against fossil fuel companies

Local climate cases have arrived at the nation’s top court. On Monday, the Supreme Court began hearings in Boulder, Colorado’s lawsuit against Exxon Mobil and Suncor that seeks to hold the fossil fuel giants accountable for the impacts of climate change. It’s a type of suit that dozens of local governments have brought against Exxon Mobil and similar companies, and the Supreme Court’s decision could determine whether those cases can continue.

Justices have so far given little indication as to which way they will rule, though they’ve asked more about the case’s implications for oil companies than for communities dealing with the planet’s warming, Grist reports. Still, the court runs the risk of issuing a split decision, as Justice Samuel Alito has recused himself from the case — an outcome that would allow cases like Boulder’s to proceed in lower courts.

Making clean energy happen in rural America

Clean energy success stories can be hard to come by in rural areas, but Julian Spector has one for us this week. In Iowa’s Cherokee County, a depressed corn market had the Smith family thinking of other ways to make money off their land. They settled on installing a solar-plus-battery array, but when the county got word, it placed an indefinite moratorium on battery construction. Fast forward five months, and the Smiths, with help from a county supervisor, were able to get the ban reversed.

Mondale Robinson, the mayor of Enfield, North Carolina, has a plan to keep the good news coming. Despite his community’s tiny size, he’s pursued huge clean energy ambitions there, and is now launching a national coalition of small-town and rural mayors, hoping that their collective influence can drive federal policy and attract donors to further progress on climate, clean energy, and other issues.

Clean energy news to know this week

History lesson: Experts note that although the Trump administration’s energy policies are exacerbating high power bills — a key issue in upcoming elections — the costs have been building for years as the nation’s grid undergoes much-needed upgrades and repairs. (Canary Media)

Big Tech goes nuclear: Constellation Energy partners with Google to upgrade 11 of its existing nuclear plants in PJM Interconnection, marking the latest deal between a power provider and tech company to add capacity to existing nuclear facilities. (Canary Media)

Diesel doubts: President Donald Trump signs an executive order allowing anyone to purchase tax-exempt ​“red-dye” diesel in an attempt to lower sky-high fuel prices, but trucking industry groups say it’s unlikely to help. (NBC News, Politico)

Cooking up danger: A new study quantifies just how hazardous the conditions of fossil fuel-powered commercial kitchens are compared to all-electric facilities, with chefs who cook with gas and propane facing too-high temperatures and debilitating levels of toxic emissions. (Canary Media)

Data center downgrade: Developers have canceled at least $260 billion worth of data center projects in the U.S. so far this year after facing strong local opposition. (Heatmap)

Efficient pushback: Nearly two dozen states, led by California, sue the Trump administration over its rollback of fuel efficiency standards for cars, saying it violates federal law and relies on a faulty analysis. (New York Times)

Now let’s do a fun one: Wind and solar companies launch a series of ads starring John Cena, in which the wrestling and movie star pitches the power of clean energy with the help of a kitten, a raccoon, and zero politics. (Wall Street Journal)