Biden moves to expand Trump-era tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles

ELECTRIC VEHICLES: The Biden administration is expected to announce new tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles this week, extending Trump-era policies aimed at boosting domestic manufacturing. (New York Times)

ALSO:

• Ohio Sen. Sherrod Brown is joining Sen. Joe Manchin to back a resolution to repeal rules allowing some Chinese-made battery parts to qualify for U.S. electric vehicle tax credits. (The Hill)
• Ford has started cutting orders from battery suppliers to stem growing losses on plug-in electric vehicles, which are now estimated around $100,000 per car. (Bloomberg, subscription)
• Workers at a Mercedes-Benz plant in Alabama begin voting whether to join the United Auto Workers, just weeks after a Tennessee Volkswagen plant opted to unionize. (AL.com)

POLITICS: A $6.6 million fuel industry ad campaign is targeting President Biden and Democratic Senate candidates over support for tougher emissions standards for cars. (NBC News)

GRID:

• Despite a lack of mandates, Texas has seen rapid growth in battery storage from ​“pure Wild West investment” and quick interconnection turnaround, experts say. (Canary Media)
• PJM Interconnection and Midcontinent Independent System Operator tell stakeholders that they will for the first time work together to identify near-term transmission upgrades to transfer power between their networks. (Utility Dive)
• Michigan lawmakers are split over whether to provide new tax incentives for large data centers that critics say would drive up electricity demand and disrupt the state’s climate efforts. (Bridge)
• A peer-reviewed study predicts that electrification-driven increases in energy demand in California ultimately will lead to reduced electricity rates. (Grist)

TRANSPORTATION: U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg calls for developers to emulate the public-private, transit-oriented real estate approach behind a high-speed rail line under construction between Las Vegas and southern California. (E&E News)

CLIMATE:

• Norfolk, Virginia, works through the design stage of a hotly debated $400 million project to reimagine a poor, majority Black community that includes a linear ​“Blue Greenway” to capture stormwater and reduce flooding that regularly saturates the neighborhood. (Energy News Network)
• A federal judge denies a request by several major oil industry corporations to move New York City’s lawsuit seeking compensation for climate change out of state court. (E&E News, subscription)

SOLAR: A northern Maine community of around 11,400 homes and businesses was able to run on only solar power last week for about 12 cumulative hours, a first-ever occurrence for utility Versant. (Maine Public Radio)