Biden pick returns U.S. to global climate discussion

Note to readers: U.S. Energy News is taking a break for the holiday and will be back on Monday, Nov. 30. Thank you for reading!

CLIMATE: The naming of former Secretary of State John Kerry to a newly created position of top climate diplomat signals that President-elect Biden is serious about climate change. (Washington Post)

ALSO:
• The former secretary of state’s role will involve trying to restore the world’s trust in the United States after Trump’s rejection of climate diplomacy. (Reuters)
• The first climate warning stickers could start to appear on gas pumps in Cambridge, Massachusetts, as soon as next month. (The Hill)

SOLAR: Invenergy announces plans to build the nation’s largest solar project — a $1.6 billion, 1,310 MW project in northeastern Texas. (E&E News, subscription)

TRANSMISSION: A pair of energy consultants seek partners for a $9.5 billion transmission-plus-storage project that could complete a renewable energy superhighway between Southern California and Chicago. (Energy News Network)

POLITICS:
• Even though President Trump easily won a Pennsylvania county with 1,000 natural gas wells, few residents took the claim seriously that President-elect Biden would ban fracking. (Philadelphia Inquirer)
• Supporters of the proposed Clean Energy Jobs Act in Illinois say a ​“mysterious dark money group” is co-opting messages on climate and clean energy with vague messages critical of utilities’ clean energy transitions. (Energy News Network)

TRANSPORTATION:
• General Motors drops its support for the Trump administration’s legal effort to nullify California’s fuel economy rules. (New York Times)
• Massachusetts transit officials approve the purchase of 45 diesel-electric hybrid buses after receiving assurances that diesel won’t be used when driving through an environmental justice community. (CommonWealth Magazine)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES:
• California regulators will require companies like Uber and Lyft to run nearly all-electric fleets by 2030. (E&E News, subscription)
• EV startup Rivian has sold out of its first planned batch of vehicles as the company faces limited production capacity. (Bloomberg)

PIPELINES:
• The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers approves the final federal permit needed for Enbridge’s Line 3 replacement and expansion in Minnesota. (Associated Press)
• The Army Corps says tribes’ attempts to shut down the Dakota Access pipeline have not met the ​“high bar” required for such action, and concerns about an oil spill are ​“speculative and abstract.” (Bismarck Tribune)
• Climate activists hope President-elect Joe Biden will block the Keystone XL and Dakota Access pipelines and publicly oppose Line 3. (InsideClimate News)

COAL:
• Six U.S. senators call on federal regulators to implement new rules protecting miners from silica dust, which has contributed to an ongoing surge in black lung cases. (Ohio Valley ReSource)
• A generation and transmission association that provides electricity to several Western states is under pressure from co-ops, insurers, and banks over its continued reliance on coal. (Energy and Policy Institute)
• A western Pennsylvania coal mining company is developing a power plant that would convert mining waste into energy with reduced emissions. (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)

OIL & GAS:
• More than 60 oil and gas companies pledged Monday to report and reduce methane emissions, but no American companies joined the effort. (Quartz)
• A report forecasts continued consolidation in the oil and gas industry next year, with a reduction of up to half of onshore companies. (Beaumont Enterprise)

NUCLEAR: A program director at Tennessee’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory pitches 3D printing as a way to make commercial nuclear power more competitive with natural gas. (Oak Ridger)

CLEAN ENERGY: An agreement is within reach in New Hampshire on how to spend $5.2 million in clean energy funds that were set aside three years ago after the state’s largest utility divested its power plants. (Energy News Network)

COMMENTARY: A group of more than 60 climate experts in a new report lay out a vision and blueprint for an international climate agenda for President-elect Biden’s administration. (NRDC)