Biden threatens windfall oil taxes

OIL & GAS: President Biden threatens oil companies with higher taxes if they don’t use recent windfall profits to increase production and lower prices. (The Hill)

ALSO:
• U.S. oil output climbed to nearly 12 million barrels per day in August, the highest level since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. (Reuters)
• Maryland’s state utility commission cites a climate denier as it asserts there is no such thing as clean energy in a case related to natural gas marketing claims. (Inside Climate News)

ELECTIONS:
• Republicans map an energy agenda they aim to implement if they retake Congress next week, which includes faster fossil fuel permitting and a probe into the Inflation Reduction Act’s rollout. (Politico, Vox)
• Young climate activists could be a deciding force in next week’s midterms. (Washington Post)
• GOP candidates spin falsehoods about electric vehicles in campaign ads to attack President Biden and Democrats. (Associated Press)

CLIMATE: The U.S. has contributed more than $9 billion to oil and gas projects in Africa since signing the 2015 Paris agreement, making up two-thirds of its global fossil fuel funding. (Guardian)

OFFSHORE WIND:
• A federal agency designates nearly 700,000 acres in two areas in the Gulf of Mexico for offshore wind energy development. (Houston Chronicle)
• Some observers say investing in offshore wind projects in Connecticut isn’t straightforward, with duplicative processes and an undeveloped ​“offshore wind identity.” (The Day)

COURTS: The U.S. Supreme Court’s dominant conservative branch seems to favor race-neutral college admissions in a case that could undermine the Biden administration’s plans to address disproportionate pollution in Black neighborhoods. (E&E News)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES: Maryland finishes construction of what officials say is the largest bus microgrid and vehicle charging infrastructure project in the country. (Canary Media)

GRID: Federal regulators approve a Southwest Power Pool proposal for spreading the costs of certain transmission projects in areas with large amounts of wind generation across its footprint. (Utility Dive)

SOLAR:
• As Wisconsin regulators consider whether to allow third-party-owned solar projects, advocates say utilities’ fears have not materialized in Iowa since that state authorized the financing mechanism eight years ago. (Energy News Network)
• Two Pennsylvania utilities want to incentivize solar projects in their territories, a sign that the resource is becoming mainstream. (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)

NUCLEAR: Pacific Gas & Electric applies to renew the Diablo Canyon nuclear plant’s federal license and postpone the facility’s planned 2025 retirement by five years. (Sacramento Bee)

COAL: Xcel Energy expands a regional commitment and says it will stop using coal nationwide by 2030 after announcing that it will close a large Texas coal plant four years earlier than planned. (Wisconsin Public Radio)

BIOGAS: The Inflation Reduction Act includes tax credits for biogas, which supporters say will help the sector scale up while critics worry about nearby residents’ exposure to health hazards. (Grist)