Biden’s nuclear lifeline too late for troubled power plants

NUCLEAR: Utility and union officials say the Biden administration’s last-minute effort to save troubled nuclear power plants came too late for Michigan’s Palisades and California’s Diablo Canyon facilities. (E&E News)

SOLAR:
• Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis vetoes a utility-backed bill that would have phased out net-metering for residential solar customers and allowed utilities to impose steep fees on customers who generate their own power. (Miami Herald)
• A half-built solar farm on a former Pennsylvania coal mine foreshadows the U.S. solar industry’s future, solar developers say, if a federal probe of solar imports further disrupts the supply chain. (Bloomberg)
• A solar lending program offers an affordable option for low-income Massachusetts and Rhode Island residents, who still face a barrier from upfront costs to buy solar panels despite incentives. (Energy News Network)

CLIMATE:
• Humanity has altered 70% of the Earth’s land, putting the planet on ​“crisis footing” and desperately in need of land restoration to fend off climate change’s effects, a United Nations report finds. (Inside Climate News)
• Wildfires last year burned enough global tree cover to nearly cover the state of Oregon, releasing a massive amount of greenhouse gases as well. (Washington Post)
• Climate change will exacerbate virus transfer between mammal species, increasing the odds of more pandemics, scientists find. (New York Times)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES:
• Rapid deployment of electric vehicles in the U.S. will miss its full emissions-slashing potential if it’s not paired with more ambitious clean power deployment, a report warns. (Axios)
• Completely electrifying New York City’s public bus fleet will require as much power as it takes to supply nearly 200,000 homes. (The City)

OIL & GAS:
• The U.S. Department of Energy allows additional exports of liquefied natural gas from planned terminals in Texas and Louisiana. (Washington Post)
• Federal Democrats say they’re working on a bipartisan package to address high gasoline prices. (E&E News)
• A worker shortage is preventing Permian Basin oil drillers from ramping up production to take advantage of high prices. (Wall Street Journal)

GRID:
• The federal Energy Department invites states and tribes to apply for $2.5 billion in grants for grid-hardening initiatives. (news release)
• Grid operator MISO proposes improvements to the generation retirement process as stakeholders call for more transparency that could help avoid future capacity shortfalls. (S&P Global)
• Politics, tribal laws and federal red tape slow efforts to bring electricity to homes in a Navajo Nation community in Utah. (Salt Lake Tribune)

COAL: Amid a coal boom, one of the U.S.’s biggest coal companies is setting aside profits to prepare for its eventual shutdown. (E&E News)

WIND: The Biden administration seeks feedback on potential offshore wind auctions in the waters off Oregon and Mid-Atlantic states. (E&E News)

COMMENTARY: In lifting the federal oil and gas leasing pause, the Biden administration ended an ineffectual moratorium and repaired a dysfunctional system in the process, a journalist argues. (High Country News)