Builders associations pose a formidable obstacle to energy efficiency

EFFICIENCY: Policies to improve energy efficiency in housing have faced strong opposition from builders associations, who frequently deploy inflated cost estimates to fight code upgrades. (Washington Post)

CLEAN ENERGY: While U.S. investment in renewable energy reached record levels last year, a new report says the pace will need to accelerate to meet the country’s climate goals. (Canary Media)

POLLUTION: The Supreme Court will hear arguments today on a challenge to the Clean Air Act’s ​“good neighbor” provision, which aims to protect people from air pollution from other states. (NPR)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES:

• A report from the American Lung Association says a full transition to zero-emission vehicles would prevent millions of asthma attacks in children. (CNN)
• While policies to phase out gasoline cars have become politically polarized, a study finds electric vehicles are popular with Democrats and Republicans alike. (CNN)
• New Jersey school districts can apply for funds to establish bidirectional electric school bus charging systems to make the vehicles double as energy storage assets through a new, $45 million pilot program. (RTO Insider, subscription)
• A technological standard that would enable widespread use of electric vehicles to serve as grid assets is a step closer to becoming reality. (Canary Media)

SOLAR: A new report projects the U.S. will have installed 14 GW of community solar by 2028. (Solar Power World)

GRID:

• The New England grid operator’s latest report says the region needs to invest around $1 billion annually in power transmission upgrades through 2050 to accommodate new clean energy technologies. (Maine Public)
• A 226-mile Nebraska transmission line first proposed in 2012 has failed to advance amid intense opposition from environmental groups, conservative lawmakers, ranchers and tribes. (Flatwater Free Press)

CLIMATE: Chicago files a lawsuit accusing six oil companies and a major industry group of waging a campaign to discredit climate science and misleading the public about the dangers of fossil fuels. (E&E News)

CARBON CAPTURE: Montana advocates and residents push back against ExxonMobil’s proposed carbon sequestration project on 110,000 acres of federal land, citing potential impacts to wildlife, groundwater and livestock. (Independent Record)

MINING: The developer of a proposed lithium mine in Nevada struggles to work around environmental opposition and an endangered wildflower in its path. (Forbes)

PIPELINES: The Mountain Valley Pipeline announces yet another delay and cost increase, moving projected completion from March to June and raising the price tag to more than $7.5 billion. (Roanoke Times, WVTF)

COMMENTARY:

• A federal tax credit tucked into the Inflation Reduction Act could provide hundreds of billions of dollars to help the U.S. steel industry cut climate emissions by more than 90%, a clean industry advocate writes. (Energy News Network)
• An editorial board says shareholder climate activism isn’t working and advocates should devote their energy to the political process instead. (Washington Post)