Climate advocates cheer Walz pick

POLITICS: Kamala Harris’s selection of Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as her running mate has energized climate advocates, but it is not clear how his record of advancing clean energy policies will be deployed in the campaign. (Inside Climate News, E&E News)

CLEAN ENERGY:

• Two new reports say the clean energy manufacturing sector has grown significantly since the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act, with $493 billion in private capital going to new facilities and products. (E&E News, subscription)
• Treasury Department data shows more than 3.4 million households took advantage of $8 billion in Inflation Reduction Act tax credits for energy and efficiency projects last year. (E&E News, subscription)

EFFICIENCY: A study from the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory finds the use of artificial intelligence technologies in data analysis and design could reduce building emissions 8% by 2050. (Utility Dive)

TRANSPORTATION:

• While electric vehicle sales are growing, consumer demand for full-size pickups and SUVs is also strong and remains a major profit center for automakers. (CNN)
• Maine officials want to pair a proposed toll road outside Portland with other projects meant to reduce driving, but advocates and experts say a bigger shift in thinking is needed if the state intends to achieve its goals for reducing transportation emissions. (Energy News Network)

COAL:

• An Appalachian Power official tells West Virginia regulators the utility continued to operate three coal-fired power plants that lost a combined $87 million over the last year because excessive coal inventories on site threatened worker safety. (West Virginia Public Broadcasting)
• Tests of water contaminated with coal ash from a spill last month in Minnesota show evidence of sulfates, a potential threat to wild rice beds growing nearby. (Star Tribune)

OIL & GAS: A new study draws links between wastewater injections and recent blowouts at plugged wells in the Permian Basin. (Texas Tribune/​Inside Climate News)

GRID: Four tribal nations in northern California plan to use federal funds to build nested microgrids and a distribution line designed to reduce power outages and wildfire hazards. (news release)

COMMENTARY: A clean energy analyst says demand-side programs to limit electricity consumption need to be considered as forecasts predict load growth from data centers and large manufacturing facilities. (Utility Dive)