Environmental group warns of gas plants’ ​“significant vulnerability”

GAS: An environmental group’s new report warns about the vulnerability of gas plants during extreme temperatures and cautions against the ​“vicious cycle” of investing in new gas-fired resources. (Utility Dive)

ALSO: The U.S. Department of Energy will examine whether regulators should consider climate impacts when evaluating proposed natural gas export projects. (Politico)

EMISSIONS: U.S. greenhouse gas emissions fell 1.9% in 2023 from the year before as coal use declined, bringing total U.S. emissions down 17.2% since 2005 — far from the 50% reduction the country is aiming for by 2030. (NPR)

UTILITIES: An investigation finds power companies have courted and at times co-opted more than two dozen Black civil rights leaders in the Southeast to help divert attention from environmental harms related to fossil fuel plants. (Capital B/​Floodlight)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES:

• Startups look to ride sharing, capital investment, and site suitability data to get electric vehicle chargers built in charging deserts. (Canary Media)
• Amazon says charging its new electric delivery vans has been easier than expected, once it wrangled the permits and power company coordination needed to build them. (E&E News)

POLITICS:

• The self-described centrist CEO of the American Clean Power Association draws criticism from environmental groups for openly courting Republicans and fossil fuel companies to advance clean energy. (E&E News)
• Emails show how a conservative lobbying group used misinformation to indefinitely delay a vote on a bipartisan Ohio bill that would allow utilities to create voluntary energy efficiency programs. (Energy News Network)

WIND:

• Developers break ground on the SunZia wind project in New Mexico, set to be the biggest wind facility in the Western Hemisphere. (E&E News)
• The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management will for the first time evaluate the environmental impact of multiple offshore wind lease areas at the same time, to speed the process. (Utility Dive)

GRID:

• PJM Interconnection now expects the grid’s annual power demand growth through 2034 to be triple what it estimated last year, pointing to data centers and electrification. (Utility Dive)
• Federal data show California, Texas and Arizona lead the nation for the most installed grid-scale battery capacity. (Teslarati)
• A Washington utility partners with a developer to explore deploying an iron-air battery multi-day energy storage system. (Utility Dive)

PIPELINES: The unpopularity of carbon pipeline projects from some landowners stem from a lingering resentment of property damage caused by the Dakota Access and other pipelines. (E&E News)

INNOVATION: Researchers find that excess pressure in water pipes can spin miniature hydroelectric turbines, potentially presenting a new source of clean energy. (New Scientist)