EVs on track for a record year

ELECTRIC VEHICLES: Global electric vehicle sales will hit a new record this year, and prices will be comparable to gasoline-powered cars by 2030, the International Energy Agency predicts. (Guardian)

ALSO: The United Auto Workers’ win at a Tennessee Volkswagen factory sets up another push next month at an Alabama Mercedes-Benz factory — and from there to auto factories in Georgia and South Carolina. (Politico; AL.com; Atlanta Journal-Constitution, subscription)

CLIMATE:

• More than 70% of workers around the world are subject to climate-exacerbated extreme heat, leading to more than 22 million occupational injuries each year, according to a new report. (The Hill)
• Advocates warn the United Nations that Indigenous people face risks from climate change, as well as mitigation and clean energy projects that rely on resource extraction on Indigenous lands. (Grist)
• California Gov. Gavin Newsom unveils a climate plan that would see the state leverage more than 50 million acres of its land to optimize carbon absorption and reduce wildfire risk. (Los Angeles Times) 
• Environmental organizations sue two Maine state agencies for failing to protect residents from climate change, citing a lack of compliance with emissions reduction targets and the recent failure of new clean car rules. (Portland Press Herald, Bangor Daily News)

SOLAR:

• A surge of cheaper solar panel exports from China threatens the U.S. solar manufacturing sector that’s still looking to find its footing. (New York Times)
• A Navajo Nation nonprofit works to install solar systems at 500 off-grid homes on tribal land each year. (ABC News)

NUCLEAR: A new report questions whether increasingly extreme weather could threaten the safety or viability of aging nuclear power plants. (Yale Environment 360)

PIPELINES:

• Mountain Valley Pipeline officials say the long-delayed, over-budget project has completed all water crossings, and ask federal regulators to issue an order by next month to allow it to be placed in service. (Roanoke Times)
• As utility and local officials celebrate a DTE Energy gas pipeline extension, climate advocates say Michigan should focus on electric heating instead of expanding fossil fuel infrastructure. (IPR/​Grist)

GRID:

• Two Democratic lawmakers plan a bill that would collect interest from Energy Department transmission project loans and allow affected communities to use the money raised for local infrastructure projects. (Axios)
• While construction continues on the $6 billion Champlain Hudson Power Express transmission line, slated to bring 1.25 GW of hydropower from Canada to New York City, some groups remain concerned about its impact on Native lands. (Business Insider)

INDUSTRY: A Minnesota startup company wants to help customers convert diesel engines to burn ammonia, a potential climate solution whose benefits hinge on how the chemical is produced. (Energy News Network)