‘First of its kind’ green lending network takes off

CLIMATE: The U.S. EPA selects eight nonprofits to administer $20 billion for climate resilience and emissions-reducing projects in low-income communities, creating what it calls a ​“first-of-its-kind national network” of green lenders. (E&E News, New York Times)

ALSO: The U.S. Federal Reserve reportedly thwarted a global effort to require lenders to share their climate plans and risks, saying a global banking oversight committee risked overstepping its authority. (Bloomberg, subscription)

SOLAR: Installing solar arrays on the roofs of strip malls, factories, schools and other large non-residential buildings could bring low-cost power to surrounding communities, researchers find. (Grist)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES:

• The Biden administration is largely looking to gas stations and truck stops to install electric vehicle chargers, which some observers call a natural fit while others say it is a lifeline to fossil fuel infrastructure. (E&E News)
• Ford will delay production of its electric pickup trucks and a new large electric SUV in favor of rolling out more hybrid vehicles. (Associated Press)
• A Black- and woman-owned electrical contracting company in Detroit embraces its identity, which has paid dividends with a flood of new work, including installing EV charging stations for DTE Energy. (Planet Detroit)

NUCLEAR:

• The U.S. Energy Department finds converting coal plants to nuclear power could increase employment while driving new local tax revenue. (Utility Dive)
• California advocates sue the Biden administration for allocating $1 billion to the Diablo Canyon nuclear plant to keep it operating, saying the award was based on a flawed analysis that doesn’t recognize some hazards. (Associated Press)
• The owner of New Jersey’s three nuclear plants says it will seek to extend the plants’ licenses for another 20 years, and says that new federal tax credits will enable the plants to run without state subsidies. (Associated Press, NJ Spotlight)

CARBON CAPTURE: Local leaders in central Illinois say they are ill-equipped to respond to a potential emergency should a proposed six-mile carbon dioxide pipeline be brought into operation. (Energy News Network)

OIL & GAS:

• The Biden administration finalizes a 20-year ban on new oil and gas drilling and mining on 222,000 acres of federal land in the Thompson Divide area of western Colorado. (Colorado Sun)
• A nearly nine-hour hearing in Chicago over Mayor Brandon Johnson’s proposal to prohibit natural gas hookups in new homes and businesses brought fierce opposition from labor groups. (Chicago Sun-Times)

COAL: Experts say the collapse of a Baltimore bridge will likely funnel more coal exports to Virginia’s ports, but an operator says they’re already operating at full capacity. (S&P Global)

CLEAN ENERGY: Wind and solar are booming in Texas, with the state ranking first in the U.S. for wind energy and just behind California for solar, and renewables now accounting for a third of all power produced in the state. (Axios)

BATTERIES: Developers plan to bring a 680 MW battery energy storage system online this summer on the site of a shuttered natural gas plant in southern California. (Canary Media)