For EV battery makers, ​‘a bit of breathing room’

ELECTRIC VEHICLES: As automakers slow their rollouts of electric vehicles, an industry trade group says it will actually help battery manufacturers scale up and rely less on China for materials. (E&E News)

ALSO: Investors are holding back on supporting electric vehicle manufacturing as they await Treasury Department guidance on how much Chinese materials batteries can contain while still qualifying for tax breaks. (Politico)

TRANSPORTATION:

• California adopts regulations requiring railroads to reduce and ultimately eliminate harmful locomotive emissions after the U.S. EPA clears the way for the new rule. (San Francisco Chronicle)
• The world’s first battery powered heavy freight locomotive made its debut last week, but electrifying the U.S. rail system is still in very early stages, in particular because there is no federal policy requiring the shift. (Canary Media)
• Texas releases a plan to spend federal climate funds on road expansion, in a draft document that makes no mention of climate change. (Texas Tribune)

OIL & GAS:

• Documents detail why a natural gas industry group paid for kitchen equipment used by popular TV chef Julia Child in the 1970s, part of a larger campaign called ​“Operation Attack.” (Vox)
• A natural gas executive claims ​“the industrial world that we enjoy now is severely compromised” because of pipeline opposition. (Financial Times)

OFFSHORE WIND:

• New Jersey says it has no plans to give back $300 million to Ørsted without a fight after the developer canceled two offshore wind farms under development for which those funds were escrowed. (NJ.com)
• Dominion Energy announces its planned $9.8 billion offshore wind project near Virginia remains on schedule and on budget even while two other East Coast projects were canceled. (E&E News, subscription)
• The U.S. House of Representatives blocks a Maine lawmaker’s attempt to use federal funds to stop offshore wind development in a Gulf of Maine lobstering area. (Portland Press Herald)

SOLAR:

• Solar installers say higher interest rates and reduced incentives in California are partially to blame for a recent slump in sales; and analysts say a global production glut could delay the opening of new U.S. manufacturing facilities. (Bloomberg, Reuters)
• A new Minnesota law will require Xcel Energy to set aside half of its budget for a popular solar incentive program for income-qualified customers. (Energy News Network)

CARBON CAPTURE: A retired professor in Illinois helped build a coalition of landowners that were ultimately successful in fighting the development of a five-state carbon pipeline. (Inside Climate News)

HYDROGEN: Leaders of a Midwestern hydrogen production hub spanning Illinois, Michigan and Indiana say hydrogen produced by fossil fuels still has the potential to reduce overall emissions. (Post-Tribune)