GM: ​‘We want to be part of the solution’ on climate

ELECTRIC VEHICLES: General Motors CEO Mary T. Barra announces plans for 20 new electric vehicle models in the U.S. by 2025: ​“We are all-in to establish leadership in electric vehicles.” (New York Times)

ALSO:
• Data shows the majority of electric vehicle buyers in California are white men, and advocates say overcoming the ​“Silicon Valley dudes” perception will be key to more widespread adoption. (San Francisco Chronicle)
• Fremont, California’s police department says its Tesla Model S patrol car has been more reliable and cheaper to operate than gasoline vehicles, and the department has since added another Tesla to its fleet. (KPIX)

OVERSIGHT: Outgoing EPA administrator is booking a taxpayer-funded trip to tropical destinations during the final days of the Trump administration in January. (Associated Press)

CLIMATE:
• Democratic lawmakers condemn President Trump’s ​“destabilizing” and ​“politicizing” of the National Climate Assessment. (The Hill)
• Progessive members of Congress hold a climate rally outside the Democratic National Committee headquarters. (The Hill)
• Climate scientists say a recent study claiming a tipping point on climate has already been passed has numerous flaws. (E&E News)

TRANSITION:
• Former Obama Energy Department official Arun Majumdar is emerging as a top candidate to lead the agency. (E&E News)
• President-elect Biden’s appointment to a relatively obscure government post could largely project the scope of executive actions on energy and climate. (Washington Post)

OIL & GAS:
• President-elect Biden’s pledge to halt new drilling on public lands will face numerous obstacles, including resistance from some Democratic governors. (Washington Post)
• A lease sale for drilling rights in the Gulf of Mexico this week attracts more bidders than in March, but remains well below 2019 figures amid an industry slump. (Houma Today)
• Pennsylvania legislators send a bill to Gov. Tom Wolf that would relax environmental standards for conventional oil and gas drillers. (StateImpact Pennsylvania)
• A Colorado agency apologizes after accidentally sending an email to hundreds of oil and gas workers that contained derogatory jokes about the industry. (CBS4)

COAL: Senators from coal-producing states are expected to hold three out of four leadership posts in the chamber’s energy and environment committees. (E&E News)

SOLAR:
• A trade court grants President Trump’s request to reinstate tariffs on two-sided solar panels, which could benefit manufacturers with U.S. facilities. (Greentech Media)
• Knoxville, Tennessee signs a purchase agreement to get 20% of its electricity from solar by 2023. (Chattanooga Times Free Press)

WIND: As prices continue to fall, Xcel Energy issues bill credits to Minnesota customers who volunteered to pay extra to support wind energy. (Energy News Network)

UTILITIES: A filing reveals that FirstEnergy’s firing of top executives is related to a $4 million payout to a firm connected to an unnamed state regulator, just days after the FBI searched the home of PUCO chair Sam Randazzo. (Akron Beacon Journal)

GRID: A North Carolina electric cooperative adopts ​“self-healing grid” technology to reduce the length of outages in a five-county region. (The Pilot)

COMMENTARY:
• California’s lieutenant governor says ​“now is the time for the rest of the nation to join us in committing to climate action.” (CalMatter)
• A columnist says that while there is hope for climate action at the federal level, we shouldn’t overlook the role that states will continue to play. (Bloomberg)
• Two economists explain why the U.S. should invest in more companies like Solyndra. (MIT Technology Review)