How Republican AGs coordinated to fight climate rules

CLEAN ENERGY: Emails reveal Republican attorneys general have been coordinating during the Biden administration to seek out sympathetic judges and pressure federal agencies as they fight emissions standards, efficiency rules, and other clean energy-boosting regulations. (E&E News)

ALSO: Nonprofit leaders across the country share a level of anxiety about the results of the upcoming election and what it could mean for the clean energy transition, though some say real progress will play out at the state level. (Inside Climate News)

SOLAR:

• The U.S. Energy Department offers up to $450,000 to U.S. solar panel and inverter manufacturers who meet a key sustainability standard. (Grist)
• A Chinese company with a history of alleged tariff violations is planning a solar panel factory in Texas, raising a dilemma for the Biden administration. (E&E News)
• Federal data show Nevada, California and Utah have the nation’s largest share of utility-scale solar on their power grids. (Canary Media)

OIL & GAS:

• Oil and gas interests have given an estimated $75 million to the Trump campaign and Republican political committees during this campaign cycle. (New York Times)
• An analysis of oil production under past presidential administrations shows neither a Trump nor a Harris win will likely have much immediate effect on the industry. (Axios)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES:

• Experts say the next presidential administration and the makeup of Congress will have a big impact on the continuation of electric vehicle purchase incentives and charger deployment. (Utility Dive)
• Ford plans to idle a Detroit-area electric truck plant for weeks as it contends with softer-than-expected EV sales. (Detroit Free Press)

CLIMATE:

• The majority of $33.6 billion in Bipartisan Infrastructure Law funding for climate resilience remains unspent three years after the law’s passage. (Politico)
• Foreign climate leaders say they’re prepared to work around an adversarial U.S. if Donald Trump wins the presidency. (Bloomberg)

OFFSHORE WIND: U.S. offshore wind executives worry about the future of the industry if Donald Trump wins the presidential election, with at least one anti-wind advocate hoping Trump taps Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to combat development. (Reuters, The Guardian)

ELECTRIFICATION:

• Advocates warn a Washington state ballot measure aimed at barring governments from restricting natural gas appliances and hookups could spread to other states and stifle electrification and efficiency incentive programs. (Mother Jones)
• Maine’s whole-home heat pump rebate program picks up speed after it replaced a previous incentive that was not having the hoped-for impact on fossil fuel use. (Maine Public)

OVERSIGHT: A year-old Minnesota law that expanded a program compensating nonprofits for hiring experts to testify in utility rate cases has already brought new voices before state regulators. (Energy News Network)

CARBON CAPTURE: Occidental Petroleum nears completion of a direct-air carbon capture facility in Texas that would be the first large-scale facility of its kind; the company plans to build dozens more. (Houston Chronicle)