How Trump could target environmental justice

POLITICS: Advocates fear the Biden administration’s Justice40 effort, which funneled billions of dollars to underserved communities to reduce pollution, will be dismantled under President-elect Trump. (Washington Post)

ALSO:

• U.S. Senate Republicans prepare a legislative package that would claw back some Inflation Reduction Act provisions while seeking to expand domestic energy production. (E&E News)
• Trump’s Cabinet picks include both climate deniers and those who acknowledge the problem, but most have publicly shared their desire to expand fossil fuel production and weaken environmental rules. (New York Times)
• A GOP lobbyist who served in the first Trump administration says federal tax incentives for electric vehicles are at most risk of being swiftly repealed by the president-elect. (E&E News, subscription)

SOLAR: An industry report finds the country added a record 9.3 GW of solar manufacturing capacity in the third quarter, and says U.S. solar module factories have the ability to meet nearly all current domestic demand. (E&E News, subscription; news release)

BIOFUELS: The Biden administration reportedly won’t finalize rules for clean fuel production tax credits before Trump takes office, even though the regulations were set to take effect Jan. 1. (Reuters)

OIL & GAS: A new Sierra Club report of 15 liquified natural gas projects in Texas and Louisiana finds they received about $4 million in tax breaks for every permanent post-construction job promised by developers, effectively denying local governments revenue for services and infrastructure. (Inside Climate News)

POLLUTION: New research finds particulate matter from vehicles, power plants, industrial processes and wildfire smoke can contribute to infertility in both men and women. (The Guardian)

STORAGE:

• A recent study finds long-duration energy storage is essential to getting more clean electricity on the grid, and could dramatically cut power prices during times of peak demand. (Grist)
• A company making zinc-based, long-duration batteries will use a $300 million federal loan guarantee to expand its Pennsylvania manufacturing facility to address a backlog of orders. (Utility Dive)
• The U.S. Energy Department awards a Nevada firm up to $95 million to fund solar-plus-storage installations totaling 100 MW in capacity at two of its gold mines in the state. (Government Technology)

OFFSHORE WIND: A planned 114-turbine wind farm off Maryland receives final federal approval, but still faces local opposition and likely hostility from President-elect Donald Trump. (Maryland Matters)

EFFICIENCY: A Michigan-based startup fabricating vacuum-insulated glass for highly efficient windows has opened a new manufacturing plant and secured nearly $83 million in capital and grants to scale up. (Canary Media)

UTILITIES: North Carolina regulators consider Duke Energy’s proposal to allow large users to access aggregated energy data for buildings with multiple tenants, allowing them to gauge clean energy use at airports and other large facilities. (Energy News Network)