More transmission projects ready for takeoff

GRID: A report finds 36 major transmission projects are on the cusp of being built across the U.S., with the potential to create as many as 3.3 million jobs and carry as much as 187 GW of new clean energy. (Canary Media)

ALSO:
• Two Democrats propose a bill aimed at building transmission lines while lowering energy prices, which they hope will attract Republican support as permitting reform discussions drag on. (E&E News)
• Four more utilities pursue membership in the Southwest Power Pool, expanding the regional transmission organization’s effort to operate in the Western grid. (Utility Dive)
• A startup in Hartford, Connecticut, uses artificial intelligence to predict which utility poles are most in need of replacement to help expedite the cumbersome inspection process. (Hartford Business Journal)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES:
• Industry experts say the UAW strike against Ford, GM and Stellantis is as much about the future of U.S. auto production and the transition to electric vehicles as it is about wages and benefits. (New York Times)
• Environmental advocates take the side of striking UAW members, saying it’s essential that factory workers benefit from the electric vehicle transition even if it slows EVs’ rollout. (Politico)
• Republican lawmakers criticize the Biden administration’s push to electric vehicles for causing uncertainty among U.S. auto workers. (Michigan Advance)
• Electric vehicles made up 5% of all U.S. auto sales last year — a tipping point, experts say, though hesitant consumers and a lack of charging infrastructure continues to hold back the EV transition. (Washington Post)

CLEAN ENERGY: A former Energy Department official finds what she says are serious errors in a life cycle assessment of a proposed carbon capture and storage plant in North Dakota, raising concerns about the assessment process as the U.S. pursues a wave of clean energy projects. (Inside Climate News)

CLIMATE:
• Tens of thousands of protesters descend on New York City to call attention to climate change and an end to fossil fuel use ahead of the United Nations’ General Assembly meeting. (Sierra Magazine)
• Research reveals a correlation between racist federal housing policies and heat-related hospitalizations and emergency room visits in Miami’s low-income communities and communities of color. (Inside Climate News)
• A United Nations report finds governments are failing to ensure Indigenous people benefit from global climate mitigation funds. (Grist)

OIL & GAS: California sues five of the world’s largest oil and gas corporations, claiming their actions have caused tens of billions of dollars in damage and that they misleadingly downplayed fossil fuels’ risks. (Los Angeles Times)

ELECTRIFICATION: Washington state regulators back off on a proposal to require electric heat pumps in new construction, opting to increase incentives for the appliances instead. (Washington State Standard)

STORAGE: New York City’s plan to alter zoning regulations in favor of climate-minded projects forward frustrates Staten Island officials, who fear more battery energy storage systems could be built in residential areas. (SI Live)