New renewables now cheaper than coal pretty much everywhere

CLEAN ENERGY: Coal power’s rising costs and renewables’ increasing competitiveness mean it would now be cheaper to replace all but one of the U.S.’s coal-fired power plants with brand new solar and wind generation, a clean energy policy firm’s analysis finds. (Guardian)

ALSO: In North Carolina, the same analysis finds Duke Energy spends twice as much money operating its six North Carolina coal-fired power plants than it would replacing them with solar. (Energy News Network)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES:
• Advocates criticize the federal government’s promotion of personal electric vehicles as a climate solution over public transit. (Bloomberg)
• Virginia’s struggle to fund an existing electric vehicle rebate program highlights how partisan fights are challenging the EV transition. (E&E News)
• Tesla’s manufacturing facility expansion in Nevada is expected to trigger hundreds of millions of state tax abatements on top of the $1.3 billion in incentives the company already has received. (Nevada Current)

OIL & GAS:
• Facing an existential threat from the transition to clean energy, the natural gas industry is pushing liquefied natural gas exports and ​“green” gas in hopes that the products will help preserve its market position. (Canary Media)
• Increased drilling in west Texas’ oil patch coincides with hundreds of earthquakes per year in a region not previously known for seismic activity. (New York Times)

CLIMATE:
• A group of U.S. lawmakers urges the Biden administration to fight the appointment of an oil company leader to lead this year’s COP28 climate talks. (Politico)
• Ambitious climate agencies are pricey, but municipalities like Pittsburgh are using priority-based budgeting to find existing funds for the initiatives. (Grist)

FINANCE:
• As fears of a recession lead some startups to cut employees and costs, investors say climate change’s urgency will keep sustainability-focused startups afloat. (New York Times)
• A Republican U.S. representative who leads a key committee faces pressure from far-right members to go after climate-minded investment firms. (E&E News)

ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE: Advocates say they are disappointed that equity and environmental justice feel like an ​“afterthought” in Minnesota legislation calling for 100% carbon-free electricity by 2040. (Inside Climate News)

CARBON CAPTURE: Two startups and two universities say they’re planning to apply for a piece of $3.5 billion in federal funding designated to build four direct-air carbon capture facilities around the country. (E&E News)

UTILITIES: A new report contrasts U.S. utilities’ record profits in 2022 with the estimated 4.2 million times they shutoff service, disproportionately harming low-income customers and communities of color. (Guardian)

OFFSHORE WIND: New York says its third offshore wind solicitation received a record ​“volume of quality proposals,” with the winning bids to be announced in the spring. (RTO Insider, subscription)