New Tesla now cheaper than average new gas car

ELECTRIC VEHICLES: A new Tesla Model 3 now costs less than the average new combustion vehicle — even before factoring in rebates. (Canary Media)

ALSO: Striking United Auto Workers target Ford and its partnerships with South Korean battery companies as negotiations continue. (Associated Press)

CARBON CAPTURE: Applicants are angling for billions of dollars in federal funding to advance direct air capture technology, which some groups fear will prolong oil and gas production. (E&E News, Reuters)

CLIMATE:

• Drought and warming temperatures are threatening the quality and quantity of hops, including those grown in the U.S. (Washington Post)
• A $5 billion federal Inflation Reduction Act program may give Wisconsin clean energy advocates an end-run around the legislature that has withheld funding for the state’s climate goals. (Energy News Network)

POLITICS:

• The U.S. and the EU are nearing a deadline to form a clean steel and aluminum trade deal but have yet to reach consensus. (New York Times)
• North Carolina lawmakers override the governor’s vetoes to pass bills loosening requirements for a proposed Mountain Valley Pipeline spur into the state and defining nuclear power as ​“clean energy.” (Raleigh News & Observer, Winston-Salem Journal)

PIPELINES: Activists and residents along the Mountain Valley Pipeline’s route through Virginia and West Virginia continue to oppose the long-delayed project as it finally begins to near completion. (Bloomberg)

SOLAR:

• A growing number of new residential solar installations are including battery storage, and the median size of rooftop solar arrays is rapidly expanding as well. (Utility Dive)
• Wisconsin farm industry advocates say a bill in the U.S. Senate may help alleviate some concerns around commercial solar development on agricultural land. (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)
• Cuyahoga County, Ohio, is an example of how local governments can craft supportive solar policies without waiting for the state and federal government to act. (PV Magazine)

OIL & GAS:

• ExxonMobil acquires one of the Permian Basin’s largest oil and gas operators in a nearly $60 billion deal. (Associated Press)
• Wyoming lawmakers consider prohibiting state and local officials from cooperating with federal land managers after the Biden administration proposes blocking oil and gas development on 2.2 million acres. (WyoFile)
• Researchers say the whereabouts of 800,000 tons of Pennsylvania’s radioactive oil and gas industry waste is unknown, a problem compounded by self-reporting and understaffed regulators. (Daily Climate)

WIND:

• Washington looks to establish itself as an offshore wind power equipment manufacturing and service hub as the industry grows on the West Coast. (Seattle Times)
• New York’s grid operator reports utilizing a record amount of wind power on its system this week. (RTO Insider, subscription)

GRID: Experts say the Southeast’s shift to renewable energy hinges on the buildout of more transmission lines, which has been off to a slow start and is causing a seven-year backlog of renewable projects to connect to the grid. (Chesapeake Bay Journal)