Regan aims EPA’s full power at environmental injustice

ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE: In an agency-wide email, EPA head Michael Regan highlights how Indigenous people and communities of color face ​“disproportionately high pollution levels” and directs employees to use their ​“full array of policy and legal tools” to address that injustice. (The Hill; E&E News, subscription)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES:
• The White House’s infrastructure bill proposes $100 billion in new EV consumer rebates and $15 billion for building 500,000 new charging stations, as part of $571 billion earmarked for transportation spending. (Reuters, Bloomberg)
• Industry experts warn no matter how much money the Biden administration directs toward EVs, widespread adoption and investments needed to start ​“yesterday” to effectively combat climate change. (E&E News, subscription)
• Few states and utilities are ensuring that low-income customers and communities of color will benefit under electric vehicle transition plans, according to a clean energy group’s new report. (Utility Dive)
• General Motors is testing new technologies and manufacturing processes aimed at reducing the cost of electric vehicle batteries and dependence on price-sensitive metals. (Reuters)

***SPONSORED LINK: 2021 IPF Registration is now open! This year, IPF will be both in-person and virtual. IPF Together will be held August 24-26 in Richmond, VA (space is limited due to COVID guidelines). IPF Virtual will be taking place April 22, May 13, and June 17. Learn more and register today!***

FOSSIL FUELS:
• Eliminating fossil fuel subsidies is among the Treasury Department’s proposals for paying for the White House’s infrastructure bill, with a department estimate suggesting it could bring in more than $35 billion over the next decade. (Reuters)
• Four family-owned businesses with roots in southwestern Virginia’s coal economy turn toward storage and renewable energy with state grant funding. (Energy News Network)

EMISSIONS:
• Carbon and methane emissions shot up in 2020 despite COVID-19 shutdowns, an NOAA report shows, with methane’s increase accounting for the highest one-year surge on record. (The Hill)
• Four Pacific Northwest port agencies unveil a voluntary joint plan to phase out emissions by 2050 through investments in new fuels, equipment and port infrastructure. (Puget Sound Business Journal)

JOBS:
• Energy industry careers pay a higher median wage than the national median and are more likely to provide health care and retirement benefits than other jobs, a new study shows. (Axios)
• A new online tool explores careers in building energy efficiency, including skilled jobs that don’t require a college degree, to help boost interest in the field. (Utility Dive)

PIPELINES:
• New Jersey gets a boost from 19 states in its Supreme Court fight against PennEast’s attempts to seize land for a natural gas line into Pennsylvania. (E&E News, subscription)
• Massachusetts politicians and activists call for the closure of the Weymouth gas compressor station after its third unplanned natural gas release in under a year. (Boston Globe)
• Michigan’s governor and attorney general argue that a case involving a shutdown notice for Line 5 should be in state, not federal, court. (Michigan Advance)

UTILITIES: Duke Energy’s fossil fuel holdings and slow tilt toward renewables make it a target for activists and more than 20 local governments in North Carolina that have made zero-carbon-footprint pledges. (New Republic)

SOLAR:
• Residential solar customers in most of the U.S. are ​“grossly undercompensated” for the excess power they send back to the grid, according to a new study from Michigan researchers. (E&E News, subscription)
• The Navajo Nation moves forward with plans for two more large solar plants that are expected to generate missions in revenue for the tribe. (Associated Press)

***SPONSORED LINK: On April 9, join U.S. Sen. Tina Smith and climate leaders for a conversation about how Congress can pass a meaningful climate and infrastructure package that delivers good paying clean energy jobs, and provides the path to 100% clean electricity by 2035. Presented by Fresh Energy.***

WIND: An offshore wind developer reaches a deal with a Maine labor union to hire hundreds of skilled workers for construction jobs, though tensions remain with the state’s fishing industry. (Portland Press Herald)

COMMENTARY:
• The CEO of a social development-focused philanthropy calls on business leaders to go beyond basic climate pledges and ensure their goals ​“have a strong and enduring ground wire into communities of color.” (Fast Company)
• The U.S. ​“cannot dig out of the climate hole” just by improving buildings’ efficiency, and instead needs to ​“shift our buildings to all-electric, powered by an increasingly clean grid,” an electrification policy expert writes. (Utility Dive)