The best places for clean power are banning it

CLEAN ENERGY: At least 15% of counties across the country are limiting construction of utility-scale wind or solar projects, including in many areas that have the best potential for clean power generation. (USA Today)

OIL & GAS: 

• The Biden administration’s pause on new LNG export terminals sparks questions over whether natural gas could actually be worse for the climate than coal. (E&E News)
• The U.S. has skyrocketed from a small player in the global natural gas market to the world’s top supplier over the last eight years, even as countries increasingly pledge to move away from fossil fuels. (New York Times)
• An advocacy group finds Permian Basin oil and gas operators received more than $1.4 billion in federal and state subsidies last year even as they pulled in record profits. (Carlsbad Current-Argus, New York Times)
• Massachusetts utilities, lawmakers and regulators are still charting a path forward after a December regulatory order signaled the beginning of the end of natural gas in the state. (Energy News Network)
• Louisianans who live near existing and proposed liquified natural gas export facilities have mixed feelings about the Biden administration’s pause on permit approvals. (Context)

FINANCE: Bank of America backtracks on its commitment not to finance new coal or Arctic drilling projects after receiving pressure from states threatening to withdraw their business. (New York Times)

PIPELINES: Farmers and landowners put up growing resistance to new pipeline construction, which could spread with carbon dioxide and hydrogen projects as the U.S. aims to cut emissions. (St. Louis Public Radio)

SOLAR: Washington state lawmakers table legislation aimed at increasing underserved residents’ access to community solar following strong opposition from utilities. (PV Magazine)

CRYPTOCURRENCY: The U.S. Energy Information Administration will collect energy use data from cryptocurrency miners to map how much electricity they’re using and where it comes from. (The Hill)

POLITICS: Polling consistently shows strong bipartisan support for clean energy policies in purple North Carolina, but political misinformation, special interest groups and entrenched individual lawmakers block the state legislature from doing more. (Energy News Network)

ELECTRIFICATION:

• An electrification nonprofit releases a planning tool to help homeowners map their phaseout from fossil fuels. (Canary Media)
• California environmentalists and consumer advocates butt heads over how to fund building electrification programs after regulators reject a utility’s proposed heat-pump installation plan. (Canary Media)

OVERSIGHT: The U.S. EPA’s newly confirmed assistant administrator has previously helped craft strong regulations governing oil and gas emissions. (Inside Climate News)

COMMENTARY: Georgia and Colorado regulators discuss the challenges to vehicle electrification presented by the current lack of charging infrastructure and future load growth. (Utility Dive)