U.S. off track for offshore wind goal — but not for long

WIND: The U.S. offshore wind industry isn’t on pace to reach the Biden administration’s goal of deploying 30 GW by 2030, but will catch up by 2033 and accelerate from there, a clean power group finds. (Reuters)

COAL ASH: A judge rejects utilities’ arguments that the U.S. EPA’s coal ash storage restrictions apply only to rain and not groundwater, effectively opening the door for stricter enforcement. (Grist)

CLIMATE: A pair of bipartisan House and Senate bills call for a study on the carbon intensity of major industrial imports, which could lead to the establishment of carbon import tariffs. (E&E News)

SOLAR:

• Hanwha’s Qcells plant in Georgia has collected $230 million in federal tax credits as it aims to build the first end-to-end domestic solar supply chain, but records show that for now it’s still relying on Chinese components. (Bloomberg)
• Minnesota solar developers hope that a newly created interconnection ombudsperson role will help ease frustrations and delays related to connecting projects to utilities’ power grids. (Energy News Network)
• A titanium plant under construction in West Virginia will be powered by solar panels and battery storage that form a microgrid. (Canary Media)
• Arizona researchers and farmers find shading crops with solar panels can reduce their water demand and increase yields. (Cronkite News)

EMISSIONS: Researchers launch a comprehensive investigation aimed at detecting and monitoring large greenhouse gas emissions sources in northeastern Colorado’s oil and gas fields. (Colorado Sun)

STORAGE:

• A former coal-fired power plant south of Detroit is set to become the largest stand-alone energy storage site in the Great Lakes region. (Fast Company)
• The U.S. Energy Department offers a $1.2 billion loan to a company that makes lithium battery separators. (Canary Media)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES: More than 150 Republican lawmakers sign onto a letter calling on the U.S. EPA to rescind its heavy-duty truck emissions rules that are likely to push the industry toward electrification. (The Hill)

GRID:

• Experts say planning and new generation can help the grid accommodate growing power demand from data centers, and suggest utilities and tech companies should try to learn from existing facilities. (E&E News)
• Average U.S. electricity rates have risen since last year amid surging demand from AI, data centers, and electric appliances and vehicles, a Bank of America think tank finds. (Utility Dive)