U.S. utilities slow to embrace new grid tech

GRID: Grid-enhancing technology that could expand existing power lines’ capacity is catching on worldwide but struggling in the U.S. as utilities shy away from high upfront costs. (E&E News)

ALSO:

• Data centers are taking off across the country, including in the Permian Basin, raising concerns over the power grid’s ability to keep up. (E&E News)
• A new report predicts extreme heat will drive U.S. households’ utility costs up 8% this summer. (The Guardian)

CLEAN ENERGY:

• Clean energy and transportation investments totaled a record high of $71 billion in the first quarter of the year. (Utility Dive)
• The world isn’t on track to meet a 2030 renewable energy goal, the International Energy Agency says. (The Guardian)
• U.S. solar deployment has skyrocketed since the Inflation Reduction Act’s passage, but wind projects have slowed amid growing backlash, supply chain challenges, and permitting delays. (New York Times)

CLIMATE: Oil and gas corporations ask the U.S. Supreme Court to block lawsuits brought by states seeking to hold the industry liable for billions of dollars of climate change-caused damage. (Los Angeles Times)

GEOTHERMAL: A Massachusetts utility this week will launch the nation’s first utility-operated underground thermal energy network. (Canary Media)

POLITICS:

• Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse calls former President Trump’s reported promise to aid fossil fuel companies if they fund his campaign the ​“definition of corruption” as the Democrat leads an effort to investigate the issue. (The Guardian)
• Three Republican Congress members who own car dealerships are fighting White House efforts to boost the electric vehicle industry. (E&E News)
• Sen. Joe Manchin leaves the Democratic party, but will remain at the helm of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee. (E&E News)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES: Car dealers say they’re seeing more blue-collar electric vehicle buyers as federal incentives and price drops make EVs more affordable. (New York Times)

NUCLEAR: U.S. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm calls for the construction of 98 more nuclear plants on the scale of new units at Georgia Power’s Plant Vogtle. (Associated Press)

PIPELINES: Federal records identify roughly 130 potential problem areas revealed during testing of the Mountain Valley Pipeline earlier this spring, raising further concern about the pipe’s integrity. (Roanoke Times)

EFFICIENCY: Attorneys general from 23 states threaten legal action if the Biden administration moves forward with new energy-efficiency standards on stoves, cooktops and ovens. (Nebraska Examiner)

HYDROGEN: Minnesota-based 3M is investing in research that aims to lower the costs of producing green hydrogen and make it more competitive with renewables and fossil fuels. (Star Tribune)