Clean energy journalism for a cooler tomorrow

What Project 2025 plans for Biden’s climate wins

By Kathryn Krawczyk

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POLITICS: Project 2025, the conservative blueprint for what supporters want to see from a Trump presidency, calls for dismantling U.S. EPA regulations, cutting program funding, and otherwise undoing much of the Biden administration’s climate and clean energy progress. (E&E News, Grist)

ALSO:

  • Climate groups push President Biden to withdraw from the presidential race ​“for the sake of the climate,” saying he is unlikely to beat Donald Trump. (The Guardian)
  • Investors say the clean energy industry may be growing quickly enough to withstand the potential negative effects of a Trump presidency, though they warn investment will likely slow under the Republican. (E&E News)

ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE:

  • A U.S. EPA regulation enacted a decade ago has successfully encouraged sharp emissions cuts at most of the 130 oil refineries it targeted, pollution has skyrocketed at dozens of other facilities often located in low-income communities of color. (E&E News)
  • A natural gas-fired backup power plant for a New Jersey wastewater facility will move forward in a mostly BIPOC Newark community already burdened by industrial emissions, but with strict controls on pollution and a requirement for a solar and storage system. (Associated Press)
  • Advocates say the federal energy assistance program LIHEAP favors heating assistance in cold-weather states, and should be retooled to better support cooling assistance in warming climates. (Inside Climate News)

GRID: Louisiana and Mississippi commissions sue federal regulators over an order that sets requirements for long-term electric grid planning, one of the first challenges since the U.S. Supreme Court opened up ambiguous agency decisions to lawsuits. (E&E News)

UTILITIES: As Duke Energy prepares to face North Carolina regulators and defend its plan to invest in 9 GW of natural gas plants and delay meeting an emissions reduction mandate, it makes small concessions in a proposed settlement and wins support from the state’s ratepayer advocate. (Energy News Network)

SOLAR:

  • Nearly every state so far this year has taken policy action involving distributed solar, with many focusing on compensation from net metering and valuation of distributed solar resources, according to a new report. (Utility Dive)
  • Minnesota lawmakers have budgeted $2 million for training local officials and contractors on using software that helps streamline the solar permitting process. (Energy News Network)
  • Texas saw a spike in the number of homes adding small-scale solar facilities even before Hurricane Beryl, which caused widespread outages that could encourage more state residents to install solar. (Inside Climate News)
  • Developers bring the 690 MW Gemini Solar + Energy Storage project online in southern Nevada, making it one of the nation’s largest operational facilities of its kind. (Power)

TRANSITION: In 2023, more than 90% of pipeline and refinery companies said in an industry survey that they had clean energy transition goals; today, that number has fallen to around three quarters. (The Hill)

ELECTRIFICATION: Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson’s proposal to ban gas hookups in new homes and buildings is dead after a majority of city council members rejected the idea amid stiff union opposition. (Sun-Times)

LITHIUM: Mining lithium needed for batteries and clean energy components can use and potentially contaminate significant water supplies, a newly published study finds. (Inside Climate News)

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