ALSO: Grid operator MISO advances plans for a $21.8 billion portfolio of transmission projects that analysts say could produce up to $23.1 billion in net benefits, partly by limiting the need for new generation. (Utility Dive)

OIL & GAS: 

• An investigation finds fossil fuel industry lobbyists coordinated with lawmakers in multiple U.S. states to shape laws cracking down on peaceful protests against oil and gas development. (The Guardian)
• A federal oil and gas lease auction in Wyoming nets just $27,000 in bids, prompting industry officials to accuse the Biden administration of trying to indirectly halt drilling through higher fees and tighter regulations. (E&E News) 

CARBON CAPTURE: U.S. Sen. John Barrasso, a Wyoming Republican, introduces a bill that would increase subsidies for using captured carbon dioxide to stimulate oil and gas production from aging wells. (E&E News, subscription; news release)

CLEAN ENERGY: 

• A review of federal data finds clean energy sources provided a quarter of U.S. electricity during the first seven months of 2024. (Solar Power World)
• Amazon’s CEO says the company expects to be the world’s largest buyer of clean energy for “several years to come.” (Axios)

WIND: The state of Iowa sues a Washington-state company for allegedly dumping tons of old wind turbine blades around the state, in violation of solid waste laws. (Iowa Capital Dispatch)

SOLAR: University of Pittsburgh researchers interview four dozen rural people, including many farmers, about their views on rural solar development and find that smaller projects that work with the landscape would be more readily embraced. (Inside Climate News)

NUCLEAR: 

• The Tennessee Valley Authority considers how to pay for development of small modular nuclear reactors, after it already budgeted $350 million for initial design and permitting. (Knoxville News Sentinel)
• The Idaho National Laboratory prepares to install and test the nation’s first transportable nuclear reactor. (Boise State Public Radio)

POLITICS: 

• Energy and climate are key issues in four races that could determine control of the U.S. Senate. (E&E News)
• A new poll finds 58% of Black voters in battleground states view climate change as a major priority, and messaging on clean energy and climate change increased voting motivation for 33% of Black voters. (Michigan Advance)
• The Biden administration’s policies on electric vehicles is a key issue among voters leading up to the November election in a Republican-leaning metro Detroit congressional district. (Bridge)

ELECTRIFICATION: The Biden administration awards nine tribal nations in Western states nearly $42 million to electrify homes with clean energy. (news release)

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PJM executive concerned about pace of new capacity is an article from Energy News Network, a nonprofit news service covering the clean energy transition. If you would like to support us please make a donation.

I’m excited to share some big news!

Early next year, Energy News Network will be joining forces with Canary Media, an independent nonprofit media outlet that reports on clean energy and solutions to climate change.

Canary Media launched in the Spring of 2021 and has since become a leading outlet covering the clean energy transition across the U.S. You’ve probably noticed that their stories frequently appear in our newsletters and on our website. 

Canary and ENN share a similar mission, and the two outlets complement each other. Our combined team brings together decades of experience in journalism, fundraising, product development, and media operations.

You’ll be sure to see some changes — in the coming months our websites will be merging under the Canary Media brand. But you can count on the same incisive, comprehensive journalism that you’ve come to expect. 

Together, Canary Media and ENN will continue to produce great state- and region-focused stories, along with ENN’s five current daily newsletters and Energy News Weekly. In other words, we’ll keep doing what we do — only more of it and even better than before.

As a reader of the Energy News Network, you are an important part of this process. Please don’t hesitate to reach out to me at paulman@fresh-energy.org with any questions, thoughts, or well-wishes. And if you are not already, please consider supporting this transition with a one-time or monthly donation. 

As always, thank you for reading. 

ENN teaming up with Canary Media in 2025 is an article from Energy News Network, a nonprofit news service covering the clean energy transition. If you would like to support us please make a donation.

NUCLEAR: As it seeks to meet growing energy demand for AI technologies, Microsoft announces a 20-year power purchase agreement that will revive Pennsylvania’s Three Mile Island nuclear plant. (Bloomberg, New York Times)

OIL & GAS: 

• John Podesta, the Biden administration’s top clean energy advisor, says the surge in U.S. oil and gas production has “been good for the American consumer and good for national security” while acknowledging the country needs to rapidly decarbonize. (Bloomberg)
• FERC Chair Willie Phillips says a federal court “erred” in throwing out the agency’s approval of the Transco natural gas pipeline. (E&E News, subscription)
• A Texas pipeline fire that’s been burning for four days finally goes out, as officials announce a criminal investigation into the car wreck that caused an explosion and the subsequent fire. (Associated Press, New York Times)

CLEAN ENERGY: 

• Analysts say the Federal Reserve’s decision to cut interest rates this week will “jumpstart” clean energy projects that are “very sensitive to the cost of capital.” (Utility Dive)
• U.S. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm calls Georgia the “tip of the spear” for the clean energy transition, citing its significant private sector investment in solar, electric vehicle and battery manufacturing that’s been driven by federal tax credits. (Atlanta Journal-Constitution)

SOLAR: 

• An analysis predicts high energy prices will prompt nearly half of U.S. households to install solar by 2050. (Utility Dive)
• The costs of solar energy and storage continue to plummet, and the world is on track to install 29% more solar capacity this year than last year, a think tank reports. (Vox)

GRID: 

• The North American Electric Reliability Corp. says it “remains concerned” about whether there will be sufficient natural gas capacity to meet demand during extreme winter weather. (Utility Dive)
• A new report says PJM Interconnection could enable more battery storage by reforming a seldom-used interconnection process to fast-track new capacity. (Utility Dive)
• Federal regulators consider a proposal to craft rules for tribal nations looking to connect large generating projects to the grid. (RTO Insider, subscription) 

MINING: The federal Bureau of Land Management finds a proposed Nevada lithium mine’s protection plan is adequate to avoid driving an endangered wildflower to extinction. (Associated Press)

CLIMATE: Researchers raise concerns about the potential for AI-powered chat tools to aid in the creation and dissemination of climate misinformation. (DeSmog)

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Biden administration announces $3 billion for battery supply chain is an article from Energy News Network, a nonprofit news service covering the clean energy transition. If you would like to support us please make a donation.

ALSO: At a gas industry conference, former Secretary of State John Kerry challenges fossil fuel companies to prove the viability of carbon capture technologies. (E&E News, subscription)

POLITICS: 

• Vice President Kamala Harris has moved away from earlier Democratic Party pledges to end fossil fuel leasing on public land, raising concerns from advocates about political support for future climate action. (E&E News)
• Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin joins a coalition of Republican governors advocating for “energy choice,” which climate activists say is a euphemism for continued use of fossil fuels. (Virginia Mercury)
• Indigenous pipeline protestors say praises of Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz’s clean energy record ignore his position that allowed for the Line 3 pipeline expansion. (Mother Jones)

GRID: 

• A federal study finds carbon emissions from the Western U.S. power sector could drop 73% if 12 transmission projects under development are completed by 2030. (RTO Insider, subscription; news release)
• A report predicts U.S. wholesale electricity prices could increase as much as 19% by 2028, driven by increased demand from electrification and data centers. (Utility Dive)

EFFICIENCY: A new federal rule will help counter weak building energy codes in North Carolina and other states by requiring new homes with certain federally-backed mortgages to include energy-saving features. (Energy News Network)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES: The Treasury Department proposes new tax credits for individuals and businesses installing electric vehicle chargers. (Associated Press)

LITHIUM: Environmental advocates suggest that a Pennsylvania company’s faltering plans to extract lithium from wastewater raise questions about the industry’s viability. (Inside Climate News)

INDUSTRY: Finding customers willing to pay a premium for “green” steel made with clean energy remains a key hurdle as a major steelmaker considers new emission-reduction technology at its Ohio plant. (Canary Media)

NUCLEAR: 

• Georgia Power’s Plant Vogtle expansion has boosted carbon-free power to exceed fossil fuel output in the state for the first time ever. (Reuters)
• Federal regulators say a shuttered Michigan nuclear plant will need more inspections, testing and repairs to its steam generator before the plant can reopen. (WOOD-TV8)

COMMENTARY: A Nevada advocate calls on the Biden administration to limit solar development on public land in the Amargosa Desert and push it onto nearby private lands instead. (Nevada Current)

More from the Energy News Network: Midwest | Southeast | Northeast | West

Despite pledge, U.S. methane emissions continue to grow is an article from Energy News Network, a nonprofit news service covering the clean energy transition. If you would like to support us please make a donation.

ALSO: A California company cancels plans to build one of the world’s largest direct-air carbon capture facilities in Wyoming, citing intense competition from data centers for clean energy to power the facility. (Cowboy State Daily)

OIL & GAS: The Biden administration grants its first gas export permit following a court ruling that blocked its efforts to delay the process. (The Hill)

POLITICS: An energy market expert refutes former President Trump’s claim that he could cut energy prices in half during his first year in office. (NBC News)

BATTERIES: A battery plant in a Pittsburgh suburb that has taken advantage of or is eligible for billions in public funds has created poor working conditions and has fired union-supporting workers, according to some employees. (Pennsylvania Capital-Star)

EFFICIENCY: Some affordable housing developers embrace Passive House building standards that make homes highly energy-efficient with only slightly higher upfront costs. (Energy News Network)

WIND: Vineyard Wind’s broken turbine blade, misinformation campaigns and a lack of forthrightness from offshore wind developers is causing a “public relations nightmare” for the industry. (Rhode Island Current)

POLLUTION: A federal court rejects a new EPA rule tightening emissions standards for industrial boilers, saying the agency went too far in classifying facilities built before the rule was proposed as “new” pollution sources. (Reuters)

COMMENTARY: A climate advocate explains why his organization is opposing a bipartisan energy permitting bill, saying the legislation’s provisions advancing fossil fuels make the price “simply too high.” (Union of Concerned Scientists)

More from the Energy News Network: Midwest | Southeast | Northeast | West

Exxon unsure about carbon capture, despite lobbying for subsidies is an article from Energy News Network, a nonprofit news service covering the clean energy transition. If you would like to support us please make a donation.