GRID: A PJM Interconnection executive says the pace of new capacity is “nowhere near where we need to be,” with only 2 GW added last year compared to 5 GW the year before. (Utility Dive)

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: 

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: 

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)

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

Ken is the director of the Energy News Network at Fresh Energy, and has led the project from its inception as Midwest Energy News in 2009. Prior to joining Fresh Energy, he was the managing editor for online news at Minnesota Public Radio. He started his journalism career in 2002 as a copy editor for the Duluth News Tribune before spending five years at the Spokesman-Review in Spokane, Washington, where he held a variety of editing, production, and leadership roles, and played a key role in the newspaper's transition to digital-first publishing. A Nebraska native, Ken has a bachelor's degree from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and a master's degree from the University of Oregon.