GRID: A White House infrastructure advisory council calls for the U.S. to build a “strategic virtual reserve” of electric transformers to help speed electrification efforts. (Utility Dive)
ALSO:
- Rising AI use, coupled with building and vehicle electrification, are set to drive U.S. electricity demand up 13% over the next 20 years, a consulting firm estimates. (Axios)
- A study finds heat pumps, rooftop solar and other clean energy and efficiency measures have helped operators balance the Pacific Northwest’s grid. (OPB)
- Some conservationists say a planned Maryland power line project would undo “hard-won” protections on thousands of acres of state park and nature preserve land. (Bay Journal)
EMISSIONS:
- Federal officials look to carbon markets to fund overseas climate and clean energy projects, though the markets have often overestimated offsets, discrediting their climate bonafides. (E&E News)
- Data center emissions from Apple, Google, Meta and Microsoft are likely more than seven times higher than the companies report, according to a news organization’s analysis. (The Guardian)
- Four Ohio cities will use $10 million in Inflation Reduction Act funding to develop new voluntary building performance standards and a resource hub to connect commercial building owners with services and incentives to cut energy use and emissions. (Energy News Network)
TRANSITION: The future of vice presidential candidate JD Vance’s hometown may hinge on a $500 million federal grant to help the city’s steel plant build a massive hydrogen-powered furnace to replace coal — though the company is considering abandoning the funding. (The Guardian, Politico)
OIL & GAS: Lake Charles, Louisiana, has become the locus of America’s natural gas industry, but its location between Houston and New Orleans exposes it to the brunt of climate change. (The Guardian)
ELECTRIC VEHICLES:
- GM is reportedly in talks to buy electric vehicle batteries that use technology from a Chinese company but are produced in the U.S., similar to rival Ford’s EV battery plan. (Reuters)
- Virginia moves haltingly toward vehicle electrification, with Volvo and other manufacturers moving to add EV lines even as Republicans try to decouple the state from California EV goals. (Virginia Mercury)
ELECTRIFICATION: California advocates call on Gov. Gavin Newsom to sign a bill that would allow utilities to electrify entire neighborhoods rather than replace costly natural gas lines. (Canary Media)
POLITICS: Oil industry leaders say they’re disappointed with former President Trump after he made an “incoherent” case for continued fossil fuel use at last week’s debate. (Politico)
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