Biden to pump brakes on tailpipe emissions rules

ELECTRIC VEHICLES: The Biden administration reportedly plans to give automakers more time to meet its ambitious tailpipe emissions rules meant to speed electric vehicle adoption. (New York Times)

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POLITICS: Republican policy advisers detail how President Trump will reverse the Biden administration’s progress on clean energy deployment and regulating fossil fuels if the Republican wins this year’s election — as Democrats rush to protect Biden’s progress. (Reuters, Politico)

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FINANCE: More financial firms back out of climate commitments, saying the promises could expose them to legal challenges. (New York Times)

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OVERSIGHT: Federal energy regulators approve new cold weather reliability standards for grid operators and affirm they’ll continue reviewing liquefied natural gas export applications despite the Biden administration’s pause. (Utility Dive)

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STORAGE: Federal regulators deny proposed pumped hydropower storage projects’ permits on the Navajo Nation and establish a new policy of not issuing preliminary permits for projects on tribal land if the tribe opposes it. (KUNC)

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OIL & GAS:

• Federal regulators approve a cross-border pipeline proposed to carry Permian Basin natural gas to an LNG export terminal on Mexico’s west coast. (E&E News)
• New York lawmakers advance a bill to ban fracked gas extraction using carbon dioxide as a Texas-based company works to introduce the practice in the state. (Legislative Gazette)
• A poll finds a majority of residents in Western states support requiring oil and gas companies to pay to clean up their facilities, and favor protecting public lands over using them for energy production. (CPR)

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GRID:

• Siemens Energy plans to build large electrical transformers at a factory near Charlotte, North Carolina, filling a key gap for equipment to modernize and adapt the grid for renewable and electrification. (Energy News Network)
• The federal Bureau of Land Management urges a court to deny tribal nations’ bid to halt construction on the SunZia transmission project, saying the lawsuit comes too long after its 2015 route approval. (E&E News)

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SOLAR: Texas’ massive solar buildout is accelerating the transition to renewables in other states like South Carolina, where companies are using power purchase agreements and renewable energy certificates to source solar power from Texas. (CleanTechnica)

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ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE: A Philadelphia family’s poor health and anxiety after living next to a former refinery has led to what psychologists are calling environmental trauma, an increasing mental health concern. (Inside Climate News)

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EMISSIONS: Michigan environmental groups criticize DTE Energy’s voluntary carbon offset program for natural gas customers as a marketing ploy and a way for the company to profit with business as usual. (Michigan Public)

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COMMENTARY: Southern officials who cut their teeth on coal remain stubbornly committed to fossil fuels in the form of natural gas, resulting in a plan to build the South’s largest gas pipeline in more than a decade, writes a columnist. (New York Times)

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