Climate-driven power outages surge

GRID: Power outages stemming from severe weather across the U.S. have surged 74% in the past decade compared to the decade before, showing another tangible effect of global warming, a climate group’s analysis finds. (Guardian)

‍

ALSO:

• The global energy storage industry saw a fourfold increase in investment during the first quarter of 2024 compared to the year before, driven largely by two major funding deals. (Utility Dive)
• A study finds adding battery storage to the grid can encourage markets to favor coal over natural gas. (Utility Dive)

‍

OFFSHORE WIND:

• The Interior Department plans to announce 12 offshore wind lease opportunities off the Atlantic and Pacific coasts and in the Gulf of Mexico. (The Hill)
• New York plans to open a fifth offshore wind project solicitation, this time with a faster timeline, after deciding not to pursue bids from an earlier round. (news release; E&E News, subscription)

‍

ELECTRIC VEHICLES:

• Tesla reports its profits fell 55% in the first quarter from a year before, citing pressure from hybrid models and other challenges, and saying it’s still moving ahead with cheaper vehicle models expected in 2025. (TechCrunch)
• General Motors introduces a vehicle-to-home charging system that would allow customers to use their electric vehicle batteries as a backup energy source. (Utility Dive)

‍

AIR QUALITY: Nearly 40% of U.S. residents were exposed to unhealthy levels of air pollution last year, an increase from the year before thanks to wildfires and extreme heat. (Guardian)

‍

HYDROGEN: A U.S. Energy Department advisory committee says the clean hydrogen industry isn’t growing fast enough and needs further federal help to meaningfully help the U.S. reach net-zero emissions by 2050. (E&E News)

‍

PUBLIC LANDS: A wave of new federal rules and plans aim to leverage public lands for clean energy development while protecting vulnerable ecosystems. (Canary Media)

‍

SOLAR:

• Nearly half of states will have funding for low-income solar for the first time as a result of the Biden administration’s $7 billion Solar for All program. (Canary Media)
• An Illinois bill has developed into a comprehensive “Solar Bill of Rights” to protect rural electric co-op customers who often face arbitrary and changing rules when seeking to install solar panels. (Energy News Network)
• Construction begins on what is planned as the largest solar canopy and energy storage project in New York: a 12 MW array with 7.5 MW of storage at a long-term parking lot at John F. Kennedy International Airport. (NYDN)

‍

OVERSIGHT: As Georgia’s regulatory board goes years without elections, a group of Black voters appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court to shift from at-large elections to having each commissioner elected by voters in the district where they live. (Grist/WABE)

‍

PIPELINES: Environmental groups sue to challenge federal regulators’ approval of an extension for the Mountain Valley Pipeline’s spur into North Carolina, arguing the project has changed so much the pipeline should be required to start the permitting process over. (Cardinal News)

‍