Global poll shows tepid American support for clean energy

CLEAN ENERGY: The world’s largest ever climate survey finds 54% of Americans want a quick transition from fossil fuels to clean energy, among the smallest majorities among counties polled. (The Guardian)

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ALSO:

• As military labs and bases lead the way on developing and piloting clean energy technologies, a House bill looks to strip “climate change initiatives” from defense spending. (The Hill)
• Clean energy manufacturers raise concern that former President Trump’s election could roll back Inflation Reduction Act incentives that have helped them expand production. (Utility Dive)

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NUCLEAR: Congress overwhelmingly passes a bill to boost the development and building of advanced nuclear projects, marking a rare bipartisan energy win. (E&E News)

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WIND: An energy company opens a 184 MW wind project in Mississippi, bucking the Southeast’s resistance to onshore wind power to supply energy to Amazon for regional data centers and logistics hubs. (Canary Media)

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SOLAR:

• Hailstorms will likely become more common as the climate changes, but researchers say monitoring technologies and protective equipment can protect solar panels from hail damage. (Inside Climate News)
• New Jersey’s community solar program is tapping into unused warehouse rooftop space to increase local capacity. (Philadelphia Inquirer)
• A California startup designing software and robots to facilitate solar development on challenging terrain secures $20 million in financing. (Bloomberg)

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ELECTRIC VEHICLES:

• Massachusetts is in the process of tripling the size of its first-in-the-nation vehicle fleet electrification program following a recent influx of federal money. (Energy News Network)
• Detroit’s three automakers should focus on selling gas-powered trucks to fund research and development that could bring down the cost of electric vehicles, a banking analyst says. (Detroit News)

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GRID:

• Advocates say the 18-year permitting saga for the SunZia transmission line in the Southwest is a success story illustrating the challenges of building large-scale clean energy infrastructure. (Heatmap)
• Federal regulators collect public comment as they reconsider whether to approve a Southeast regional real-time power market. (Utility Dive)
• Texas’ grid operator nearly doubles the amount of power it estimates it will need in six years, based on anticipated requests for grid connections and a spike in requests from data centers, hydrogen facilities and oil and gas companies. (Texas Tribune)
• Federal energy officials add a 60-mile stretch that connects New York and New England’s grids to a list of weak transmission corridors in need of a boost. (Berkshire Eagle)

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HYDROPOWER: The Biden administration acknowledges that federally operated hydroelectric dams on the Columbia River have harmed salmon and the tribal nations reliant on them, bolstering efforts to decommission the facilities. (Associated Press)

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PUBLIC LANDS: Wyoming and Utah file a lawsuit seeking to block the federal Bureau of Land Management’s new public land rule that puts conservation on a par with energy development, saying it threatens their resource-based economies. (WyoFile)

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