Report: Batteries’ recyclability gives them edge over oil

ELECTRIC VEHICLES: Researchers argue that the recyclability of electric vehicle battery minerals give them an environmental advantage over fossil fuels, despite the massive impact of mining for lithium and other components. (Canary Media)

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ALSO:

• The world’s oil reserves have held steady over the past year, but that number will soon be insufficient to handle demand without a quick electric vehicle transition, an energy analysis firm finds. (EMobility+)
• Sunrun and Baltimore Gas & Electric launch a vehicle-to-grid pilot program to show how bidirectional electric vehicle charging can help boost power reliability during peak demand. (Utility Dive)

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POLITICS:

• Climate advocates hope Vice President Kamala Harris rekindles her support for the Green New Deal as she runs for president — as do Republicans, who hope to paint Harris as an “avowed radical.” (New York Times)
• Republican senators seem to have abandoned their strategy to force swing-state Democrats to vote on their support of controversial energy rules, like those targeting tailpipe and power plant emissions. (E&E News)

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PERMITTING:

• The U.S. Energy Department announces $371 million to boost permitting and benefit communities affected by under-construction transmission line projects. (Utility Dive)
• Energy permitting legislation backed by Sens. Joe Manchin and John Barrasso faces a long road to passage before Manchin departs the Senate at the end of the year. (The Hill)

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SOLAR: The Biden administration advances the proposed 5,350 MW Esmeralda 7 solar-plus-storage complex near Tonopah, Nevada, which would be one of the world’s largest such facilities. (news release; E&E News, subscription)

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OIL & GAS: Georgia regulators consider Georgia Power’s request to build three new gas-powered “peaker” units totaling 1,300 MW, even as the utility keeps the cost that will be passed onto ratepayers under wraps as a “trade secret.” (Atlanta Journal-Constitution)

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WIND: A federal safety agency says it intends to complete a “comprehensive and independent investigation” into the blade that snapped off a Vineyard Wind turbine and into the ocean last week. (State House News Service)

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COAL: Michigan’s two largest utilities operated coal plants at a $20 million loss between 2021 and 2023 when lower cost gas and renewables could have been deployed, according to a recent Natural Resources Defense Council report. (Michigan Public)

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EMISSIONS:

• Minnesota environmental justice advocates challenge proposals to define trash incinerators and wood biomass plants as carbon-free energy sources under the state’s recently passed 2040 energy target. (Sahan Journal)
• New York faces a lawsuit brought by transit and environmental advocates over the governor’s allegedly illegal and unconstitutional decision to block the Manhattan traffic congestion tolling plan from going into effect. (Associated Press)

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