NetZero Insider Weekly Intelligence Report: Policy & Impacts

The holidays were a time of reflection at NetZero Insider as we reviewed the trends that drove the news in 2023 and looked ahead to what issues will be making headlines in the coming months.

NetZero Insider’s K Kaufmann took a deep dive into the Department of Energy’s relentless pace in the past year, including its announcements of hydrogen and direct air capture hubs, the release of its Transmission Needs Study and its first foray into transmission financing as an anchor off-taker for interregional transmission projects. With the 2024 presidential election on the horizon, Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm told industry stakeholders to “buckle up” for another year of DOE funding and initiatives aimed at accelerating the U.S. clean energy transition.

Another DOE through-line is the department’s efforts to designate National Interest Electric Transmission Corridors (NIETCs). Our James Downing, says the department is targeting spring for a preliminary list of potential NIETCs.

New Jersey correspondent Hugh Morley gave us his spin on the year in energy in the Garden State. Sadly, the Board of Public Utilities lost its president and long-time clean energy advocate, Joseph L. Fiordaliso, and the state lost two offshore wind projects, as Ørsted pulled the plug on Ocean Winds 1 and 2. But the state also made clear progress, adopting the Advanced Clean Cars II rule, establishing an expanded, permanent community solar program and opening its third solicitation for offshore wind.

Our curated content is also on trend, with Canary Media reporting on the “Battery Belt” states of Tennessee, Mississippi and Kentucky, where Ford and Korean battery maker SK Innovation are planning massive electric vehicle and battery plants, and local advocates are pushing the companies to deliver a broad package of community benefits,

Energy regulation could be a hot topic in the Missouri General Assembly as top lawmakers say the default time-of-use rates mandated by the state’s Public Service Commission should be optional, according to the Missouri Independent. Other proposed legislation could delay the closure of fossil fuel plants to ensure reliability until replacement power is on the grid.

With winter weather upon us, the Clean Energy Group’s Shelley Hudson Robbins reminds us of the reliability role demand response can play during extreme weather events ― and calls out Duke Energy and the North Carolina Utilities Commission for not making DR a key tool.

Are you ready for 2024? NetZero Insider will keep you updated on all the vital news you need to navigate the shifting policy landscape this year. Read on for our full Intelligence Report, below:

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Equity & Economics
Impact & Adaptation
Policy & Politics

Equity & Economics

U.S.

Why The Renewable Energy Industry Needs Unionizing

The COP28 climate summit recognized we are at "the beginning of the end" of the fossil fuel era and need to speed up transition to renewable energy. But union-busting by renewables companies, including the top solar provider on Long Island, threatens to slow it down. UAW

Economic Development

U.S.

Battery Belt communities fight for a fair shake as projects get underway

Communities are using an organizing tool intended for sports stadiums to bargain with energy transition projects for labor standards and affordable housing. Canary Media

Environmental Justice

Virginia

Environmental Justice Advocates in Virginia Fear Recent Legal Gains Could Be Thwarted by Politics in Richmond

Despite Democratic control of the Virginia General Assembly after the November election, environmental justice advocates in the state say progress in 2024 will be difficult under the Republican administration of Gov. Glenn Youngkin. Inside Climate News

Workforce Development

U.S.

'New Collar' Jobs Require Advanced Skills, Not Advanced Degrees

For the many Americans without four-year college degrees -- more than half of adults, according to census data -- the new job market will require training. New York Times

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Impact & Adaptation

Minnesota

Minnesota mental health professionals say climate concerns driving patients to depression

More than half of Minnesota's mental health professionals report seeing anxiety, depression and chronic psychological distress related to climate concerns among their patients, according to a study by researchers at the University of Minnesota. Minnesota Reformer

International

The Big Climate Stories in 2024

Last year was the warmest in recorded history. What does 2024 have in store? For starters, it is almost certain to be another scorcher. The naturally occurring El Nino will push up temperatures in much of the world and humans will continue pumping greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. That will very likely mean more extreme heat, like Phoenix saw last summer in a record streak of days that hit 110 degree Fahrenheit or higher. It will mean more wildfires, like the ones that torched Canada, Europe and North Africa. And it will mean more unusually hot ocean temperatures that threaten coral reefs and melt glaciers. The New York Times

Drought & Flooding

Kentucky

Floodplain buyouts in Kentucky are 'the fastest in the program's history'

The federal buyout program is one part of FEMA's hazard mitigation strategy. The idea: get people and homes out of the floodplain so there will be less risk and costs associated with future disasters. Usually, the program is slow and cumbersome, but in Kentucky, state officials and FEMA implemented a new, expedited buyout process after the Eastern Kentucky floods -- and the changes seem to be working. Kentucky Lantern

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Policy & Politics

Arkansas

Arkansas Public Service Commission seeks public input on utility plans for federal infrastructure funds

The Arkansas Public Service Commission is seeking feedback on utilities' plans to use federal money identified in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and the Inflation Reduction Act. Talk Business & Politics

Iowa

Ethanol is a key Iowa issue for GOP presidential contenders

Republican candidates for the presidency have fawned over farmers this caucus season as they've courted voters in Iowa -- the nation's top producer of corn. None of the candidates has suggested that farmers be forced to implement costly measures to help the environment. To the contrary, the candidates rail against federal regulations that pertain to agriculture, especially those that seek to protect the nation's streams. Iowa Capital Dispatch

Ohio

Energy company paid $43M for dirty bailout. Says it acted in a 'legal way'

The energy company that was to receive that bulk of a corrupt $1.3 billion bailout that has already imprisoned two is telling a federal court it acted in a "legal way." It makes that statement even though it paid at least $43 million to finance the scheme, part of which its executive chairman referred to as "black ops." Ohio Capital Journal

Rate Design

Missouri

Missouri legislative leader files bill targeting time-of-use utility pricing plans

One of Missouri's highest-ranking lawmakers hopes to stop state regulators from forcing electric utilities to charge a premium for power used at times of high demand. The legislation filed by Senate Majority Leader Cindy O'Laughlin was inspired by Evergy's roll out of time-of-use pricing plans to its customers last summer, which included a plan that would have quadrupled customers' charges for energy used at times of high demand. Missouri Independent

Space Cooling & Heating

California

9th Circuit declines to reconsider decision rejecting Berkeley, Calif., natural gas ban

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit will not reconsider its decision to overturn Berkeley, Calif.'s first-in-the-nation ban on natural gas hookups in new construction, according to a denial Jan. 2. Smart Cities Dive

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