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Alabama
Terry Dunn, who challenged the status quo at the Alabama Public Service Commission, calling for more scrutiny of Alabama Power Co.'s profits and the rates charged to customers, has died. Alabama Media Group
U.S.
In recent weeks, lawmakers in the United States and the United Kingdom have sent letters to the Securities and Exchange Commission cautioning against the listing of JBS, the world's largest meatpacking company, on the New York Stock Exchange. The lawmakers, and environmental groups, argue that expanded capital would allow the company, responsible for much deforestation in the Amazon rainforest, to do even more harm. The Associated Press
Virginia
The proposal would erode investor-owned utilities' monopoly on power generation by requiring more than a third of clean power to come from customers or third-party developers. Energy News Network
Virginia
A tug-of-war is going on in the legislature over whether Va. stays the course of the energy transition laid out 2020-2021, or rolls it back hard, writes Sierra Club volunteer Ivy Main. Virginia Mercury
Vermont
Gov. Phil Scott on Jan. 19 announced the appointment of Ed McNamara as chair of the Public Utility Commission. McNamara most recently served as general counsel for the Agency of Natural Resources, where he worked on a range of legal issues reflecting the significant regulatory diversity covered by the agency. Office of Governor Phil Scott
U.S.
Many have speculated Al Gore could have won the 2000 presidential election by winning New Hampshire had Ralph Nader not run too. That could happen again, if West Virginia Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin jumps in the presidential race this year as an independent. Inside Climate News reporter Phil McKenna has been on the campaign trail in New Hampshire, this time following Joe Manchin. Inside Climate News
U.S.
The most important aspect of the tax credit is that the value of the credit is based on the life-cycle greenhouse gas emissions of hydrogen production and not just on the emissions that a hydrogen facility produces on-site. Resources
U.S.
The United Auto Workers union endorsed President Biden on Jan. 24, boosting his campaign as it turns its attention to the November election. UAW President Shawn Fain announced the union's support at a conference in Washington, D.C., as he introduced Biden to deliver remarks, citing the president's solidarity during its recent strike against major automakers. The Hill
U.S.
The former U.N. ambassador touts her role in pulling the U.S. out of the Paris climate accord and pledges to roll back clean energy incentives. Inside Climate News
U.S.
Now the Biden administration needs to clear up exactly which parts of an EV charging installation are eligible for the credit -- otherwise, the incentive program could fail to generate interest from project developers who need financial certainty before moving ahead with costly charger installations. Canary Media
U.S.
Climate activists have set their sights on a new target in the fight to slow global warming: utilities. Around a dozen communities across the country have launched campaigns to get rid of their investor-owned electric utilities -- the for-profit companies that distribute electricity to three-quarters of U.S. households -- and replace them with publicly owned ones. Grist
U.S.
NRDC endorses legislation to improve USDA's Rural Energy for America Program. NRDC
U.S.
Less than two years from its passage, the $369 billion in climate and energy spending contained within IRA has already attracted unprecedented levels of investment and job creation. pv Magazine
U.S.
Without an update of its regulatory system, the future of nuclear power is questionable at best, with current regulations preventing innovation and increasing project costs, writes Jeff Luse, policy assistant at the Conservative Coalition for Climate Solutions. The National Interest
U.S.
After decades of inaction, FEMA is addressing criticisms of its bureaucracy all at once. The agency announced Jan. 19 that it will fundamentally overhaul the way it delivers aid to survivors, launching new programs to provide quick cash payments to those in need and eliminating much of the bureaucracy that hampers aid access. Grist
U.S.
Exxon Mobil is suing two activist investors to prevent their proposal calling for emissions cuts at the oil giant from going to a vote of shareholders. In a complaint filed in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas on Jan. 21, Exxon accused the investors, Arjuna Capital and Follow This, of abusing the process for proposing shareholder votes to advance their priorities with votes "calculated to diminish the company's existing business." The New York Times
U.S.
A bipartisan group of 12 senators on Jan. 18 introduced legislation to address the shortage in distribution transformers and block a proposed Department of Energy rule that aims to tighten energy efficiency standards for the essential pieces of grid equipment. Utility Dive
International
Here at the World Economic Forum in Davos, the most revealing discussions often happen not on the main stage, but at the myriad side events that transform this Swiss ski town into a high-minded networking event. Case in point: the annual luncheon hosted by Salesforce chief executive Marc Benioff, who is plowing some of his personal fortune into efforts to plant a trillion trees and protect the oceans. The New York Times
Montana
The Montana Public Service Commission announced Jan. 19 the appointment of David Sanders as its new executive director. The PSC described Sanders as a fourth-generation Montanan with more than three decades of experience in federal, state and local government. Sanders will be the agency's chief administrative and fiscal officer and director of communications, supervising internal operations, including public information, and overseeing the budget. Daily Montanan
International
The connection between the Chinese solar industry and the Chinese Communist Party's persecution of the Uyghur ethnic minority in Xinjiang is well-documented. TIME
Maryland
History cautions that civilizations collapse when society fails to realistically respond to its problems. After 20 years of decarbonizing, Maryland's real progress has come from cheap natural gas displacing coal plants and by federal vehicle emissions policy. It is time to reflect, to refine goals, to integrate lessons learned, and to establish a more robust factual basis for policy, writes Alex Pavlak, an engineer and chair of the sustainable energy-focused Future of Energy Initiative. Maryland Matters
Massachusetts
On Jan. 17, regulators and prominent politicians added a new charge to the ones they've been levying against the companies that sell electricity to individual Massachusetts residents: greenwashing. At a briefing sponsored by the backers of a bill that would shut down competitive retail electricity suppliers, Larry Chretien of the Green Energy Consumers Alliance said many of the companies back up their claims of providing 100 percent clean energy by pointing to renewable energy certificates, or RECs, purchased in places like Texas and Iowa, not Massachusetts. Commonwealth Beacon
Michigan
Multiple environmental justice and health advocates filed briefs on Wednesday supporting a challenge to EPA's decision to label metro Detroit in compliance with federal ozone standards. In the case filed by the Sierra Club and the Great Lakes Environmental Law Center in July, the groups argue the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy and the EPA failed to show that the air quality in Detroit was clean enough to meet federal air quality standards. Michigan Advance
Montana
A newly released legislative audit of the Montana Public Service Commission revealed lingering management challenges at the state's utility regulation agency, which has in recent years attracted significant controversy. Montana Free Press
Montana
Organizations representing mining companies, lawmakers and a right-wing think tank in Montana are starting to line up to ask the state Supreme Court to consider their interests and how the court's decision in the state's forthcoming appeal of the Held v. Montana case could affect them after Lewis and Clark County District Court Judge Kathy Seeley ruled the state was violating the constitutional right to a clean and healthful environment of the 16 youth plaintiffs in the case. Daily Montanan
New Mexico
A bill that could limit the carbon intensity of transportation fuels such as gasoline and diesel faced eclectic support and opposition in the House Energy, Environment and Natural Resources Committee on Saturday as people from both political wings took varying sides on the issue. House Bill 41 seeks to lower carbon intensity by rewarding fuel companies for investing in cleaner options by allowing them to purchase carbon tax credits that it can then sell to companies that are producing high-carbon fuels like traditional gasoline and diesel. Source NM
U.S.
BOEM intends to begin using the revised procedures to evaluate lease sale bids received as part of the 2024-2029 National OCS Oil and Gas Leasing Program. BOEM
New York
New York may soon join a growing number of states seeking to incorporate climate change into school lesson plans. The New York Times
North Carolina
Wins by Duke Energy in the carbon plan, net metering, and rate hike cases at the NCUC have been major setbacks in efforts to fight the climate crisis in North Carolina. An alliance of many state lawmakers, the NCUC, and the utility itself have proved difficult for grassroots opposition to overcome. There is a pressing need for increased media coverage and public awareness of Duke Energy's activities at the NCUC. If that can be accomplished, the state will be in a better position to create a genuinely renewable electric grid in North Carolina, writes Ziyad Habash, an environmental activist with the Durham Area Hub of the Sunrise Movement. NC Newsline
Oregon
State environmental regulators will redo the yearlong process of rulemaking and adopting landmark climate change regulations that were enacted three years ago. The decision to do it all over again was announced Jan. 22 by the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality, a month after the state's second highest court ruled in favor of natural gas utilities seeking to invalidate the Climate Protection Program. Oregon Capital Chronicle
Pennsylvania
After a 12-year journey through the courts, the climate scientist behind the 'Hockey Stick' graph tells a jury that bloggers sullied his name with a crass comparison. Inside Climate News
Pennsylvania
A bill in the Legislature would advance Pennsylvania's meager renewable energy development. Trade groups are already putting their foot down. Capital and Main
Rhode Island
The agreement means SouthCoast Wind would pay Portsmouth as much as $22 million for construction impacts in the town from the project's transmission cable. WPRI
Wisconsin
A bill introduced in the state Legislature last month would give the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin more power over utility plans for future construction projects. Under the proposal, electric utilities and cooperatives would have to seek approval from state regulators for two-year construction plans for large-scale electric generating facilities, small generating sites and transmission lines. The PSC typically approves most utility construction projects individually, rather than looking at integrated resource and reliability plans biennially. WPR
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