California has long been on the frontlines of the U.S. energy transition and continues to push ahead, providing multiple stories for NetZero Insider’s West Coast team in the past week.
The California Public Utilities Commission has been talking with a range of stakeholders to refine and refocus its Electric Program Investment Charge program to better help the state meet its decarbonization and clean energy goals, Ayla Burnett reports. High priorities for future funding could include reducing costs for whole-home electrification, and overcoming barriers to EV adoption and charging in low-income and disadvantaged communities.
Decarbonization is also the goal behind two bills now moving through the California legislature, Burnett writes. SB 1221 is aimed at cutting natural gas-fired generation on the state’s grid via pilot projects targeting low-income and disadvantaged communities, while SB 1375 would ensure schools and apartment buildings with rooftop solar could use that electricity to power their own buildings.
Correspondent Elaine Goodman digs into the careful negotiations over SB 3238, which was originally intended to accelerate permitting of transmission projects in existing rights of ways but was met with resistance over concerns it might weaken state environmental reviews. A revised version, now moving ahead in the State Senate, seeks to ensure that doesn’t happen.
Goodman also covers California’s new offshore wind strategic plan that details how the state can reach its goals of 5 GW of offshore wind power by 2030 and 25 GW by 2045. The plan contains recommendations related to transmission infrastructure, port development, permitting and workforce development, while addressing impacts to marine life, fisheries, Native American tribes and the U.S. Department of Defense.
Massachusetts has taken steps to make it easier for cities in the state to move ahead with community choice aggregation plans, while also including new rules for
transparency, Jon Lamson writes.
Our curated content highlights a CNBC profile of Sublime Systems, a Massachusetts startup that is producing zero-carbon cement and just received an $87 million grant from the Department of Energy to build its first commercial plant.
Illinois is another state with ambitious climate goals and a governor who is taking action to achieve them. CBS News reports on Gov. JB Pritzker’s recent announcement of $30 million in state funds to be invested in creating 1,000 new solar jobs, with training programs focused on Chicago’s low-income neighborhoods.
Dwindling gas taxes used for road maintenance are a bottom-line concern for a growing number of states as cars become more energy-efficient or electric, the New Hampshire Bulletin reports. The solution adopted in Colorado is a 29-cent fee on consumer deliveries (read: Amazon), and after a few adjustments, it’s working.
How to pay for the impacts of climate change is a hot topic in Maryland, where the state’s action plan for reducing emissions 60% by 2031 calls for an increase in public funding of $1 billion per year. An op-ed in Maryland Matters argues for legislative action to raise that money via a price on every ton of carbon produced by companies importing fossil fuels into the state.
A Montana op-ed meanwhile slams the state’s Public Service Commission for what advocates say are stalling tactics to ruling on a petition requiring the commission to take the impacts of climate change into consideration in their policy decisions. By extending deadlines for comment, the PSC could leverage state law to further delay action on the petition, the op-ed argues.
In election news this week, Inside Climate News looks at the governor’s race in West Virginia, where Democrat Steve Williams is advancing an all-of-the-above energy policy to help the state develop solar and wind along with coal and gas, while Republican Patrick Morrisey is all about fossil fuels all the time.
With temperatures and elections heating up, NetZero Insider’s Policy and Impact newsletter is your go-to source for the industry intel you need. Read on for this week’s Intelligence Report:
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