This week in buildings, land and industry decarbonization news, Energy Wire by Politico looked into how President Trump might change the Department of Energy’s efficiency standards. In his first term, DOE did little with the authority, and during the campaign Trump criticized the department under President Biden for heavy-handed regulations on appliances.

Skepticism on energy efficiency has hopped across the pond, as Sifted<> reported. Growth in the number of homes using heat pumps has slowed in the last year or two for various reasons, which include skepticism from the right. Germany’s far-right AfD party, which is polling in second place for next month’s elections (behind the mainstream, center-right Christian Democrats), has criticized heat pumps and other green technologies. 

In a dispute stretched across the Pacific Ocean, DOE has issued an unprecedented $25.3 million fine against the Chinese manufacturer Galanz, JD Supra reported. Violations of DOE’s efficiency standard can be hit with fines of $575 per violation, but the department has rarely fined a firm more than $1 million. Galanz exported a single compact refrigerator-freezer model to the U.S. that did not meet the standards and got hit with the fine. 

Maryland is one of the states trying to move beyond burning natural gas as it tries to meet mid-century target, and it recently adopted building standards limiting larger structure’s emissions starting in 2030. The Daily Record wrote about a lawsuit from building developers and Washington Gas to stop the regulations from going into effect, saying they are pre-empted under federal law. 

DOE also made news getting money out the door in the Biden administration’s waning days, as it released $136 million for hydrogen used in industrial projects, Hydrogen Fuel News reported. The funds will go to innovation, cost-cutting measures and the development of secure, scalable hydrogen supply chains. 

Read all those and more in this week’s Intelligence Report: