• The Department of Energy released road maps for bringing advanced nuclear, clean hydrogen and long-duration storage into the energy mainstream, with a need of more than $200 billion estimated by 2030 in order to make it happen. Advanced nuclear would need $35 billion to $40 billion, hydrogen would need $85 billion to $215 billion, and long-duration storage would need between $9 billion and $12 billion in investment before the end of this decade, according to the three “Pathways to Commercial Liftoff” reports. (E&E News) 
• Residents of St. James Parish in Louisiana are calling for a moratorium on petrochemical plants as part of a federal lawsuit against the parish that alleges violations of civil rights, environmental justice and religious liberty. The pollution from the construction of several factories in two Black districts of the parish has negatively affected the health of the area’s residents, according to the lawsuit. (The Associated Press) 
• The Nuclear Regulatory Commission delayed a final decision on whether to license a project in New Mexico that would temporarily store tons of spent fuel from commercial nuclear plants, pushing the decision back to the end of May, as the agency said it needed more time to wrap up a final safety report amid staffing constraints. The state, however, recently approved legislation that aims to stop the project, while Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham (D) asked the agency to suspend consideration of the application altogether. (The Associated Press) 
• As part of the largest legal settlement in state history, Michigan will pay $600 million to settle lawsuits over the contamination of Flint’s water supply after a county judge formally approved the settlement more than two years after the preliminary approval by another court. The contamination of Flint’s water supply exposed up to 12,000 children to lead-contaminated water when state officials in 2014 switched the source of the city’s drinking water. (The Hill) 

About Half the Public Backs the ConocoPhillips Willow Project in Alaska

Morning Consult

Republicans plot path on energy, permitting package

Kelsey Brugger and Jeremy Dillon, E&E News

As they put the finishing touches on their massive energy package, House Republicans plan to pressure Democrats on a core kitchen table issue: energy costs.

Biden creates national monuments in Nevada, Texas mountains

Matthew Daly, The Associated Press

President Joe Biden said Tuesday he is establishing national monuments on more than half a million acres in Nevada and Texas and creating a marine sanctuary in U.S. waters near the Pacific Remote Islands southwest of Hawaii. The conservation measures are “protecting the heart and soul of our national pride,″ Biden said.

US regulator vows ‘aggressive’ crackdown on oil and gas methane leaks

Myles McCormick, Financial Times

EPA head Michael Regan prepares tough new rules on emissions of potent greenhouse hydrocarbon.

Barrett May Be Pivotal in Navajo Nation Water Dispute With US

Kimberly Strawbridge Robinson, Bloomberg Law

Justice Amy Coney Barrett could be the decisive vote in a US Supreme Court dispute about what steps, if any, the federal government must take to help the Navajo Nation deal with a southwest water crisis.

Climate change could spur severe economic losses, Biden administration says

Zoya Teirstein, Grist

White House economists warned this week that rising temperatures threaten infrastructure, insurance programs, and human health.

Record $63 billion raised from carbon allowance sales in 2022 – report

Susanna Twidale, Reuters

Governments globally raised a record $63 billion from the sale of carbon allowances in emission trading systems in 2022, as many countries increased ambitions to cut pollution despite record high energy prices following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, a report said on Wednesday.

‘A living pantry’: how an urban food forest in Arizona became a model for climate action

Samuel Gilbert, The Guardian

A decades-old neighborhood project in Tucson provides food to residents as well as shade to cool streets in the third-fastest warming city in the US.

UBS Is Buying Credit Suisse’s Emissions Burden, Too

Alastair Marsh, Bloomberg

The Swiss lending giant had a better climate profile than its troubled rival. Now it has another problem to clean up.

An Arizona plant will pull CO2 from the air and trap it in concrete

Maria Gallucci, Canary Media

The first-of-its-kind initiative by CarbonBuilt, Aircapture and Block-Lite aims to reduce carbon dioxide emissions from concrete production by 70 percent.

Average People Have the Power to Impact Climate, EIB Survey Says

Laura Millan, Bloomberg

Governments should impose stricter measures to change consumer behavior in ways that improve the planet, the European Investment Bank’s annual climate survey found.

Storm-hit California slammed by another historic atmospheric river

Sareen Habeshian and Andrew Freedman, Axios

An intensifying storm associated with a strong atmospheric river hit Central to Southern California with heavy rains, damaging winds and heavy mountain snowfall on Tuesday.

Nuclear contamination testing planned at St. Louis-area park

Jim Salter, The Associated Press

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers plans to test for radioactive contamination at a suburban St. Louis park that sits along a notoriously toxic creek, a Corps official said Tuesday.

Biden’s Made-in-USA Mandate for Tax Credit Sparks Solar Dispute

Jennifer A. Dlouhy, Bloomberg

The Biden administration is preparing to decide how much American-made equipment must be used in renewable projects in order to get an extra tax credit under the new climate law, addressing a key dispute between energy developers and solar panel manufacturers. 

Global renewables capacity grew by 10% last year-IRENA

Nina Chestney, Reuters

Global renewable energy capacity grew by 9.6% last year but needs to grow by three times the current rate to limit global warming, the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) said on Tuesday.

Democrats press Interior secretary to direct more money to BOEM to reach US offshore wind goals

Emma Penrod, Utility Dive

Thirty-three members of the House and Senate – all but one of them from states with expressed interest in offshore wind – called on Department of Interior Secretary Deb Haaland to direct a “significant” portion of a $150 million environmental review fund to the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management.

Tycoon Who Made ‘Lucky’ US Wind Power Bet Plans to Invest More

Heesu Lee, Bloomberg

Gim Seong-gon, who became an early wind-power tycoon after realizing time was running out for his business of building chimneys for fossil fuel plants, was about to make his next surprising move.

Offshore oil is about to surge

Benjamin Storrow, E&E News

Spending on new offshore oil projects over the next two years is projected to soar to levels not seen in a decade.

Middlemen have left Venezuela’s PDVSA with $21.2 billion in unpaid bills

Marianna Parraga, Reuters

Venezuela’s state-run oil company PDVSA has accumulated $21.2 billion in accounts receivable, according to documents viewed by Reuters, after turning to dozens of little known intermediaries three years ago to export its oil under U.S. sanctions.

Nevada to add gas plant as drought threatens power grids

Rio Yamat, The Associated Press

Utility regulators in Nevada gave the state’s largest power provider clearance to start work on a $333 million project to build a natural gas plant in the state for the first time in nearly 15 years, signaling yet another consequence of the extreme drought conditions in the southwestern U.S.

Russian oil finds ‘wide open’ back door to Europe, critics say

Gabriel Gavin, Politico

Middlemen are cashing in as Russian crude finds indirect routes to the European market, politicians and industry insiders allege.

Burleigh County will require permits for CO2 pipelines

The Associated Press

North Dakota’s Burleigh County has approved an ordinance to require special permits for companies that want to build pipelines for hazardous liquids such as carbon dioxide.

Shortage of Cooking Oil Looms as Biofuels Gain Global Appeal

Anuradha Raghu, Bloomberg

A global biofuel boom is set to drive a shortage of vegetable oils — used for cooking and now increasingly to power trucks and planes — intensifying a debate over food versus fuel. 

Women are less likely to buy electric vehicles than men. Here’s what’s holding them back.

The 19th

The United States is pouring more money into electric vehicle infrastructure and rebates, but safety and affordability could be behind the gender gap between men and women owners.

As Ford Carves Out Its EV Unit, Reporting by Region Gets Ditched

Jennifer Williams-Alvarez, The Wall Street Journal

The auto maker’s reorganization aims to provide greater insights into the fast-growing electric-vehicle division and its ambitious goals.

Electric Vehicle Battery Makers Test a Future Without Lithium

Yayoi Sekine, Bloomberg

A test vehicle unveiled by Chinese carmaker JAC has the battery world buzzing about sodium-ion cells.

Carbon-Sucking Tech Could Need More Energy Than All Homes Use

Will Mathis, Bloomberg

Technology that sucks carbon emissions out of the air would need more energy than used to run the world’s homes if it’s to play a significant role in reaching global climate goals.

Eversource, United Illuminating, Connecticut Green Bank launch next phase of energy storage program

Stephen Singer, Utility Dive

The program is two years ahead of schedule due to strong demand, said Connecticut Green Bank, Eversource and United Illuminating.

Advocates praise new monuments, but work remains on access

Scott Streater, Politico

President Joe Biden, who has vowed to conserve more public lands and waters, will create national monuments in Texas and Nevada. But at the Castner Range National Monument outside El Paso, in particular, a lot of work remains to make the former Army artillery range accessible to the public.

Baby steps or real progress? Debate swirls on saving Great Salt Lake.

Jennifer Yachnin, E&E News

Twenty-thousand acre-feet of water could fill nearly 10,000 Olympic swimming pools. It could provide more than 59,000 families water for the year. Or it could top off 6.5 billion 1-gallon jugs.

Kentucky floodwaters receded six months ago. For many, the crisis goes on.

Brady Dennis, The Washington Post

‘People need housing now,’ says the head of one local nonprofit group. ‘They need to know there’s a light at the end of this tunnel.’

Companies Face Another Packed Year of Sustainability Shareholder Votes

Dieter Holger, The Wall Street Journal

Proposals on social issues have waned slightly but continue to be the most popular while climate action ones are on the rise.