• House Republicans barely passed their debt ceiling bill in a 217-215 vote, with four GOP members joining Democrats in voting against it, although the plan has remotely no chance of passing in the Democratic-controlled Senate. The bill includes new cuts to Inflation Reduction Act funding intended for pollution reduction, energy efficiency and environmental justice initiatives. (E&E News)
• Senate Republicans and Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) advanced a measure in a 50-49 vote to repeal the Environmental Protection Agency’s heavy-duty truck rules aimed at mandating stricter emissions limits, though President Joe Biden has vowed to veto the measure. The rules, which Republicans say would be difficult and costly to implement, were finalized last December. (Reuters) 
• Manchin has joined GOP lawmakers to co-sponsor a resolution restoring solar panel tariffs, which were suspended by the Biden administration in an effort to build up renewable energy capacity in the United States. The House is expected to vote on its version of the measure this week, although Biden has promised to veto the bill. (The Hill) 
• Scott Sheffield, the founding chief executive officer of shale oil company Pioneer Natural Resources, is set to retire at the end of 2023 but will remain a director at the company while Chief Operating Officer Richard Dealy steps up as CEO. Sheffield led the company through the multibillion-dollar acquisitions of DoublePoint Energy in 2021 and Parsley Energy in 2020. (Reuters) 

Attitudes on Natural Gas Bans Aren’t Changing Much — but Support Is Rising for Strengthened Energy Efficiency Standards

Morning Consult

Anti-China fervor casts a dark cloud over solar and U.S. climate goals

Evan Halper and Maxine Joselow, The Washington Post

In Congress, there is sudden bipartisan momentum to reinstitute tariffs on Chinese components. The U.S. solar industry is alarmed.

Solar, EV firms say Republicans’ debt limit a ‘stunt’ that could cost jobs

Andy Sullivan and Valerie Volcovici, Reuters

Solar and EV companies are warning that a Republican plan to slash federal spending in exchange for a hike in the U.S. debt ceiling could hobble the tax incentives that unleashed billions of dollars in green investment and created tens of thousands of jobs in Republican districts over the past year.

Congressional Democrats blast proposed repeal of green tax credits in debt limit bill

Zack Budryk, The Hill

Congressional Democrats took aim at proposed cuts to renewable energy tax credits and Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) programs in the House GOP’s debt ceiling plan in a press conference on Capitol Hill Wednesday.

Energy Transition Is ‘More Profound Than the Internet,’ Says John Podesta

Kendra Pierre-Louis, Bloomberg

The White House’s clean energy advisor said climate change will usher in an economic transformation “on a size and scale never heard of in human history.” 

Why Republicans see electoral gold in talking up energy

Zack Colman and Josh Siegel, Politico

Republicans are confident they’ve found an issue that can help them unseat President Joe Biden and expand their control of the Hill: fossil fuels.

Senate panel advances previously-deadlocked Biden air nominee

Zack Budryk, The Hill

The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee on Wednesday advanced the nomination of President Biden’s nominee to lead the Environmental Protection Agency’s air agency, months after deadlocking on the nomination.

Congress should adopt 30% tax credit, streamlined permitting for regional transmission, clean grid group says

Ethan Howland, Utility Dive

Permitting reform appears possible despite the divided Congress, Brett White, Pine Gate Renewables’ vice president for regulatory affairs, said.

South Korean President Yoon meets with Tesla’s Elon Musk

Reuters

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol met with Tesla CEO Elon Musk on Wednesday in Washington to call for investment in his country, Yoon’s office said.

A leading private equity firm claimed to be a climate leader – while increasing emissions

Nina Lakhani, The Guardian

The Carlyle Group’s 2011-22 greenhouse gas footprint was roughly equivalent to Alaska’s ‘carbon bomb’ Willow drilling project.

A record warm streak in the oceans has scientists worried

Zoya Teirstein, Grist 

A budding El Niño and climate change likely play a role, experts say.

Get Ready to See CO2 Footprints Everywhere, Billionaire Steyer Says

Amanda Kolson Hurley, Bloomberg

The billionaire investor and co-founder of Galvanize Climate Solutions Tom Steyer says regulators are pushing companies to open up about their climate impact. 

Mississippi River flooding prompts evacuations, sandbagging

Scott McFetridge and Todd Richmond, The Associated Press

Some residents along the swelling Upper Mississippi River evacuated their homes this week while others scrambled Wednesday to stack sandbags in preparation for what forecasters say could be near-record flooding caused by the rapid melting of a huge snowpack in northern Minnesota.

For years, the EPA and Texas ignored warning signs at a chemical storage site. Then an inferno erupted.

David Leffer and Savanna Strott, Grist

Regulators repeatedly documented — but did little to address — problems at a Houston-area tank farm.

Climate pledge mobilizes $120M to focus on environmental justice

Andrew Freedman, Axios

The Climate Funders Justice Pledge (CFJP) has mobilized $120 million in funding from major climate donors, the group tells Axios.

Company seeks first-time restart of shuttered nuclear plant

John Flesher, The Associated Press

A company that tears down closed nuclear power plants wants to do in Michigan what has never been done in the U.S.: restore a dead one to life.

Idaho National Lab’s open-source microreactor design and test bed spur start-up interest

Stephen Singer, Utility Dive

A Toronto engineer and entrepreneur is designing a 20-MW microreactor, another step in advanced nuclear energy technology, by modeling his work off a four-year-old project at the Department of Energy’s Idaho National Lab.

Avalanche raises $40M to pursue vision of tiny nuclear fusion reactor

Eric Wesoff, Canary Media

The startup is spurning room-sized reactors in favor of a small, modular design. But it’s unclear when or if fusion technology — large or small — will pan out.

IRA to accelerate renewables but financial challenges still acute: Bank of America, Ørsted Americas

Emma Penrod, Utility Dive

Kelly Cummins, deputy director of the Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations at the U.S. Department of Energy, agreed with other experts who said financial viability is now a bigger challenge for emerging energy technologies than technical viability.

OPEC Should Be Very Careful About Boosting Oil Price, IEA Warns

Matthew Miller et al., Bloomberg

OPEC should be wary of bolstering oil prices as it could hurt the global economy and accelerate the transition away from fossil fuels to clean energy, the International Energy Agency said.

Manchin invites ‘Shark Tank’ host to West Virginia after he expressed interest in building refinery

Lauren Sforza, The Hill

Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) has invited “Shark Tank” host and investor Kevin O’Leary to West Virginia after the businessman expressed interest in building an oil refinery in the United States.

Oil major BP braces itself for shareholder revolt after scaling back its climate targets

Sam Meredith, CNBC

BP is bracing itself for a shareholder revolt at its annual general meeting, with some of the U.K.’s biggest pension funds planning to ratchet up the pressure on the oil major over its climate strategy.

Oil Patch Is Poised for Buyout Wave as US Drillers Seek New Land

Rachel Butt et al., Bloomberg

The US energy patch is ripe for a takeover boom, as oil and gas producers flush with cash turn to dealmaking to find new sites to drill. 

US files charges in Michigan over diesel engine tampering

Ed White, The Associated Press

Eleven people have been charged in Michigan in a scheme to evade air-pollution rules by tampering with software and hardware in heavy-duty diesel engines, federal authorities said Wednesday.

US ethanol industry expands focus to lower-carbon aviation sector

Stephanie Kelly, Reuters

The U.S. ethanol industry is lobbying the Biden administration to ensure lower-carbon aviation fuel made from ethanol will qualify for subsidies under the Inflation Reduction Act, arguing such provisions are crucial to meeting U.S. climate goals.

Tesla broke U.S. labor law by silencing workers, official rules

Daniel Wiessner, Reuters

Tesla Inc. supervisors at a Florida service center violated U.S. labor law by telling employees not to discuss pay and other working conditions or bring complaints to higher level managers, a U.S. labor board official has ruled.

Tesla says lack of lithium refining capacity will become EV production ‘choke point’

Kate Magill, Utility Dive

But the “choke point” in the supply chain is not in the price of the material but the capacity to refine it, CEO Elon Musk said, and if production can continue to match demand.

Maine transmission line is stalled despite court victories

Benjamin Storrow, E&E News

One of the largest clean energy projects in New England is racking up victories in court, but the project’s developer said Wednesday it won’t know until midyear when construction will resume.

‘Billions of dollars sitting on the sidelines’: NextEra executives cite big plans for renewables, hydrogen

Emma Penrod, Utility Dive

“There are billions and billions and billions of dollars sitting on the sidelines, waiting to find a home around renewable assets,” John Ketchum, chairman, president and chief executive officer of NextEra Energy, told analysts during an earnings call.

A massive geothermal apartment complex is going up in Brooklyn, the first of its kind

Diana Olick, CNBC

Geothermal heating and cooling has been around for a while, but is generally used just on single houses or small buildings. 

Groups call on EPA over nitrate in southeast Minnesota water

The Associated Press

Several groups are asking the Environmental Protection Agency to take emergency action to reduce nitrate levels in groundwater in eight southeast Minnesota counties.

U.S. West Coast races to reduce wildfire risk ahead of summer

Matt Mcknight, Reuters

As wildfire season approaches, U.S. officials along the West Coast are working hard to mitigate risks with prescribed burns, while a widespread educational campaign is underway to create buffers around fire-prone homes.

Investors defy Goldman and BofA in vote for climate finance plans

Attracta Mooney and Aime Wililams, Financial Times

Lenders under pressure on emissions as shareholders go against board recommendations.