• House Republicans unveiled their version of a debt ceiling proposal called the “Limit, Save, Grow Act of 2023,” which includes provisions to “repeal market distorting green tax credits” that are part of the Inflation Reduction Act such as credit extensions for wind and solar projects, incentives for nuclear and hydrogen production and the installation of wind and solar projects in low-income communities. The proposal also includes the House GOP’s priority legislation, the Lower Energy Costs Act, in an aim to lure Democrats to the table for permitting overhaul legislation negotiations. (E&E News) 
  • More than 2 in 5 Democratic voters would support passing energy permitting legislation with Republicans, if it means that Republicans would vote with Democrats to raise the U.S. debt ceiling, according to Morning Consult data. 
• Tesla Inc.’s net income for the first quarter of 2023 was down 24% compared with last year, totaling $2.51 billion, as “underutilization of new factories” impacted margins, in addition to higher costs for raw material, commodities, logistics and warranties, and lower environmental credit revenue. However, Tesla’s automotive revenue was up 18% compared with last year, reaching $19.96 billion. (CNBC)
• In an effort to deploy more rooftop solar installations, the Energy Department will guarantee up to $3 billion in debt securities for those projects as part of a deal with renewable energy company Sunnova Energy International Inc. Sunnova will commit a portion of the lending, which comes from the Loan Programs Office, to homeowners with below-average credit scores and those in Puerto Rico. (The Wall Street Journal) 
• President Joe Biden is expected to announce a $1 billion contribution to the Green Climate Fund, which helps fund clean energy projects and climate change resilience projects in developing countries, during a virtual meeting of the Major Economies Forum on Energy and Climate. Biden will also ask Congress for $500 million over five years to help combat deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon as part of the Amazon Fund. (Reuters)

Happening today:

• The Center for Strategic and International Studies will host “The Future of U.S. Natural Gas: A Conversation with Charif Souki,” the executive chairman of liquefied natural gas company Tellurian Inc. 
• The Bipartisan Policy Center will hold a discussion titled “What’s the Federal Role in Improving Carbon Credits?” featuring a fireside chat with Rostin Behnam, chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. 

Forecast retail gasoline prices for summer 2023 will be lower than last summer

U.S. Energy Information Administration

Solar Tariffs Up to 254% Risk Return in Congress Anti-China Push

Ari Natter, Bloomberg

Momentum is building in Congress over an effort to re-instate debilitating solar tariffs on US imports of panels from Southeast Asia, raising alarm from renewable developers. 

House Republicans slam Haaland in tense hearing

Kelsey Brugger, E&E News

Interior Secretary Deb Haaland’s appearance before the House Natural Resources Committee Wednesday morning was her toughest hearing yet this year, with Republicans eager to question her about the Biden administration’s energy agenda.

GOP case for repealing climate law: China and Wall Street

Adam Aton, E&E News

Hours before House Speaker Kevin McCarthy revealed his opening bid to raise the debt ceiling, one of his top lieutenants had already started laying the foundation for the plan: attacking the Inflation Reduction Act’s climate spending as dishonest, unfair and even unpatriotic.

World could face record temperatures in 2023 as El Nino returns

Kate Abnett, Reuters

The world could breach a new average temperature record in 2023 or 2024, fuelled by climate change and the anticipated return of the El Nino weather phenomenon, climate scientists say.

New Data Shows US Food Waste Is Getting Worse

Deena Shanker, Bloomberg

The US is generating more surplus food than it was five years ago, both in total and per capita.

Seattle airport, Alaska Air and Delta sued over jet pollution

Clark Mindock, Reuters

Neighbors of Seattle-Tacoma International Airport on Wednesday sued the airport’s operator and two airlines over jet pollution they said is making them sick and damaging their properties.

How melting Arctic ice could be fueling extreme wildfires in the Western U.S.

Lauren Sommer, NPR News

Above the Arctic Circle, the community in Kotzebue, Alaska, is watching sea ice disappear as the climate gets hotter. In the Western U.S., firefighters are battling increasingly explosive wildfires, driven by hot, dry weather.

How PepsiCo is trying to get Doritos and Cheetos bags into compost bins

Ian Thomas, CNBC

PepsiCo, which owns Frito-Lay and Quaker Oats, has set a goal to have its snack brands use completely recyclable, compostable, biodegradable or reusable packaging by 2030.

‘Devastating’ melt of Greenland, Antarctic ice sheets found

Seth Borenstein, The Associated Press

The Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets are now losing more than three times as much ice a year as they were 30 years ago, according to a new comprehensive international study.

Florida-based Sunergy Renewables to go public via $475 million SPAC deal

Reuters

Solar energy company Sunergy Renewables said on Wednesday it will go public via a merger with blank-check firm ESGEN Acquisition Corp. in a deal that will value the combined company at $475 million.

Tesla Blames ‘Volatile Weather’ for Drop in Solar Deployments

Brian Eckhouse, Bloomberg

Tesla Inc.’s solar deployments plunged in the first quarter, largely due to “volatile weather” and other factors. 

House hearing highlights rising bipartisan support for nuclear energy amid wave of policy actions

Stephen Singer, Utility Dive

Members of Congress voiced concerns about nuclear waste and were warned that plants and reactors aren’t being built fast enough to slow climate change.

$300M fund to help climate tech startups keep growing

Ben Geman, Axios

The prominent, early-stage climate tech VC firm Congruent Ventures has closed a $300 million-plus “Continuity Fund” that will aid companies in its existing portfolio.

Biden admin says Republican concerns about oil reserve damage unfounded

Timothy Gardner, Reuters

The Biden administration said concerns of Republican lawmakers that last year’s record drawdown of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve damaged the system’s delicate salt caverns were unfounded, a letter seen by Reuters on Wednesday showed.

Chevron, Exxon pursue cleaner gasoline as alternative to EVs

Sabrina Valle, Reuters

The two largest U.S. oil companies are road testing renewable gasoline blends that they say could bring down emissions from conventional autos to levels competitive with electric vehicles (EVs).

Louisiana on track for carbon well permitting by year-end: official

Liz Hampton, Reuters

Louisiana likely will receive permitting authority over wells designed to capture and store greenhouse gases by the end of the year, U.S. Congressman Garret Graves, who represents a southern section of the state, said.

Abandoned oil, gas wells get plugged in New Mexico

Susan Montoya Bryan, The Associated Press

More than 200 inactive oil and natural gas wells in New Mexico have been plugged as land managers have tried to crack down on producers as part of an accountability and enforcement program in one of the top producing states in the U.S., officials said Wednesday.

Biden administration sees year-round sales of higher ethanol fuel by 2024

Leah Douglas and Stephanie Kelly, Reuters

A U.S. plan for year-round sales of a fuel blend with more ethanol known as E15 in eight Midwestern states will likely go into effect in summer 2024, a year later than the states sought, the top U.S. environment regulator told lawmakers on Wednesday.

Mining Lithium in Abandoned Oil Fields for Tomorrow’s EVs

Jacob Lorinc and Robert Tuttle, Bloomberg

Companies are working to extract the valuable metal from saltwater underneath old wells.

EV trucks and buses need costly grid updates. Should utilities pay?

Jeff St. John, Canary Media

A new study says ratepayers will come out ahead if utilities take on the upfront costs to build much-needed charging infrastructure for electric fleets.

The EV revolution has never felt farther away

Alexa St. John, Insider

EVs are hitting the American mainstream thanks to billions of dollars of investments and incentives. 

Tesla Installed Almost as Many Batteries in First Quarter as It did All of 2021

David R. Baker, Bloomberg

Tesla Inc. installed nearly as many big batteries in this year’s first quarter — powering homes, businesses and the electric grid — as it did in all of 2021, as the growth of renewable power and fears of blackouts drive investments into energy storage.

Why 2 gas giants aren’t changing after Southwest winter storms

Shelby Webb, E&E News

Legislators and regulators vowed two years ago to hold energy companies accountable after Winter Storm Uri caused power outages across the central United States.

Private equity to play growing role in renewable energy, storage and other cleantech: S&P Global

Ethan Howland, Utility Dive

“This phase of acceleration in the energy transition may be the first major industrial and technology investment cycle that occurs primarily in opaque private markets,” S&P analysts said.

The US needs electricians – can the industry successfully recruit women?

Danielle Renwick, The Guardian

Women face barriers in the sector, including harassment and exclusionary unions, but they would help resolve a crucial labor shortage and could also help close the gender wage gap.

US plans new forest protections, issues old-growth inventory

Matthew Brown, The Associated Press

US officials say old growth and mature forests on government lands cover an area larger than California, and the Biden administration plans a new rule to protect them.

Bipartisan bill aims to incentivize water conservation in drought-prone farmlands of US West

Sharon Udasin, The Hill

With hopes of incentivizing water conservation in the country’s drought-prone regions, two lawmakers on Thursday will introduce bipartisan legislation seeking to expand the flexibility of voluntary cutback programs.

California invests $5M in new desalination projects

Sharon Udasin, The Hill

California will invest $5 million in three new desalination projects in a bid to protect water resources from the effects of climate-driven weather extremes, state agencies announced on Wednesday.

Western tribes face challenges capitalizing on water rights: study

Sharon Udasin, The Hill

Indigenous groups in the U.S. West are facing difficulties transforming water that belongs to them on paper into water they can actually use, a new study has found.

Cloud seeding catching on amid Rocky Mountain drought

Mead Gruver and Brittany Peterson, The Associated Press

Amid two decades of drought, cloud seeding — using airplanes or ground equipment to waft rain-and-snow-making particles into clouds — is on the rise in the Rockies.