• In an effort to sell its electric vans to more customers, Rivian Automotive Inc. and Amazon.com Inc. are discussing the possibility of tossing out an exclusivity portion of a 2019 agreement that required Rivian to sell all of the vans it manufactures to Amazon, according to people familiar with the matter. The potential move comes after Amazon told Rivian it wanted to purchase 10,000 vans this year, lower than Rivian anticipated, although Amazon said it remains committed to purchasing 100,000 vans from Rivian by the end of this decade. (The Wall Street Journal) 
• Venture Global LNG, a liquefied natural gas company, will move forward with its second phase of the Plaquemines LNG export facility in Louisiana, which would produce 20 million tonnes per annum of LNG, after securing $7.8 billion in financing. The project’s $21 billion price tag is the largest project financing done in the industry, and analysts predict the first phase of the project could begin producing LNG by next year. (Reuters)
• Volkswagen AG will build its first overseas gigafactory for battery cell manufacturing in Canada, the largest automotive industrial complex in the country, with production planned for 2027. The company said Canada provides a local supply of raw materials and access to clean energy, as the country has seen at least 10 major EV-related commitments in the past two years totaling more than $16 billion Canadian ($12 billion). (The Associated Press) 

Happening today

• The World Resources Institute is hosting a webinar with Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii) about the future of transmission permitting reform. 

How Can We Measure Droughts and Deluges? Weigh the Planet.

The New York Times

Biden’s green allies promise lawsuit over Alaska oil project

Niina H. Farah, E&E News

The approval Monday of ConocoPhillips’ massive Willow project in Alaska’s National Petroleum Reserve is teeing up a new high-profile legal brawl that will likely align the Biden administration and Republican lawmakers against environmentalists who have largely backed the president’s climate agenda.

Arctic oil project was a conundrum for Biden. Will there be others?

Timothy Puko and Steven Mufson, The Washington Post

There are no fossil fuel megaprojects on the horizon as big as Willow in Alaska, approved Monday. But more U.S. oil drilling decisions await.

How Murkowski helped move Biden on Willow

Emma Dumain, E&E News

For nearly two years, Sen. Lisa Murkowski has played the long game on expanding drilling in Alaska: She has voted for many of President Joe Biden’s key nominees and legislative priorities while relentlessly bending the ears of top White House officials at every opportunity.

Congress braces for flare-up over Biden’s solar panel move

Hans Nichols, Axios

Senate Democrats are preparing to rehash a fight over solar panel tariffs they thought they had won last summer, when President Biden used his executive power to suspend tariffs on solar parts from Southeast Asia.

How Biden Got From ‘No More Drilling’ to Backing a Huge Project in Alaska

Lisa Friedman, The New York Times

High gas prices, a looming election and fears of a costly legal battle seem to have shifted the political calculus for the president.

Ohio Democrats at odds over Biden yet to visit East Palestine

Caroline Vakil, The Hill

Some Ohio Democrats are questioning President Biden’s lack of travel to East Palestine more than a month after a train derailment spilled toxic chemicals into the community, triggering environmental and health concerns.

Biden angers allies, fails to soothe critics with compromise on Alaska oil

Ben Lefebvre and Zack Colman, Politico

Biden’s decision to allow ConocoPhillips to build its massive Willow oil project on federal land in the Alaska wilderness is causing an uproar.

Another house collapses into the sea as this N.C. town erodes

Brady Dennis, The Washington Post

Four oceanfront houses have collapsed in Rodanthe since early 2022. One county commissioner says that as seas rise and erosion continues, others will meet the same fate: “Their day is coming pretty soon.”

A warmer world causes extreme drought and rain. ‘Indisputable’ new research proves it.

Kasha Patel, The Washington Post

Intense drought and heavy rainfall events have occurred more often in the last eight years than the previous decade, a new study finds.

Why the Global Shipping Industry Can’t Clean Up Its Act

William Ralston, Bloomberg

Both old and new strategies to cut emissions are being tried, but they barely touch the dirty truth at the heart of ocean transport.

Chicago neighborhood groups sue US Army Corps of Engineers over expansion of a polluted dump

Siri Chilukuri, Grist

Activists from a Chicago neighborhood where protesters went on hunger strikes in 2021 to try and prevent more pollution from invading their community filed a lawsuit Monday against another growing toxic threat. 

What Silicon Valley Bank’s Collapse Means for Climate Tech

Olivia Rudgard, Bloomberg

The fall of Silicon Valley Bank leaves a hole in the ecosystem for financing cleantech startups — just how big remains to be seen.

Georgia’s big new nuclear reactors could be the last built in the US

Eric Wesoff, Canary Media

Billions over budget and years behind schedule, the expansion of the Vogtle nuclear power plant signals that conventional nuclear projects are a dying breed.

Silicon Valley Bank collapse could slow the transition to clean energy

Evan Halper, The Washington Post

The bank cast a wide shadow over climate tech, with half the start-ups in the sector doing business with it.

Goldman Sees China Nearly Tripling Its Target for Wind and Solar

Dan Murtaugh, Bloomberg

China is likely to install nearly three times more wind turbines and solar panels by 2030 than it’s current target, helping drive the world’s biggest fuel importer toward energy self-sufficiency, according to Goldman Sachs Group Inc.

Bank’s implosion puts climate tech companies on edge

Corbin Hiar and Avery Ellfeldt, E&E News

The collapse of Silicon Valley Bank on Friday, the largest U.S. bank failure since the 2008 global financial crisis, has damaged the lending ecosystem that supports startups working to avert the worst impacts of global warming.

Venezuela to ship fuel to Cuba on US-blacklisted supertanker

Marianna Parraga, Reuters

Venezuela’s state-run oil company PDVSA on Monday was loading a supertanker with crude and fuel for Cuba, maritime documents showed, an unusually large volume to help its political ally overcome an energy crisis with repeated blackouts.

U.S. shale production set to rise to highest since Dec 2019 in April -EIA

Stephanie Kelly and Scott Disavino, Reuters

U.S. shale crude oil production in the seven biggest shale basins is expected to rise in April to its highest since December 2019, the Energy Information Administration said on Monday.

Wave of new LNG export plants threatens to knock gas prices

Liz Hampton, Reuters

A flood of liquefied natural gas (LNG) export projects due online worldwide in mid-decade will vie against lower-cost renewable energy and a revived nuclear power sector, which could rock gas prices and hurt some proposed projects, analysts say.

Sustainable Aviation Fuel No Quick Fix to Greening Air Travel

Dieter Holger, The Wall Street Journal

Oscar the Grouch is a fitting pitchman for United Airlines’ SAF campaign, as there are significant hurdles to scaling up green jet fuel.

CATL’s EV Battery Dominance Shouldn’t Cause Xi Undue Worry

Danny Lee, Bloomberg

While CATL will likely remain a dominant force for years to come, its position isn’t unassailable, and its rivals will largely also be Chinese.

Mitsubishi Motors to sell only EVs, hybrids by mid-2030s

Reuters

Mitsubishi Motors Corp. plans for hybrid and battery electric vehicles to account for all new car sales by the middle of the next decade, beefing up its electrification strategy for staying competitive in key markets.

NRC clears NIST nuclear reactor to restart following 2021 radiation escape, shutdown

Stephen Singer, Utility Dive

The reactor operator blamed the incident on a training and qualification program “not on par with programmatic needs.”

‘ComEd Four’ Bribery Trial Starts With Jury Selection in Chicago

Holly Barker, Bloomberg Law

A ComEd lobbyist faces trial on charges he and three other people used power company jobs and contracts to bribe and curry favor with deposed Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan.

California cancels rest of salmon season over lingering drought issues

Sharon Udasin, The Hill

Californian officials have announced the cancellation of the remaining days of the salmon season due to lingering drought issues. 

Insurers slashed Hurricane Ian payouts far below damage estimates, documents and insiders reveal

Brianna Sacks, The Washington Post

A Washington Post investigation has found that some policyholders had their claims cut by more than 80 percent.

Autopsy: ‘Cop City’ protester had hands raised when killed

R.J. Rico, The Associated Press

An environmental activist who was fatally shot in a confrontation with Georgia law enforcement in January was sitting cross-legged with their hands in the air at the time, the protester’s family said Monday as they released results of an autopsy they commissioned.