Maryland lawmakers on Monday passed legislation targeting 1% annual energy savings for low-income households by 2026, and requiring the state to make the necessary investments through its Department of Housing and Community Development.
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More DMV News
Virginia Church ‘Leading by Example’ on Climate Action Through Solar, Efficiency
Energy News Network
The Rock Spring Congregational United Church of Christ in Arlington County is investing in its vision to become a net-zero campus. Its climate commitment recently won it recognition from a national interfaith climate group.
Coal Plant Owners Seek to Shut 3.2 GW in PJM in Face of Economic, Regulatory and Market Pressures
Utility Dive
Power plant owners started the process of potentially retiring 3,228 MW of coal-fired generation in the PJM Interconnection’s footprint this month, according to the grid operator’s generator deactivation list. Another 1,024 MW of coal shut down last year.
Report Finds Burden of Energy Costs in DC is Most Severe in Wards 7, 8
The DC Line
Residents of wards 7 and 8 have some of the highest energy costs in the District when compared to their incomes — a burden that needs to be taken into account as the city works to decarbonize its transportation and building sectors.
Pepco ‘Systematically Mishandling’ Solar Projects, Says D.C. Attorney General
DCist
The D.C. Office of the Attorney General and the Office of the People’s Counsel jointly filed a complaint today detailing the allegations regarding Pepco’s solar projects, saying that the power company’s actions are undermining progress toward the District’s clean energy and climate goals.
National and International News
Rich Countries Must End Oil and Gas Production by 2034, Report Says
Washington Post
Rich nations must end oil and gas production within 12 years to give the world a shot at meeting the goal of the Paris agreement — and to give poor countries a “fair chance” to replace their lost income from fossil fuels, according to a report by the Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research at the University of Manchester.
EPA Eyes New Rule for Gas-Fired Power Plants
E&E News
EPA Administrator Michael Regan confirmed earlier this month that his agency plans to focus on gas-fired power in its updated carbon rule for new power plants. But how to do it raises a barrage of legal and technological questions that will have implications for how — and whether — the United States can decarbonize its power grid.
Drivers Top Off Their Tanks as U.S. Shuns Energy Conservation
E&E News
Gasoline prices have spiked — and Americans just keep driving more. As the West looks to replace global supplies of Russian oil and gas, the U.S. has done little to cool demand in the world’s biggest oil-consuming country.
Study: Every Single Country is Failing the WHO’s New Air Quality Standards
Grist
No country in the world met the new air quality standards established in September by the World Health Organization, or WHO, according to a new survey that analyzed 117 countries’ air last year.
Russia’s War in Ukraine Reveals a Risk for the EV Future: Price Shocks in Precious Metals
Inside Climate News
After the nickel market goes haywire, the United States and its allies launch a critical minerals energy security plan, with stockpiling an option.