Energy news in brief

** A new wind farm south of Lubbock, Texas, is powering pumps and other equipment in Exxon Mobil’s Permian Basin oil field, part of a surprising trend of using renewable energy to extract fossil fuels.

** Climate-focused tech companies and environmental researchers are launching a partnership today to build a computing tool to track greenhouse gases down to every power plant, factory and cargo ship across the planet.

** Local officials in central Illinois narrowly approve plans for a 66-turbine wind project that will be the first in the county. 

** Presidential candidate Joe Biden releases a $2 trillion plan to make clean energy investments across a variety of sectors to strengthen infrastructure while addressing climate change. Biden’s clean energy plan comes as utilities across the country have already announced plans to decarbonize their power systems.

** A federal appeals court orders the U.S. EPA to reopen a complaint filed by New York state over air pollution from upwind coal plants in nine states, including in Indiana, Illinois, Michigan and Ohio.

** Only one Black person has ever served on the Georgia Public Service Commission, and a lawsuit from a conservation group seeks to change that by reforming how members are elected.

** EPA has eased certain certification reporting compliance requirements for diesel engine manufacturers during the pandemic, according to a Monday memo .

** A new report says 27 coal-dependent counties could lose an average of 20% of their revenue because of the fuel’s decline.

** North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper signs a pact with 14 other states to collaborate on a goal of making sure 100% of medium- and heavy-duty trucks are zero-emission vehicles by 2050.

** The number of days in which cities and harbors saw flooding solely due to high tides has doubled since 2000, according to the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration . NOAA said Tuesday the frequency of high tide flooding is also expected to triple by 2030 due to sea-level rise.

** The American Gas Association reported Tuesday that U.S. natural gas utilities invested $3.8 million per day in energy efficiency programs during 2018. According to the trade group, gas utilities funded 132 natural gas efficiency programs in the U.S. and Canada, totaling $1.47 billion, and marking an 8 percent jump from 2016.