** A federally sanctioned propane trade association, the Propane Education and Research Council (PERC), is refusing to disclose records about its operations, despite its obligations to do so under the Propane Education and Research Act.
** Solar is set to make up half of new U.S. electric generation installed this year, followed by battery storage, while the pace of wind additions is expected to decline.
** Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin and Republicans wanted President Biden to mention energy permitting reform in his State of the Union, saying it’s needed to roll out the Inflation Reduction Act’s promised clean energy deployment.
** Despite hopes that the Biden Administration would reverse a long-term decline in environmental enforcement, the number of civil cases closed against polluters in fiscal 2022 was the lowest in at least two decades, according to recent EPA data.
** Rapidly falling renewable energy prices coupled with sustainable incentives from the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) are making coal an increasingly undesirable energy source. This trend was confirmed in a recent report by Energy Innovation, a think-tank based in San Francisco.
** The Los Angeles City Council voted unanimously Wednesday to move forward with an $800-million plan to convert the city’s largest gas-fired power plant to green hydrogen — a first-of-its-kind project that was hailed by supporters as an important step to solve the climate crisis but slammed by critics as a greenwashing boondoggle that will harm vulnerable communities.
** Owners of the world’s largest carbon capture facility located in Texas plan to restore operations at the $1 billion plant three years after it shut down, providing a test case for a nascent industry that experts believe is essential in achieving climate goals.
World
** Renewables and nuclear power are poised to meet almost all of the world’s growing electricity demand over the next three years, displacing fossil fuels along the way, the International Energy Agency finds.
** A new row has erupted between France, Germany and Spain over nuclear energy, with Paris furious about a lack of support from Berlin and Madrid for its efforts to have nuclear-derived hydrogen labelled as ‘green’ in EU legislation, sources said.
** Russia’s government is allowing energy giant Gazprom to start a private security outfit. Ukraine’s Ministry of Defence drew comparisons with the notorious private army the Wagner Group.
** Mexico’s president said Wednesday that he expects the U.S. government or U.S. banks to provide interest-free loans to build four wind-power farms in the narrow waist of southern Mexico, an area known as the Isthmus of Tehuantepec.
** Bulgarian prosecutors on Wednesday charged a former energy minister in the previous, pro-Western government with mismanagement that allegedly caused losses of 45 million euros ($48 million) to the country’s major state-run gas operator.
** Denmark suspended all new applications for offshore wind farms over concerns it may be breaching European Union law, highlighting an issue that many say is holding the bloc back from spurring green industry.