** At least three Democratic lawmakers are criticizing the Biden administration’s tax credit guidance for domestic manufacturing incentives, with some saying it could give leeway for Chinese solar parts. Sens. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D-Ohio) released statements in recent days criticizing the guidance that was released on Friday.
** The U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is set to begin public hearings on a proposal to open federal lands leasing to conservationists with the first public presentation to take place Monday evening.
** The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced a nearly $11 billion investment on Tuesday to help bring affordable clean energy to rural communities throughout the country. Rural electric cooperatives, renewable energy companies and electric utilities will be able to apply for funding through two programs, U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said during a media briefing on Monday.
** Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte signs a bill barring state regulators from considering climate impacts in permitting decisions for large projects such as coal mines and power plants.
** Wyoming’s mining sector employment, which includes oil and gas and coal workers, grew by 9.1% last quarter, significantly outpacing the state’s other industries.
** Indigenous and environmental advocates block the road to the Thacker Pass lithium mine in Nevada to protest the facility’s impacts on a site sacred to area tribes.
** West Virginia’s political leaders fight proposed U.S. EPA rules to reduce power plant emissions in a state where coal still generates 91% of electricity, even with 10 GW of solar, storage and wind projects waiting in the wings.
** A Florida gas company completes construction of a renewable gas facility that will use manure from a dairy company.
World
** Vietnam said on Tuesday it has approved a long-awaited power plan for this decade, in a move meant to boost wind energy and gas, while reducing reliance on coal. Known as PDP8, the plan aims to ensuring energy security for the Southeast Asian country while it begins the transition to becoming carbon-neutral by mid-century.
** The European Union should crack down on India reselling Russian oil into Europe as refined fuel, including diesel, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said in an interview with the Financial Times. India has emerged in the past year as a top buyer of Russian oil following Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022.
** The European Union (EU) has announced that its carbon emissions significantly declined in the final fiscal quarter of 2022, even as its gross domestic product (GDP) grew. Emissions fell by 4% year-over-year, while GDP increased by 1.5% during the same period.
** South Africa’s climate policy body on Monday suggested the government could delay retiring its ageing coal-fired power plants to address electricity shortages and said a power crisis had put the country on track to meet its climate goals anyway.
** Mexico’s economy ministry is urging the U.S. state of Texas to remove inspections of cargo crossing the border, which it said in a statement on Monday is causing millions of dollars in losses for U.S. and Mexican firms. The Mexican government will file a complaint with the trade facilitation committee under the United States-Mexico-Canada (USMCA) free trade agreement, which came into effect in 2020.