Good morning and happy Friday,

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Donald Trump garnered more than his usual share of headlines this week, and not just because  of his ongoing hush-money trial in New York. In a “rambling speech” at a rally in New Jersey he praised the energy cred of VP contender North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum while also vowing to “stop offshore wind ‘on day one.’” And while the specter of his re-election may have loomed large at CleanPower 2024 last week, development execs were “unruffled.”

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And, less than a year after passing a clean energy standard, Michigan lawmakers are spurring controversy by debating subsidies to some of the biggest energy users in the country: data centers.

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Meanwhile, across the pond, global experts and leaders convened for the Vatican Climate Summit. The three-day conference titled “From Climate Crisis to Climate Resilience” was held  in the Vatican Gardens. Three high-profile governors – the leaders of California, New York and Massachusetts, all Democrats – took center stage “to help develop a resilience blueprint that can be used in climate-stressed states and cities around the world.”

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Read on for more.

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Last week we told you about DOE’s new program for national interest electric transmission corridors, or NIETCs. This week, FERC complemented that by issuing a “watershed transmission planning and cost allocation reform rule” in an effort to spur the construction of power lines. Here’s a skinny dip into a big issue:

• Many consider the decision the most consequential policy initiative explicitly aimed at regional planning from FERC in more than a decade, but the Commission’s 2-1 vote along party lines could set the stage for legal battles down the road. Republicans on the Hill were “openly hostile to it,” and the political divide “may doom” any chances of a deal on permitting reform. Senator Manchin says his permitting deal is still alive, although Senator Schumer has thrown cold water on this idea.
• These landmark events could reshape the U.S. electricity sector – “if Biden beats Trump” in November. The changes represent “prescriptions for an unprecedented doubling of high-voltage capacity” that could mean “siting as many as 350,000 new, unpopular transmission towers...and paying for long-distance lines that may cost $8 billion-$10 billion each.”
• While clean energy advocates were generally supportive of FERC’s rule, the Commission’s single Republican, Mark Christie, denounced it in “scorching language.” Powerful industry groups like the Edison Electric Institute and the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners said they were “disappointed.”

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Climate linchpin. FERC’s issuance of rules that pertain to wind, solar, and other renewable energy sources mean the somewhat obscure agency is quickly becoming “a linchpin for climate policy.” Monday’s ruling was “critical to realizing the full extent of the Inflation Reduction Act,” according to Senator Schumer, who called it the “missing piece of the puzzle” in terms of realizing the IRA’s potential.

On Tuesday, the Biden administration unveiled major new tariffs on clean energy imports from China that highlight an existential tension between two of Mr. Biden’s signature policy initiatives: he wants to slash U.S. GHG emissions while also building America’s domestic clean energy manufacturing capacity, driving massive investment and creating millions of new jobs. Here’s why the new tariffs represent somewhat of a collision course between these goals:

• When it comes to reducing emissions, vehicles and electricity production are primary targets. China has aggressively subsidized production of EVs and solar cells and then dumped these and other clean energy technologies in markets around the world, effectively squashing domestic competition. 
• In ramping up tariffs on EVs, EV batteries, critical materials, and solar panels, Biden hopes to raise the cost of these products and create a level playing field for domestic manufacturers. But detractors say that increasing the cost of clean energy technologies at such a critical time could dramatically undermine U.S. efforts to reduce emissions.
• Tariffs on Chinese solar cell imports will double to 50%. While it’s true that less than 1% of U.S. solar cell imports in the first half of 2023 were from China, on Thursday Biden announced that starting June 6, solar imports from Cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam – which accounted for 60% of imports last year – will also be subject to tariffs, as will bifacial panels.

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Threading the needle. Environmental groups and industry associations supported Biden’s plan, saying the move is essential at this “pivotal moment in the energy transition.” Viewed through a more Machiavellian  lens, Biden’s tough rhetoric on China is tailored for the presidential campaign trail. He wants to show that he’s moving the country away from reliance on China, and the tariffs are an attempt to thread the needle and drive domestic investment while also achieving ambitious climate objectives.

• Sustainable Studies: Community colleges offer clean energy training as climate-related jobs expand across America
• Watt a Future: Harnessing the Winds of Change: The Renewable Revolution
• Spin (Re)Cycle: University of Maine puts 'new spin' on recycling wind turbines
• Power Hungry: The answer to AI’s energy needs could be blowing in the wind
• Ahoy, Mate! Maryland Sets Course for Offshore Wind Energy Expansion With New Legislation
• Commentary: Indiana Needs Affordable, Reliable, Renewable Energy to Attract the 21st Century Gold Rush
• So Close: Vermont is on the cusp of mandating 100% clean electricity by 2035
• The Walking Dead? Zombie coal plants could threaten the US energy transition
• Non-consensual Drilling: Ohio clamps down on clean energy but makes it easier for petroleum companies to force landowners to allow oil and gas drilling
• Giddy Up: Can the Midwest build transmission fast enough for an evolving grid

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• KS: Officials discuss wind and solar energy farms in Shawnee County
• VA: Cumberland County approves Hecate Energy’s 150 MW solar facility
• KY: Should an 800-area solar farm be built in Fayette County? Some aren't so sure
• CA: Wind project in Solano County is going live
• IL: Pike board gives go-ahead for wind farm road construction
• MS: Reactions mixed to solar farm project proposed in Hinds County
• PA: Butler Twp. denies developer’s request for solar farm
• MI: DTE seeks 120 MW of standalone energy storage

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There are lots of ways to capture carbon. One low-tech option is the creation of biochar, a “flaky, charcoal-like substance that has been produced and used as a fertilizer for millennia.”

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Biochar is produced by heating biomass in the total or partial absence of oxygen, typically through a process called pyrolysis. Doing so can sequester up to 40-50% of the carbon contained within that organic matter for hundreds or even thousands of years.

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Biochar is already widely used as a sequestration method, and some of the biggest corporate purchasers of CO2 credits include biochar in their portfolios – “Microsoft, by far the most prominent player in this space, has bought over 200,000 tons of biochar credits,” although that’s a tiny portion of the more than 6.6 million tons of CO2 credits the company has purchased thus far.

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Importantly, biochar is “leagues ahead” of other carbon capture technologies in terms of actually delivering sequestration. The blog CDR.fyi finds that in 2023, “biochar accounted for 94% of all carbon dioxide removal credits that were actually fulfilled.”

So why isn’t this ancient method of carbon removal garnering more attention from investors and others? One reason is likely its durability – it may be impossible to say how long biochar can lock away carbon. A second reason is that it may not be sexy or novel enough to get investors excited: “There's this fixation on trying to find the high-tech solution, the SaaS app that's going to solve climate change.”

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Given the state of the climate crisis, an all-of-the-above approach seems warranted. This is no time to be chary of biochar!