Policy Roundup: Major Impacts on the Future of Energy

This month has been a busy one for major energy policy moves. Here are the headlines worth keeping tabs on → 

Electric vehicles get a boost. The Department of Energy announced a $50 million fund on Monday to help EV manufacturers adapt to supply chain issues in six states: Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky, Tennessee, and Illinois. And on Tuesday, the Department of Transportation awarded $521 million in grants to deploy more than 9,200 EV charging ports and build “alternative-fueling” infrastructure across 29 states. With EV sales growth slowing and “charging deserts” becoming an issue in rural areas, the federal government is coughing up more funding to support the market.

“Greenwashing” cases against big companies are losing their edge. The latest example: The District Court of Maryland dismissed a civil lawsuit that alleged United Airlines used false sustainability marketing tactics to lure passengers into paying higher fares. See also: Class action greenwashing lawsuits against Nike and H&M were dismissed in May.

MISO and SPP are on the move. The grid operators are seeking Federal Energy Regulatory Commission approval needed to move forward with $1.7 billion in “unprecedented” transmission projects totaling to 30 GW across the pair’s northern seam.

SPP claimed in a FERC filing that the projects are meant to keep up with “massive amounts” of demand and interconnection requests, which seems to be an industry-wide problem for utilities.

IS FERC expected to give the greenlight? Seems likely. On the same day SPP requested approval for the aforementioned projects, SPP also asked FERC for a waiver to stop accepting interconnection requests—which meets FERC’s standards including not harming third parties. Worth noting, though: The projects aren’t specified as renewable and would largely be paid for by customers, which will result in significant local pushback.

Did I miss any? Comment and let’s talk about it.