CLIMATE: Executives from 10 of the biggest oil companies say they’ll support a carbon emissions tax in a meeting with White House climate adviser Gina McCarthy. (Bloomberg)

INFRASTRUCTURE:
• President Biden’s economic team is preparing to finish its $3 trillion infrastructure plan this week, with significant spending expected for clean energy, electric vehicle charging, and railways. (New York Times)
• Former Boston Mayor and chair of the Climate Mayors coalition Marty Walsh is confirmed as Labor Secretary, as climate and labor interests potentially find themselves at odds over Biden’s infrastructure plan. (NPR)

FOSSIL FUELS: U.S. coal, natural gas and motor fuel producers save $62 billion each year in “implicit subsidies” because they don’t have to pay for their costs to human health and the climate, a study estimates. (Reuters)

OIL & GAS:
• Some of the Texas regulators charged with overseeing the oil and gas industry, and who have fiercely defended it against criticism after last month’s outages, have financial ties to the same companies they oversee. (Washington Post)
• House Democrats introduce a five-bill “frack pack” that would mandate environmental impact reports on hydraulic fracturing and end waste cleanup and other exemptions for the industry. (E&E News, subscription)

PIPELINES: A Memphis-area county government votes against selling two vacant parcels to the 49-mile Byhalia Connection pipeline, putting a snag in the company’s plans to build through vulnerable Black neighborhoods in the city. (MLK50)

COAL: A settlement between the U.S. EPA and an Alabama coke plant underscores the shortcomings of a regulatory structure staffed by unwilling or ill-equipped state and local officials and cautious, far-removed federal managers. (E&E News)

UTILITIES:
• In an op-ed, a California natural gas utility pledges it will achieve net-zero emissions by 2045 — including fuel delivered to customers — though the company has not detailed how it will make that calculation. (CalMatters)
• Utilities’ emissions cuts are flatlining as coal retirements slow and gas prices drop, meaning lawmakers need to step in if they want to reduce carbon further, a study suggests. (E&E News, subscription)
• Southeast utility providers initiated the most power cutoffs during the COVID-19 pandemic, an analysis of data from 10 states finds. (Utility Dive)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES: California regulators are seeking more data on how electric vehicles can be used to help stabilize the grid, as a pilot project between PG&E and BMW begins its third phase of testing. (E&E News, Tech Crunch)

HYDROGEN: Utilities, oil and gas producers and trade unions form a coalition to ask the federal government to support low-carbon hydrogen in upcoming clean energy legislation. (E&E News, subscription)

EFFICIENCY: The repeal of Ohio’s energy efficiency standards could cost ratepayers billions of dollars, according to an analysis by environmental groups. (Energy News Network)

SOLAR: Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf says the state will purchase 50% of its electricity from seven solar farms scattered throughout the state under a 15-year contract said to be the largest of its kind in the U.S. (Philadelphia Inquirer)

WIND:
• Critics say Kansas legislation to increase setback requirements for wind projects would jeopardize future investment in the state. (KSNT, Kansas Reflector)
• Three lobster boats reportedly circled a surveying vessel conducting work for the future Maine Aqua Ventus offshore wind turbine, forcing it to abandon its work. (Portland Press-Herald)

COMMENTARY:
• A climate adviser for the UN secretary general warns net zero will become an “empty slogan” if it keeps being used to describe offsets and not real emissions reductions. (Washington Post)
• A review of “existing capacity markets and their role in the future is long overdue” — and so are reforms, a managing director for the trade group Advanced Energy Economy writes. (Utility Dive)

Ken is the director of the Energy News Network at Fresh Energy, and has led the project from its inception as Midwest Energy News in 2009. Prior to joining Fresh Energy, he was the managing editor for online news at Minnesota Public Radio. He started his journalism career in 2002 as a copy editor for the Duluth News Tribune before spending five years at the Spokesman-Review in Spokane, Washington, where he held a variety of editing, production, and leadership roles, and played a key role in the newspaper's transition to digital-first publishing. A Nebraska native, Ken has a bachelor's degree from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and a master's degree from the University of Oregon.

Kathryn brings her extensive editorial background to the Energy News Network team, where she oversees the early-morning production of ENN’s five email digest newsletters as well as distribution of ENN’s original journalism with other media outlets. From documenting chronic illness’ effect on college students to following the inner workings of Congress, Kathryn has built a broad experience in her more than five years working at major publications including The Week Magazine. Kathryn holds a Bachelor of Science in magazine journalism and information management and technology from Syracuse University.