OIL & GAS: The EPA revokes a permit for an oil refinery in the U.S. Virgin Islands, citing years of air and water pollution affecting the largely Black and Hispanic surrounding community. (Inside Climate News)

ALSO:
• The leading oil and gas industry lobbying group says it supports a carbon tax, but some Republican lawmakers aren’t on board, while environmental groups call the announcement “self-serving greenwashing.” (Washington Post; E&E News, subscription)
• Interior Secretary Deb Haaland defends the Biden administration’s pause on new oil and gas drilling leases in a hearing, while Indigenous leaders warn against “overly broad responses to the climate crisis.” (The Hill)
• Oil companies are winning approval to build massive crude tanks, largely in communities of color, despite states’ clean energy pledges. (Capital & Main)
• Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., sets a vote to reinstate Obama-era methane emissions regulations. (E&E News, subscription)

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SOLAR: The Department of Energy announces a goal of cutting solar energy costs by 60% over the next decade, along with $70 million in funding for solar cell development. (Axios)

TRANSPORTATION:
• Congressional Democrats call on President Biden to reinstate — and then go beyond — Obama-era emissions and mileage standards for passenger cars, as well as set a 2035 end date for the sale of fossil fuel-powered vehicles. (Axios)
• A bipartisan group of senators introduces a bill to expand a tax credit for building electric vehicle charging infrastructure, saying the current benefit isn’t adequate to encourage private investment. (The Hill)

GRID:
• The number of people reported dead after last month’s winter storm and outages has more than doubled the initial count to 111, according to a Texas agency. (CNN)
• California regulators approve utilities’ plans to cut power when the grid is stressed, aiming to prevent a repeat of last summer’s rolling blackouts. (San Francisco Chronicle)

WIND: New Jersey regulators approve $13 million to begin construction of an offshore wind hub while also approving a unit of the state’s largest utility buying a 25% stake in the first project planned along its coast. (NJ Spotlight) 

CLIMATE:
• The National Academies makes a case for the U.S. government to spend at least $100 million launching a new solar geoengineering research program. (Grist)
• Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker says he will sign a sweeping climate bill passed by the legislature earlier this month. (WBUR)

PIPELINES: Recent protests have uncovered a complicated history between the Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa and the Line 3 pipeline. (MPR News)

NUCLEAR: The Nuclear Energy Institute raises concerns about impending nuclear plant shutdowns, saying “carbon emitting sources will likely fill the gap” they leave behind. (Utility Dive)

UTILITIES: An Illinois coalition seeks utility ethics and regulatory reforms and restitution for ComEd ratepayers as part of major energy legislation being considered by state lawmakers. (Energy News Network)

TRANSMISSION: An underground transmission line proposed from Iowa to Illinois is delayed by a glut of renewable energy projects in grid operator PJM’s queue  — a problem that, ironically, the project could help solve. (Energy News Network)

BIOMASS: The growing biomass industry is becoming an economic force in the Southeast but still faces skepticism from federal regulators and the Biden administration. (Politico Magazine)

EFFICIENCY: A Vermont city delays requiring weatherization of rental properties citing concerns that it would create a bottleneck for an agency helping property owners to comply. (Energy News Network)

COMMENTARY: Journalists investigating utilities play an important role in holding wide-ranging, often opaque entities to public account, writes an investigative editor. (ProPublica)

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.