MVP Owner Sees Opportunity In AI Power Consumption: As the enormous energy demand of artificial intelligence continues to grow the new (again) owner of the beleaguered Mountain Valley Pipeline sees a business opportunity. EQT Corp. CEO Toby Rice said on a call Monday the long-delayed, well-over-budget pipeline could help meet skyrocketing energy demand driven by the computing power required for AI. Plagued by repeated failures to legally obtain and comply with myriad permits, the 300-mile methane gas pipeline was originally slated to begin operations in 2018 at a cost of $3.7 billion, but six years later, despite direct backing by Joe Manchin, it remains unfinished with a price tag of $7.6 billion. EQT bought back its former subsidiary Equitrans Midstream Corp. on Monday for $5.45 billion. Beyond the Southeast, gas from the pipeline could also be delivered to LNG export terminals on the Gulf Coast. (AI: Bloomberg $; LNG export market: Bloomberg $; EQT-Equitrans deal: Axios, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette $, FT $)

Small, 'Very Beautiful' Heat Pumps For Apartments: Small, window-mounted heat pumps could bring massive energy savings — and quieter, individualized temperature control — to tenants and others living in multi-unit apartment and condo buildings with centralized heating, the AP reports. New advances have both increased the efficiency, and decreased the size of heat pumps such that some are now about the size of a window unit air conditioner, if not less obtrusive. “Look, I even have it for decoration,” Regina Fred told the AP, describing the new units in her Queens apartment as "very beautiful." Fred's heat pumps were installed as part of a NYC Housing Authority pilot project to cut energy costs and climate pollution. Building operations are responsible for more than one-quarter of global climate pollution and centralized steam boilers burning oil or methane gas not only lose 30% to 80% of their heat to leaky ductwork, but the one-setting-heats-all nature of the systems can leave some tenants shivering while others open windows to cool their overheated apartments. Heat pumps are so efficient they reduce climate pollution even if powered by a fossil fuel-heavy grid, and small, easy to install models like Fred's represent an especially effective way to lower building emissions because they obviate the need for new construction. (Window units: AP; Grid: Canary Media)

Europe Unprepared For Climate Change: Europe is unprepared for mounting climate risks, the first-ever climate risk assessment released by the European Environment Agency warned Monday. The continent faces more frequent, and more severe extreme weather, including wildfires, flooding, and drought — risks "growing faster than our societal preparedness," Leena Ylä-Mononen, the EEA’s executive director, said in a statement. The fastest-heating continent has also seen heatwaves with death tolls topping 20,000, with triple that number dying from heat stress. The European Commission will present an action plan today in response to the report. (AP, Deutsche Welle, France24, The Guardian)

CLIMATE DIPLOMACY: John Kerry’s next move (TIME), Is water provision in drought-hit Zambia climate ‘loss and damage’ or adaptation? (Climate Home), African Development Bank chief criticizes opaque loans tied to Africa’s natural resources (AP)

DENIAL & DISINFO: The livestock industry’s secret weapons: Expert academics (Inside Climate News)

EPA: White House seeks big EPA budget boost with focus on climate, environmental justice (Politico Pro $, E&E $), EPA rule tees up legal battle over federal climate authority (E&E News)

DOI: Biden Interior budget proposes adding money to climate and drought fight (Politico Pro $, E&E $)

EXECUTIVE BRANCH: Biden budget would slash Army Corps (Politico Pro $)

WHITE HOUSE: Biden seeks billions for UN Green Climate Fund (E&E $), What to expect in Biden’s fiscal 2025 budget (E&E $)

THE HILL: Former FERC chair to testify on Biden grid, energy policies (E&E $), Solar CEO to headline hearing on climate law tax credits (E&E $), A Republican climate caucus? Yes, it exists and is growing (Wall Street Journal $)

ELECTIONS: Young voters helped elect Biden in 2020. His campaign is courting them again in 2024 (NPR)

TRIBES: US, Canada and indigenous groups announce proposal to address cross-border mining pollution (AP)

CITIES AND STATES: Alabamians want public officials to mitigate landslide risk as climate change makes extreme precipitation more frequent (Inside Climate News), Arizona GOP echoes conspiracy theories in push to ban climate action (E&E $), Florida Republicans try to block basic heat protections for outdoor workers (HuffPost), Minnesota eyes permitting reform for clean energy amid gridlock in Congress (Inside Climate News), Texas challenges US EPA limits on oil and gas industry methane emissions (Reuters), 10 Republican-led states file lawsuit to block SEC’s climate disclosure rule (Utility Dive), California regulators approve new program to expedite power line undergrounding (Utility Dive)

FERC: California PUC urges FERC to reject SCE’s early cost recovery request for $1.6B in projects (Utility Dive)

IMPACTS: No crops, no brides: How rising seas are killing India’s coastal villages (The Guardian), The future of fog in California (WBUR), The US just had its hottest winter on record (Axios), Floodwaters inundate Maine, New Hampshire for fourth time since December (Washington Post $)

WILDFIRES: How does a tiny mountain town, burned to the ground, come back? (New York Times $), The dangerous combination of aging utility infrastructure and rising wildfire risk (NPR)

DROUGHT: Drought takes devastating toll on Louisiana's crawfish industry (CBS)

FOOD: Fruit chaos is coming (The Atlantic), We need to talk about food prices (Yale Climate Connections)

TRUE CRIME: Farmers tampered with rain gauges to fraudulently collect insurance money (Washington Post $)

RENEWABLES: He’s a renewable-power billionaire, not an environmentalist (Wall Street Journal $)

STORAGE: Are solid-state batteries finally ready to live up to the hype? (Energy Monitor), Storage was solar’s co-star in 2023, a record-breaking year for both: American Clean Power (Utility Dive)

OIL & GAS: Louisiana utility plans $411M floating gas plant (E&E $), BP carbon emissions rise amid US oil and gas boom (E&E $), US carbon pipeline company pledges no oil recovery, but Bakken drillers want it (Reuters)

(MICRO)PLASTICS: Bioplastics: Sustainable solution or distraction from the plastic waste crisis? (Environmental Health News), Detergent pods are only the start of clothing’s microplastic pollution problem (Grist), Microplastics are everywhere. Why don’t we know how they make us sick? (Washington Post $), Study: Patients with cardiovascular disease had higher rates of microplastics (Truthout), With microplastics, scientists are in a race against time (Washington Post $)

COAL: Kentucky House approves bill to reduce emergency-trained workers in small coal mines (AP), Coalmine explosion in eastern China kills seven (Reuters)

NUKES: Forget ‘Oppenheimer’ — nuclear power is having its moment in Washington (Politico)

GRID: US transformer demand could triple by 2050 — DOE study (E&E $)

ALL ABOARD!: Meet the engineer leading Amtrak’s $32B modernization (E&E, Laura Mason interview $)

ACTIVISM: Youth activists need protection against smear campaigns and arrests, says UN expert (The Guardian)

AGRICULTURE: Farmers accused of drying up the imperiled Great Salt Lake say they can help save it (NPR)

GRETA: Climate activists including Greta Thunberg block entrance to the Swedish parliament (AP, The Guardian)

EPOCH NOMENCLATURE THROWDOWNS: Why is the idea of the anthropocene so contentious? (Grist)

INTERNATIONAL: Alberta's ban on renewables could hurt C$11 bln in investments, study says (Reuters), EU’s carbon tax may devastate a country it is trying to keep alive: Ukraine (E&E $)

• Setting the record straight on Western market options: It’s not just about footprint (Utility Dive, Libby Calnon, Clay Fitchis, Mark Hayden, Bear Prairie, Chris Robinson and Jim Webb op-ed)
• Biden has a ways to go on that manufacturing renaissance (New York Times, Peter Coy column $)
• Hosting COP in 2026 could be the incentive Australia needs to turbocharge climate action (The Guardian, Richie Merzian op-ed)

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