Chicago-based Invenergy has announced the green energy generation and storage operator is installing what will be largest solar farm in the United States in five phases over the next three years through a $1.6 billion investment.

Why it matters: The 1,310-megawatt facility based in northeastern Texas aims to help consumer brands like AT&T, Honda, Google and McDonald's meet their clean energy goals while supplying 300,000 homes across three cities with power upon its completion in 2023.

General Motors will pull out of any legal efforts that seek to strip California of its right to set its own clean-air standards, GM CEO Mary Barra said in a letter Monday to environmental groups, per AP.

Driving the news: Barra said the company, which is developing a new battery chemistry that will reduce the costs of electric-vehicle, agrees with President-elect Joe Biden’s plan to expand the use of electric vehicles, AP reported.

The National Wildlife Federation is sharing with lawmakers a tax credit proposal to help bring cleaner electricity to parts of the country that are currently powering with coal and natural gas.

Why it matters: With a divided government likely, any climate and energy policy is probably going to come in the form of relatively narrow spending proposals like this.

Washington lawmakers may throw billions of taxpayer dollars at clean energy next year, prompting a rush of ideas about how to do it and how effective it can be at tackling climate change.

Driving the news: With the federal government’s political power likely divided, the biggest policies are likely to come through an economic recovery package in the form of subsidies and other spending.

The VC firm Brown Venture Group has agreed to invest seed funding in Ecolution kWh, a startup looking to commercialize tech that stores and dispatches kinetic energy from vehicle motion, the companies said Wednesday.

Driving the news: The amount of Brown Venture Group's financing was not disclosed, but the firm will be the lead investor in a seed round that's targeting at least $3 million, according to Ecolution.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's sole current Democrat thinks the GOP-led body has "done a disservice to state clean energy programs" with orders that critics say create barriers for zero-carbon power in key regional markets, via Greentech Media.

Why it matters: Richard Glick could be named the powerful commission's chairman under President-elect Biden. Comments at an American Council on Renewable Energy conference yesterday — reported by Greentech and Utility Dive — signal his priorities.

"U.S. environmental activists are heaping pressure on Democratic president-elect Joe Biden to avoid Cabinet appointees with fossil fuel ties," Reuters points out.

Why it matters: The incoming Biden administration is starting to announce important personnel picks, with Cabinet choices looming, and activists are keen to see advocates of aggressive climate policies.

The International Energy Agency has boosted its estimate of renewable power growth this year and now sees installations setting a fresh record.

Why it matters: Wind and solar are proving more resilient to COVID-19 than initially believed as projects and manufacturing "ramped up again quickly" after disruptions in the first half of the year, IEA said.

Environmentalists are all psyched that Joe Biden beat Donald Trump, but tensions on the left could soon come to the surface as Biden starts implementing his energy agenda.

Why it matters: Democrats and the wider left are in the midst of a public reckoning with how progressive the party's stances and message should be.