Energy news in brief

** Both Joe Biden and President Donald Trump will unveil infrastructure plans this week. Biden’s plan is expected to focus on clean energy, while Trump will announce environmental permitting changes.

** A federal appeals court rules that drilling can resume in a sensitive Alaskan reserve without updating an environmental assessment that was completed four years before oil was discovered in the area.

** Alaska offers an international oil company a six-month break from paying nearly $3 million in rent for its North Slope exploration leases.

** After years of battling over control of North Carolina’s share of the Volkswagen settlement, Republican lawmakers and the Democratic governor quietly approve a $31 million plan for electric vehicle infrastructure.

** More than 350 facilities, including fossil fuel companies in the Southeast, have taken advantage of an EPA rule that lets them stop monitoring water pollution during the pandemic.

** A California congressman secures offshore wind energy development off southern California’s coast included in the 2021 National Defense Authorization Act.

** U.S. Rep. Don Young calls his southeast Alaska district the ‘potential Saudi Arabia of America’ for renewable energy, especially hydropower.

** Electric vehicle startup Rivian is poised to be the first company with an electric pickup truck to hit the market.

** Wind-supported jobs in Indiana more than doubled last year with the state ranking in the top five nationally for wind sector employment, according to an industry group’s report.

** The Trump administration on Thursday asked a court to block Ford, Honda, Volkswagen and BMW from becoming directly involved with litigation over the SAFE Vehicles rule (Reg. 2060-AU09).