Energy news in brief

** President Biden is expected to announce several executive actions on Wednesday meant to fight climate change, including one asking government agencies to determine the extent of a drilling ban on federal land, two people with knowledge of the matter told The New York Times on Monday.

** Elon Musk is ‘super fired up’ about President Joe Biden’s focus on the environment and wants to find a way to help out on the administration’s initiatives for expanding green energy and fighting climate change, the billionaire CEO told Fortune Magazine.

** North Carolina, Duke Energy and a conservation group announce a settlement that will shift $1.1 billion in coal ash cleanup costs from ratepayers to the utility and its shareholders reported the Associated Press.

** Canadian government and business interests are increasing pressure on Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer to back off a plan that would shut down the Line 5 pipeline in the Straits of Mackinac.

** Russian pipe-laying vessel Fortuna has started work on the construction of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline in Danish waters, the operator of the pipeline, Nord Stream 2 AG, said. The U.S. Department of Treasury on Tuesday imposed sanctions on the vessel and its owner KVT-Rus for building the Nord Stream 2 gas-exporting route.

** A Louisiana parish changes its zoning ordinance to allow for construction of large solar projects, opening the door for a San Francisco firm that has proposed a $308 million facility.

** An anti-fracking group hopes the Michigan Supreme Court will rule in its favor as it continues its years-long effort on a petition drive to ban hydraulic fracturing in Michigan reported Michigan Radio.

** Utah Sen. Mike Lee introduces legislation that would exempt the state from a federal law that allows the president to establish national monuments.

** A Wyoming landowners group is calling on state regulators to deny a coal mining company’s permit renewal until the firm settles $50 million in unpaid royalties and addresses other concerns.

** Hydrocarbon Technology reports the first phase of a $2 billion project that will add natural gas liquefaction capabilities to a Mexican export facility gets underway; the port could provide an outlet for gas from Western states.

** Federal prosecutors in San Francisco, California sentence a former PG&E employee to 22 months in prison for fraud of more than $1.4 million dollars in kickbacks from an eight-year scheme with a family member.

** The Supreme Court didn’t decide whether to take up a case involving the proposed PennEast pipeline’s route in New Jersey after the justices conferenced on Friday.

** Roughly two years after setting a goal to drop fossil fuel funds, the New York City Employees’ Retirement System and New York City Teachers’ Retirement System announced Monday they will sell off about $4 billion in those holdings from their portfolios.