Energy news in brief

** American Petroleum Institute President and CEO Mike Sommers said Thursday the API supports the goals of the Paris Agreement to reduce global emissions and alleviate poverty. He said it also supports the Biden administration’s announcement for a new U.S. National Determined Contribution for the agreement.

** NextEra Energy Inc. wants to buy more power lines to tap into rising demand for renewable energy, weeks after closing a $660-million deal for such transmission wires.

** The Minnesota Supreme Court rules that a planned $700 million natural gas plant in Superior, Wisconsin, doesn’t need further environmental review, reversing a lower court order.

** Chevron and Toyota announced Wednesday a first step towards a strategic alliance to commercialize hydrogen, which is seen as an environmentally-friendly transportation fuel option.

** Elon Musk said Tesla will now only sell its solar panel products together with its Powerwall storage battery. In a tweet late on Wednesday, Musk said from next week, all sales of the company’s solar energy products will come together with its energy storage battery Powerwall.

** The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) botched its oversight of permits for Minnesota’s first copper-nickel mine, according to the findings of an internal investigation.

** A Texas Republican congressmember introduces legislation to accelerate permitting to ship liquefied natural gas to other countries.

** Consultants say Entergy New Orleans cut four times as much power as necessary during cold temperatures on Mardi Gras and perhaps should be penalized for the error.

** Electric van and bus maker Arrival departs from the traditional assembly line to instead use multi-tasking robots at its microfactories in North Carolina, South Carolina and England.

** Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Michael Regan said Wednesday that he doesn’t plan to return “verbatim” to the Obama administration’s rule on what types of waterways receive federal protections.

** The Biden administration is expected as early as Friday to announce steps to end the federal government’s challenge to California’s emissions authority.

** BP confirms plans to stop routine flaring in the Permian Basin by 2025, and electrify 75% of its wells in the region by the end of this year.