** Democrats dropped Sen. Joe Manchin’s proposed energy plan from a must-pass government funding bill on Tuesday after it became clear it lacked the necessary bipartisan support to advance in the Senate.
** Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer says he’ll work with Manchin to pass “responsible permitting reform” by the end of the year.
** After decades of being treated as an unhelpful byproduct of oil drilling, natural gas is now in such high demand that Texas drillers value it more than crude oil.
** Production tax credits in the Inflation Reduction Act for wind, solar and battery storage are likely to spur a wave of domestic clean energy manufacturing, analysts say.
** The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers starts taking public comment in northern Michigan on Enbridge’s plan to tunnel the Line 5 pipeline in the Straits of Mackinac.
** As Ford gears up to build two electric vehicle batteries in Kentucky, it’s also expanding its existing truck plant near Louisville.
World
** Cuba remained in the dark early Wednesday after Hurricane Ian knocked out its power grid and devastated some of the country’s most important tobacco farms when it hit the island’s western tip as a major storm.
** The European Union suspects that damage to two underwater natural gas pipelines was sabotage and is warning of retaliation for any attack on Europe’s energy networks, a senior official said Wednesday, as energy companies began ramping up security.
** Norway on Wednesday was beefing up security throughout its oil and gas sector to protect against possible sabotage after several countries said two Russian pipelines to Europe spewing gas into the Baltic had been attacked.
** The CIA warned its counterparts in Berlin earlier this summer of possible attacks on gas pipelines in the Baltic Sea, according to a Tuesday report.
The German magazine Spiegel reported Tuesday that there were indications from the U.S. that there were signs of a planned attack on two North Stream gas pipelines.
** The European Union is considering adding shipping restrictions to its oil sanctions as the bloc continues to discuss the introduction of a price cap on Russian oil, according to people familiar with the matter.