** Ford plans to temporarily shut eight factories due to a global shortage of semiconductor chips, according to an internal memo viewed by CNBC. The automaker told CNBC that it plans to cut production due to the chip shortage, including its Ford Mustang, Bronco Sport SUV, and F-150 pickup models.
** Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte vetoes a bill that would have raised fees on electric vehicles to replace gasoline taxes.
** A joint venture between Ford and a South Korean battery maker will build two North American factories to make batteries for about 600,000 electric vehicles per year by the middle of the decade.
** The North Dakota Supreme Court ruled that contractual language commonly used in the state to calculate royalties that landowners pocket requires oil producers to pay values determined at the well, rather than higher ones as the oil gets closer to markets.
** Environmentalists in North Carolina file suit challenging water permits for a Smithfield Foods and Dominion Energy project to turn hog waste into renewable energy.
** The U.S. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) said on Thursday it terminated Boyce Hydro Power Llc’s licenses for the bankrupt company’s Secord, Smallwood and Sanford hydroelectric projects on the Tittabawasee River in Michigan.
** Daimler AG, the world’s largest truck and bus maker says it plans to shift most of its vehicle development resources to zero-emission vehicles by 2025 and predicts that battery and hydrogen-powered trucks could be competitive with diesels on cost later this decade.
** The Bank of England (BoE) has unveiled plans to make its corporate bond purchase scheme (CBPS) more ‘green’ as the UK government aims to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2050.
** California’s clean air regulator adopted rules to mandate that nearly all trips on Uber’s and Lyft’s ride-hailing platforms have to be in electric vehicles over the next few years, the first such regulation by a U.S. state.
** The Alliance for Market Solutions, a group trying to get political traction for carbon taxes, is launching a new advocacy campaign that counts ExxonMobil and Dow among its backers. It’s the first corporate support for the group that’s seeking to win support among conservative lawmakers.
** Col. Pamela A. Melroy testified Thursday before the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation in Washington, D.C. Melroy was nominated by President Joe Biden to serve as the deputy administrator of NASA.
** Several companies, including Germany’s BASF SE, are in preliminary talks about tapping a federal clean tech fund to set up production for electric vehicle batteries in Canada, a government official with knowledge of the discussions said.
** A consortium of Canada’s Enbridge, Belgium’s Fluxys and U.S. private equity firm EIG Global Energy Partners has submitted a non-binding offer for Brazil’s largest natural gas import pipeline, three people with knowledge of the matter told Reuters this week.
** Arizona regulators are working to revive a plan to require the state’s utilities to provide 100-percent carbon-free electricity by 2050.
