** The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) will give $700 million in aid to biofuels producers as part of a package to assist industries recovering from the financial devastation of the coronavirus pandemic, officials said on Tuesday.
** An encampment in northern Minnesota disbands after eight days of protesting the Line 3 replacement and expansion.
** Saudi Arabia is expected to hike its crude oil production to 10 million barrels per day (bpd) by the end of 2021, up by 1.5 million bpd from May, due to rising global oil demand, Goldman Sachs said on Tuesday.
** Kyle Little, Sherwood Lumber’s chief operating officer, argued on “Mornings with Maria” on Tuesday that the price of lumber was pushed to an “unsustainable price point and now we’re seeing a little bit of pushback from the marketplace” as prices continue to drop from last month’s record high.
** Solar energy production hit a major hurdle of soaring prices as the International Energy Agency urges countries and energy companies away from oil and gas and toward renewables.
** A Reuters/Ipsos national poll found most prospective buyers in the U.S. are curious about electric trucks but low cost and durability come first.
** Republican lawmakers unveiled energy legislation Tuesday, drafted for months in secret with industry representatives, that would hasten North Carolina’s transition away from coal power plants.
** Environmental activists are pushing a European court to rule that Norway’s drilling for oil in the Arctic breaches their and future generations’ human rights in the latest legal challenge to fossil fuel exploitation.
** The U.S. Transportation Department said Tuesday it had launched a $3 billion aviation manufacturing payroll subsidy program that will cover up to half of eligible companies’ compensation costs for as long as six months.
** A private firefighting company from Louisiana will begin spraying foam to suppress the massive blaze burning at an Illinois chemical plant after the building was rocked by an explosion Monday, officials said
** Lincoln is replicating some of its parent Ford’s all-electric commitments. The automaker on Wednesday announced plans to electrify its entire vehicle lineup by 2030.
** A U.S. House panel investigates the slow cleanup of closed coal mines, with a focus on the Kayenta Mine on the Navajo Nation.
** Utah’s Republican congressional delegation moves to stop the Biden administration from restoring the boundaries of Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monuments.
** Ohio electric vehicle startup Lordstown Motors says production is still on track to start this fall despite a management shakeup this week and warnings that the company may not be in business within a year.