** Sono Motors, a German company making self-charging electric-vehicles, is giving Tesla a run for its money in terms of cash preorders for its flagship vehicle, and could soon go public.
** A North Dakota energy company agrees to buy the state’s largest coal plant in a deal that’s expected to save the 1,150 MW facility from closing.
** At least two dozen U.S. energy firms, including Dominion Energy Inc and Sempra Energy, have started producing hydrogen or testing its viability in natural gas pipes to take advantage of existing infrastructure as the world prioritizes lower-carbon fuels reported Reuters.
** Albemarle Corp., the world’s biggest producer of lithium, is fast-tracking advanced forms of the metal that could result in better batteries for electric vehicles.
** Saudi Arabia and Russia reached a tentative agreement to gradually increase OPEC+ oil output, but prices kept rising as the cartel looked set to keep a firm grip on supply.
** The U.S. has fallen further behind China and Europe in making electric cars, a nonprofit has found. The U.S. is the third-largest electric-vehicle maker, and its share of cumulative global EV production has fallen to 18%, from 20%, since 2010, the International Council on Clean Transportation said in a report Tuesday.
** In a recent report, Goldman Sachs analysts estimated that copper prices could skyrocket to $15,000 per ton, a growth of more than 66%, by 2025.
** President Joe Biden signed three separate laws Wednesday that dismantle part of the Trump era, blocking payday lenders from avoiding caps on interest rates, restricting climate-warming greenhouse gas emissions from oil and gas drilling and ending rules on how the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission settles claims.
** In a quarterly sales and production report this week, Tesla is expected to report the sale of 207,000 vehicles in the second quarter including 114,000 Model 3 sedans and 78,000 Model Y compact SUVs.
** Among new laws that took effect on Thursday in New Mexico was Senate Bill 93 which creates a central state agency to develop and upgrade New Mexico’s inadequate broadband system.
** New Jersey regulators have awarded development rights for nearly 2.7 gigawatts of offshore wind power capacity to separate projects headed by Danish wind giant Ørsted and a venture between Shell and France’s EDF.
** Pacific Gas & Electric seeks a rate increase to fund wildfire prevention upgrades after it was found liable for billions of dollars in damage from equipment-sparked California fires.
** Xcel Energy begins distributing smart meters to Colorado ratepayers with the goal of having all customers equipped by 2024.
** An environmental advocacy group says the Bureau of Land Management fired an environmental specialist because he raised concerns about a Wyoming oil and gas project’s effects on nesting raptors.
** Three people are arrested after locking themselves to a car blocking access to a Mountain Valley Pipeline construction site for more than 10 hours.