** Texas Gov. Greg Abbott wants his state Public Utilities Commission to hit renewables with costs if they don’t meet expected power production needs.
** The Environmental Protection Agency couldn’t issue fines on or raid vehicle modification shops under bipartisan legislation moving through the House.
** Shell is reportedly planning to quit its California-based joint venture with fellow oil supermajor ExxonMobil as it looks to accelerate its transition away from fossil fuels.
** Through August, motorists could see the national average rise another 10 to 20 cents, according to AAA, putting the national average over $3.25 per gallon this summer.
** An explosion ripped through oil and gas pipelines at a pump house in Iran’s southwest Tuesday, killing three oil workers and injuring four others, local media reported.
** Over 75 companies including big names like General Motors, Apple, Unilever and eBay are urging lawmakers to require that power companies supply sharply rising amounts of zero-carbon electricity.
** Volvo Group, Daimler Truck and Volkswagen’s AG heavy-truck business the Traton Group announced on Monday a non-binding agreement to build a network of high-performance public charging stations for electric heavy-duty long-haul trucks and buses around Europe.
** Volkswagen is to sell a stake in its electric vehicle charging unit Electrify America, two people familiar with the matter said, as the carmaker looks for outside funds to build infrastructure for battery-powered cars.
** Chevron Corporation CVX and partners decided to proceed with a $4-billion investment of the Jansz-Io compression (J-IC) project offshore Australia to keep customers in Asia supplied with gas for decades.
** With hydropower generation down 37% from last year due to drought, California grid operators look to import extra power this summer to weather extreme high temperatures.
** Critics are skeptical that a proposed oil refinery near a national park in North Dakota will ever be completed as a mid-September deadline approaches for construction to begin.
** Volvo will add production of an electric SUV to a South Carolina factory beginning next year.
** Louisiana lawmakers pass a bill to allow for chemical recycling of used plastics into synthetic crude oilthat can be refined into diesel fuel, gasoline and heating oil.
