** After China cracked down on cryptocurrency earlier this summer, bitcoin mining companies relocated their farms—many of them to the US, where the share of bitcoin mined worldwide soared from 16.8% to 35.5%.
** Royal Dutch Shell Plc responded to external pressure by setting a more ambitious target for cutting greenhouse gas emissions from its operations, while reporting an increase in third-quarter profit that fell short of expectations.
** Exxon Mobil Corp. said Wednesday it will raise its quarterly dividend by a penny, to 88 cents a share from 87 cents. The new dividend will be payable Dec. 10 to shareholders of record on Nov. 12.
** California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Thursday announced a crackdown on oil and gas wells, a long-awaited move to protect public health that sets up a fight between environmentalists and labor unions allied with industry.
** Exelon, the owner-operator of Illinois’s six nuclear power plants, recently announced that the Byron and Dresden nuclear plants will continue operating rather than retire this fall as previously planned.
** Another Maine town considers a solar moratorium following its third utility-scale solar project application in as many years.
** The House Ways and Means Committee advanced a refundable EV tax credit as part the chamber’s reconciliation package that would provide an additional $4,500 if the final assembly of the vehicle is at a facility in the United States that operates under a union-negotiated collective bargaining agreement.
World
** Canadian oil and gas producer Suncor Energy Inc doubled its dividend on Wednesday as a rebound in crude prices from pandemic-driven lows helped it post a third-quarter profit compared with a year-ago loss.
** European natural gas and power dropped after more signals from President Vladimir Putin that Russia will send extra gas to the continent next month.
** Australia is rejecting a push by the U.S. and the European Union to join a global pact to cut methane emissions, expected to be announced at the crucial COP26 summit in Glasgow which starts Sunday reported Morning Consult.