** President Joe Biden on Monday declared a 24-month tariff exemption for solar panels from four Southeast Asian nations after an investigation froze imports and stalled projects in the United States, sources familiar with the matter told Reuters.
** President Biden on Mondayissued presidential determinations providing the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) with the authority to utilize the Defense Production Act (DPA) to accelerate domestic production of five key energy technologies: (1) solar; (2) transformers and electric grid components; (3) heat pumps; (4) insulation; and (5) electrolyzers, fuel cells, and platinum group metals.
** Shortages of semiconductors, car parts, and other key items that flow through supply chains are likely to remain for the foreseeable future, Citi warned in a new note. “Bottom line, we find that supply chain pressures have proved to be more persistent, and apparently deep rooted, than we had expected even a few months ago,” strategists led by Global Chief Economist of Citi Research Nathan Sheets wrote in a comprehensive note.
** The US envoy on climate change John Kerry has warned that the war in Ukraine must not be used as an excuse to prolong global reliance on coal. Speaking to the BBC, Mr Kerry criticised a number of large countries for not living up to the promises they made at the COP26 climate summit.
** NASA is preparing its first all-electric plane, the X-57 which is driven exclusively by batteries. The space agency is getting it ready for its initial test flight in the desert east of Los Angeles.
** A bill to end the free ride for electric and hybrid vehicle owners on Louisiana roads won final passage in the Legislature Sunday, setting the stage for the first road usage fees in the state. If Democratic Gov. John Bel Edwards signs House Bill 1031 by Republican Baton Rouge Rep. Barbara Freiberg as expected, Louisiana owners of all-electric vehicles will be charged annual fees of $110, while hybrid owners will be charged $60.
** The Mountain Valley Pipeline seeks a new three-judge panel after the previous slate largely sided with environmentalists who challenged government approvals for it and the now-canceled Atlantic Coast Pipeline.
** A federal court orders the federal government to complete a full environmental impact statement before permitting hydraulic fracturing off the California coast, saying existing analyses are inadequate.
World
** Saudi Arabia has raised selling prices sharply for its crude oil prices in July, sparking a rise in oil futures on Monday. Saudi Arabia’s Aramco, the world’s largest oil exporter, hiked prices for customers in Asia, northwestern Europe, and the Mediterranean. Prices for US customers were unchanged.
** India is looking to double down on its Russian oil imports with state-owned refiners eager to take more heavily-discounted supplies from Rosneft PJSC as international buyers turn down dealings with Moscow over its invasion of Ukraine.
