** The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) said it plans to issue tougher greenhouse gas emissions rules for heavy duty trucks and other larger vehicles through at least the 2030 model year by the end of 2023.
** The U.S. Department of Energy on Thursday said it sold 15 million barrels of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to six companies, completing the last batch of the largest-ever release from the stockpile announced by President Joe Biden in March.
** Biden attacked oil and gas again in a political rally in New Mexico. “These outrageous profits are the windfalls of war,” Biden told hundreds of supporters inside a community center in Albuquerque’s South Valley as crowds watched outside on a big screen.
** Wind surpasses hydroelectric power as the largest source of electricity generated in South Dakota, which now produces twice as much electricity as it uses.
** Indiana ranks among the worst states for coal ash storage, hosting 80 such facilities with 16 compliance failures caused by leaking, according to the report.
** Hyundai Mobis announces it will build an electric vehicle battery plant next to an existing Hyundai factory in Alabama.
** The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced Friday that it will for the first time test air and groundwater in Puerto Rico’s southern region, where community leaders have long complained about pollution stemming from companies, including a coal-burning power plant.
** The Biden administration’s plans to boost manufacturing of electric vehicles may face a big bump in the road—and that bump is made of graphite. China is currently the top graphite producer globally and is responsible for nearly 80% of the world’s graphite supply. The U.S., on the other hand, hasn’t produced graphite domestically in decades.
World
** Some mineral-rich countries are talking of creating an OPEC-like body to control production and sale of lithium, which is used in batteries for electric vehicles.
** The Group of Seven rich nations and Australia have agreed to set a fixed price when they finalize a price cap on Russian oil later this month, rather than adopting a floating rate, sources said.
** Canadian energy infrastructure firm Enbridge Inc on Friday announced a C$3.6 billion ($2.65 billion) expansion of the southern segment of its British Columbia (B.C.) gas pipeline system after strong demand from customers.
** Dozens of LNG tankers are idling off Europe’s coast as they hold out for higher prices, per the FT. Combined, the 30-plus ships are carrying natural gas worth $2 billion, according to Vortexa data.
