** Sen. Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia, who represents a state with vast rural expanses and critical infrastructure needs, told The Hill that Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg’s “philosophical push for everything to be climate and politically correct” is at the center of issues that Republican lawmakers have raised.
** The American Clean Power Association contends groups opposed to off-shore wind development in New Jersey are spreading misinformation about wind farms causing the deaths of nearly two dozen whales since December.
** More oil releases from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve could handicap the Biden administration, analysts say. The key reserve will hit 346 million barrels after the next release April, nearly half of what it was when Biden took office.
** According to a new study from the Anderson Economic Group, rising electricity prices — combined with softer gas prices — made EVs more expensive to fuel than gas-powered cars at the end of 2022.
** Since the beginning of this year, US car buyers have been able to get a federal tax credit of up to $4,000 for the purchase of a used electric vehicle, one element of the consumer incentive program baked into the Inflation Reduction Act. It’s the first time that federal credits have been extended to used vehicles.
World
** A rush by China to sign new long-term liquefied natural gas deals promises to give the nation even more control over the global market at a time when competition for cargoes is booming.
** Key members of China’s most influential scientific body have outlined the country’s plan to circumvent US chip sanctions for the first time, codifying Beijing’s view of how it could win a crucial technological conflict with Washington.
** The Dutch Military Intelligence says a Russian ship has been detected at an offshore wind farm in the North Sea as it tried to map out energy infrastructure.
** Azerbaijan’s crude oil exports through the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) oil pipeline restarted after a six-day halt due to the devastating earthquakes in southern Turkey on February 6.