** The Justice Department on Friday announced a lawsuit against Norfolk Southern Railway in connection with the Feb. 3 derailment of a train carrying hazardous materials in East Palestine, Ohio.
** The Biden administration on Friday proposed new rules about when electric vehicles can be eligible for a consumer tax credit — though its disagreements with Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) on the issue appear to be ongoing.
** Lincoln Power LLC, the owner of two Illinois power plants, filed for bankruptcy after its financial strain was exacerbated by nearly $39 million in penalties levied by the biggest US electric-grid operator.
** Valero Energy Corp, the second-largest U.S. oil refiner, is seeking Washington’s permission to import Venezuelan crude, according to four people close to the matter, hoping for a repeat of the approval granted to Chevron Corp in November after a four-year ban.
** Tesla Inc. is looking to build a battery plant in the US, according to people familiar with the matter, in what would likely be a controversial arrangement with China’s dominant electric-vehicle battery manufacturer.
** Sens. John Fetterman (D-Pa.), Bob Casey (D-Pa.) and Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) introduced a bill Thursday to further expand rail safety requirements in the wake of the East Palestine, Ohio, train derailment. The Railway Accountability Act, Fetterman’s first piece of legislation, aims to build on a slew of rail safety overhauls included in a bipartisan bill introduced earlier this month.
** A highly anticipated cobalt mine in the mountains near Salmon, Idaho has been put on hold just as it was about to go into production. The mine would have been the only primary cobalt mine in the country. Jervois Global Limited, of Melbourne, Australia, announced that it would halt construction at its mine because of falling cobalt prices and the effects of inflation on construction costs.
** German wind turbine maker Nordex will decide this year whether to bring back online its mothballed production site in West Branch, Iowa, hoping for a pickup in U.S. demand following the introduction of the Inflation Reduction Act.
** The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) approved California’s authority to set its own regulations requiring manufacturers to speed up the sales of electric trucks in the state.
World
** General Electric Co said on Friday it had settled all its outstanding wind turbine technology patent disputes in the United States and Europe with Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy S.A. Terms of the settlement were not disclosed.
** Azerbaijan denounced what it called “slanderous” comments by a senior Iranian military commander, the latest sign of fractious relations between the oil-rich Caspian Sea neighbors. Baku made the remarks a day after Azeri security services said they were investigating “a terror attack” after a lawmaker with strong anti-Iranian views was shot and wounded at his home.
** The center of gravity in the global oil-refining complex is shifting sharply eastward — and that’s spurring a boom in the business of building ships to haul fuel around the globe. As many as 38 mid-range tankers have been ordered this year, marking one of the busiest quarters since 2013, according to ship broker Braemar.
** South Africa has told rich countries backing its $8.5 billion energy transition deal that it wants to delay the closure of some units at its coal-fired power plants, people familiar with the situation said.
