** The Biden administration announced Sunday evening that it is indefinitely blocking 16 million acres of federal land and water in Alaska from future fossil fuel drilling. The Department of Interior (DOI) said it had initiated a rulemaking process to “establish maximum protection” for 13 million acres of land across the National Petroleum Reserve (NPR), an area in North Slope Borough, Alaska, set aside by Congress for resource development.
** The U.S. Energy Information Agency conducted a survey and found nearly 5% or 5.8 million U.S. households did not use any space-heating equipment in 2020.Of the 5.8 million households that did not use heating equipment, the majority—or 3.9 million U.S. households—indicated that they had space-heating equipment but did not use that equipment, accounting for 3.2% of total U.S. households.
** Market data shows 40% of the nation’s electric vehicle and supply chain investment has gone to the Southeast, creating competition among states and laying the groundwork for the EV transition.
** A former utility executive agrees to spend 15 months in prison for his role in a conspiracy to mislead the public about a failed $9 billion nuclear expansion in South Carolina.
** Chevron’s CEO tells an editorial board the oil and gas company isn’t interested in wind or solar because they don’t have a high enough rate of return on investment.
** The EPA proposes tougher limits on wastewater discharges from coal plants and other industrial facilities, but the agency says the rule is not “aimed at driving a specific outcome” with regard to the sector’s decline.
** New solar installations fell in 2022 for the first time since 2018 due largely to supply chain issues, but the industry expects a resurgence this year, according to a new report.
** Nevada lawmakers on Monday are scheduled to discuss granting the power to limit what comes out of residents’ taps to the Southern Nevada Water Authority, the agency managing the Colorado River supply to the city. If lawmakers approve the bill, Nevada would be the first state to give a water agency permanent jurisdiction over the amount of residential use.
World
** Oil and gas giant Saudi Aramco announced a record $161 billion profit for 2022 on Sunday. Commonly referred to as Saudi Aramco, the oil and gas giant saw its profits increase nearly 50% from $110 billion in 2021 to a record $161.1 billion for 2022, the company announced.
** Pakistan is looking to buy Russian oil at $50 per barrel, media reported on Sunday, as the South Asian country is grappling with an economic and foreign reserves liquidity crisis. Pakistan is desperate to import energy at low costs, after it was outspent on the market last year when oil and gas prices surged while Pakistani foreign exchange reserves dwindled.
** Eight months after passage of the lavish US climate law, the European Union is considering a policy response that marginally improves on the three-year-old Green Deal roadmap for tackling climate change over a decade. The measures set to be proposed by the European Commission on Tuesday don’t suggest a Washington-vs.-Brussels arms race for the green future.
** Iraq’s prime minister Sunday promised sweeping measures to tackle climate change — which has affected millions across the country — including plans to meet a third of the country’s electricity demands using renewable energy.