** The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is set as early as next week to propose new rules to spur sweeping cuts in vehicle emissions pollution that will push automakers towards a big increase in electric vehicle sales, sources told Reuters.
** Two former U.S. ambassadors are sounding the alarm on the increasing number of green energy projects nationwide being developed with the involvement of Chinese companies. Former U.S. Ambassadors Peter Hoekstra and Joseph Cella said Chinese companies, which are subject to strict Chinese laws, have made a concerted effort to take advantage of U.S. green energy goals.
** A major methane leak from an oil and gas well in southeastern Utah remained uncontained more than two days after the facility’s equipment malfunctioned and forced the evacuation of nearby campers.
** Democratic federal and state lawmakers from Colorado step up opposition to a proposed Utah oil railway that would link the Uinta Basin to national petroleum markets, noting risks of derailments along the Colorado River.
** St. Paul, Minnesota’s first electric fire truck will cost $1.8 million but annually save an estimated $25,000 in fuel when it starts operating next year.
** Toyota announces the construction of a 30 MW solar farm to power its engine manufacturing plant in Alabama.
World
** The future of global hydrogen is looking brighter as India, this week, presented a $2 billion subsidy scheme to push domestic hydrogen fuels, and Rystad Energy foresees a 700% growth of global hydrogen pipelines by 2035. Without an increase in hydrogen transport infrastructure, most projects will still face an uphill battle.
** A coalition of climate groups are stepping up pressure on Japan’s top three banks to cut financing linked to fossil fuels, filing shareholder resolutions to be voted on at the companies’ annual general meetings in June, sources said on Monday.
** Tesla Inc is opening a factory in Shanghai, capable of producing ten thousand Megapack energy product per year, to supplement output of Megapack factory in California, the company said in a tweet on Sunday.
** A top solar material producer is planning its first factory outside China, but may pass on the US because of high costs, according to the company’s chief executive officer. GCL Technology Holdings Ltd., the world’s second-largest manufacturer of polysilicon, wants to tap into higher prices overseas and serve foreign customers, according to Lan Tianshi, the company’s joint-CEO.