** U.S. liquefied natural gas (LNG) developers are on track to approve three export projects capable of processing 5.1 billion cubic feet per day (bcfd) of gas in the first half of the year, a record volume for new LNG projects in any year.
** NASA comes out against allowing mining of lithium in a dry Nevada lakebed. NASA says the same site — flat as a tabletop and undisturbed like none other in the Western Hemisphere — is indispensable for calibrating the razor-sharp measurements of hundreds of satellites orbiting overhead.
** U.S. electric vehicle manufacturers fared very poorly in the 2023 J.D. Power Initial Quality Study. So poorly, in fact, that the four leading electric vehicle manufacturers in the United States came in last in the annual ranking.
** Multnomah County in the northwestern state of Oregon on Thursday filed a lawsuit against major fossil fuel companies seeking more than $51 billion over the 2021 “Heat Dome,” one of the United States’ deadliest weather-related disasters. The county includes the city of Portland.
** The US ethanol industry, already under pressure from rising corn costs and weak gasoline demand, saw its long-term outlook dampen further after the federal government’s surprise pullback in support for the plant-based fuel.
World
** An unusually warm winter in the southern hemisphere is threatening to saddle Argentina with a glut of liquefied natural gas. After a mild winter last year, state energy company Energia Argentina said it was able to sell three of its surplus cargoes on to other countries and book profits on the trades.
** Siemens Energy AG slumped by a record over escalating issues at Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy SA, the latest in a long line of costly problems uncovered at the wind turbine unit. The shares plummeted as much as 36% after the Spanish division found worse-than-expected quality flaws at its onshore wind turbines, delaying turnaround efforts.
** Chinese exports of used cooking oil to Singapore jumped to a record last month, likely due to more demand from Neste Oyj’s renewable fuel refinery.
** India will cut tariffs for daytime power use but charge a premium when electricity demand peaks during the night, in a bid to manage surging demand and boost the use of renewable energy.
** Israel’s natural gas reserves have grown by 40% over the past decade due to increased drilling and exploration activities, an industry report said, even as production soared.
