** The Biden administration on Monday continued its push toward internet-for-all by 2030, announcing about $667 million in new grants and loans to build more broadband infrastructure in the rural U.S.
** Following the unexpected loss of thermal generation and due to extreme temperatures, ERCOT is asking Texans to reduce electricity use when it is safe to do so, according to a news release.
** Permian Resources said on Monday it would buy Earthstone Energy in an all-stock transaction valued at about $4.5 billion, including debt. The deal would strengthen Permian Resources’ position as a leading Delaware Basin independent producer, with pro forma production of about 300,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd).
** Public utility regulators in Iowa will begin a hearing Tuesday on a proposed carbon dioxide pipeline for transporting emissions of the climate-warming greenhouse gas for storage underground that has been met by resistant landowners who fear the taking of their land and dangers of a pipeline rupture.
** The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission is opening up the pathway to the electric grid, easing a clean energy backlog with a groundbreaking new rule. A new rule shifts the approach of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission from “first come, first served” to “first ready, first served” when the agency decides what grid upgrades to prioritize to bring new generation and storage projects online.
** Carey Mendes, who led the branding of Nikola Corp.’s hydrogen business and signed a deal to get financing for up to 50 hydrogen fueling stations, has resigned from the electric truck and hydrogen distribution developer.
World
** An oil tanker long suspected of carrying sanctioned Iranian crude oil offloaded its cargo near Texas on Sunday, tracking data showed, even as Tehran has threatened to target shipping in the Persian Gulf over it.
** All over the world, prices for diesel fuel are sky-high relative to the crude oil from which it is made, pointing to a scarcity that should alarm inflation-obsessed governments everywhere. And within just a few months, the Northern Hemisphere will enter winter, pushing up demand for heating.
** Alberta’s seven-month pause on approving new renewable power projects in the Canadian province has caused four major international companies at various development stages to stop work on their plans, an industry official said.
** A cargo ship fitted with giant, British-designed special wind-powered sails has set out on its maiden voyage. Shipping firm Cargill, which has chartered the vessel, hopes the technology will help the industry chart a course towards a greener future.
** Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said the government will decide on Tuesday when it will begin to discharge treated radioactive water from the Fukushima nuclear plant into the Pacific Ocean, in a plan criticized at home and abroad.
** Pope Francis said on Monday that he was writing a follow-up to his landmark 2015 encyclical on the protection of the environment and the dangers of climate change “to bring it up to date”. He made the surprise announcement in a brief, unprepared addition in a speech to a group of lawyers from Council of Europe countries.