** A coalition of stakeholders led by Cape May County, New Jersey, filed a federal lawsuit against the Biden administration Tuesday, challenging the development of a massive offshore wind farm along the county’s coastline.
** A Government Accountability Office (GAO) report Tuesday called for improved Army Corps of Engineers remediation in areas contaminated by radioactive waste.
** General Motors will delay electric pickup truck production at a factory near Detroit due to slowing U.S. demand for electric vehicles, to better manage its capital investments, and to make some engineering changes.
** Ford Motor Co on Wednesday announced a management rejig, promoting combustion vehicle unit chief Kumar Galhotra to the position of chief operating officer, even as the ongoing autoworkers strike shows little signs of ending.
** The Biden administration is facing an onslaught of opposition to its proposed fuel economy standards, which critics say would increase consumer costs and unfairly burden U.S. businesses.
World
** The war between Israel and Hamas is threatening a key regional hub for natural gas. Israel’s Tamar rig supplies natural gas to Israel and Egypt but shut down after Hamas attacked the country. But Israel is expected to be able to get its power supply from other sources.
** The world’s largest offshore wind farm reached a milestone on Oct. 7, sending its first power to the United Kingdom grid, the BBC and other outlets reported. The Dogger Bank project cost $14 billion, according to Recharge, and will feature 277 turbines that produce 3.6 gigawatts of clean energy. It is slated for completion in 2026.
** Some of the lost demand for energy in Europe may be gone for good, Russel Hardy, the CEO of Vitol said. Global gas prices soared in 2022 after Russia cut off its gas supply to Europe, disrupting the energy sector. “We can expect some of that lost demand to stay lost forever.”
** Britain will become “subservient to foreign regimes” if it allows the North Sea to decline further, the Energy Secretary warned on Wednesday. Claire Coutinho is to raise concerns that the UK’s oil and gas output will halve by 2030, leaving it increasingly dependent on imports.
** UK police on Tuesday removed Swedish climate campaigner Greta Thunberg from a protest outside the energy sector’s annual London get-together, an AFP photographer reported.
** According to research by climate campaign group Possible, a new SUV is more damaging to the climate than a 10-year old car.
** Rishi Sunak has been urged to shut down Britain’s gas network and spend billions on rolling out heat pumps, in a major intervention by the country’s infrastructure tsar. Sir John Armitt, chairman of the National Infrastructure Commission (NIC), warned that the supply of natural gas to all buildings must stop by 2050 if the UK is to hit its climate targets.