Energy briefs

** Wyoming legislators are examining an approach to energy independence and ownership of coal- and natural-gas power plants that would directly pit them against the Biden administration’s policy of ending coal production by 2041.

** Toyota plans $532M expansion to add 411 jobs at its San Antonio manufacturing plant.

** Regional electrical grid operators have until the spring of next year to meet the recent Federal Energy Regulatory Commission rule to transform how the U.S. power grid is planned and paid for.

** Ford Motor Co said on Monday it backs the Biden administration’s moves to dramatically cut vehicle emissions through 2032, rejecting Republican arguments the new climate rules are bad for business.

** The U.S. Dept. of Energy (DOE) announced it was preparing to make as much as a $1.66 billion loan guarantee to Latham, New York-based Plug Power, with the money earmarked for construction of as many as six clean hydrogen facilities across the U.S.

** Houston’s Sage Geosystems has been awarded a government contract to analyze the potential for a mostly subterranean power storage system at El Paso’s Fort Blissaccording to Worth Magazine. If completed, the setup would make it possible for intermittent, renewable power from the sun and wind to be stored and discharged for 12 hours or more.

** U.S. auto safety investigators said on Monday they have launched an investigation into the April crash of a VinFast VF 8 electric vehicle in Pleasanton, California, in which a family of four died. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said the investigation will probe the April 24 crash circumstances and the ensuing fire.

** A coalition of Tesla Inc. shareholders is urging its peers to reject the $56 billion pay package for Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk that the company’s board has asked investors to approve again.

World

** India has made a rare request to its state-run oil refiners and private processor Reliance Industries Ltd. to jointly negotiate a long-term supply deal with Russia, according to people familiar with the matter. The government wants its refiners to lock in at least a third of their contracted supply from Russia at a fixed discount to help shield the nation’s economy from volatile prices.

** Ukraine’s biggest private power company has called on Britain and other Western allies to send equipment that will keep the lights on after Russian bombing destroyed most of its coal plants. DTEK, which supplies one fifth of Ukraine’s electricity using six coal-burning plants, is seeking kit worth a total of $350m (£275m), including generators, turbines, transformers and circuit breakers.

** Dozens of tankers remain stuck doing nothing months after being sanctioned by the Treasury Department — a signal of the US’s scope to disrupt Moscow’s petroleum supply chain if it chooses to.

** A handful of oil tankers that had entered the waters off southern Greece to transfer Russian petroleum were forced to depart again after the local navy re-issued a notice that it would carry out exercises in the area.