Energy briefs

** Stellantis (STLAreported another quarter of plunging sales as the company behind brands such as Jeep and Chrysler attempts to fix its so-called “disaster.” The automaker sold 305,294 vehicles in the U.S. between June and September, a 20% decline compared with a year earlier. That follows a second quarter marked by a similar 21% year-over-year decline.

** -Rivian Automotive has applied for a federal loan to enable the construction of its electric vehicle factory in Georgia, according to a filing by the U.S. Department of Energy. While Rivian has applied for a loan, the department has not made a final decision and the filing did not disclose the requested amount or terms.

** The Hoosier State is the site of a new electric vehicle battery plant project that keeps getting delayed. The General Motors-Samsung SDI factory, a $3.5 billion venture, is being built in New Carlisle, Indiana, the Detroit Free Press reported in August. It was first set to begin production in 2025, then 2026, and now 2027.

** Tropical Storm Milton is likely to become a major hurricane in three days as it aims for Florida’s already storm-battered west coast, federal forecasters said Saturday. The National Hurricane Center said in a forecast discussion the storm was rapidly evolving into “an intense hurricane with multiple life-threatening hazards” for the coastline north and south of the Tampa Bay region.

World

** According to energy think tank Ember, solar power has been the leading source of utility-scale renewable power output in recent months, surpassing global wind generation by 1.65 terawatt hours (TWh) in May and 9.57TWh in June. The trend is set to continue into July and August, as these months have historically registered the highest solar output in the year, although data is yet to be released.

** The boss of German carmaker Mercedes-Benz is bracing his company for a “Darwinian battle” as Europe’s auto giants reel from falling demand and the onslaught of Chinese competitors. Mercedes-Benz CEO Ola Källenius said the biggest challenge facing automakers was halting a crisis of confidence among Chinese consumers.

** Electricity prices have gone negative in parts of China as renewable energy overwhelms the grid. The country is building twice as much wind and solar as the rest of the world combined, and grid officials have had to resort to reducing output, while the industry tries to build battery storage to smooth the flow of energy, OilPrice reported, which is itself shaping up to become a major market.

** Sales of diesel cars are growing faster than those of electric vehicles (EVs) as money-conscious consumers refuse to make the switch, top manufacturers including Ford, Volkswagen and Vauxhall have warned the Chancellor. In a letter to Rachel Reeves, the chief executives of 10 major carmakers urged ministers to increase subsidies for EVs or row back on “flawed” legally binding sales targets.

** Google CEO Sundar Pichai is considering using electricity from nuclear plants to power his company’s data centers, as the tech giant contends with the expansive energy demands of artificial intelligence (AI). Pichai also plans to increase Google’s investment in solar and thermal power, he said in an interview with Nikkei.

**  In her first days as Mexico’s new president, Claudia Sheinbaum made a point of distancing herself from the fossil fuel reliance promoted by her predecessor and mentor, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, and vowed to resume an energy transition that he halted.