** With a death toll still at 230 or more, the effects of Hurricane Helene are still being discovered. Local, state and federal officials determine Hurricane Helene damaged or destroyed 519 homes and 83 businesses in Virginia.
** October 8—National Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Day—is like a birthday party for hydrogen. It’s being observed by the U.S. Energy Department.
** The Wall Street Journal reports U.S. manufacturers are cutting back on robot purchases as production slows and human labor shortages ease. Many firms overbought robots during the pandemic and the automotive sector’s orders, especially for EV production dropped to slower electric vehicle sales.
** Excavators begin removing dozens of used wind turbine components that had sat for four years in a Minnesota community after companies failed to recycle them.
** Advocates give mixed reviews of the Biden administration’s environmental justice legacy, noting it prioritized investment in Black and Brown communities but also promoted unproven technologies like carbon capture and storage, according to E&E News.
** Major natural gas producers indicate prices will rise this winter as forecasted colder temperatures are expected to increase demand, according to Utility Dive.
World
** Ukraine’s military claimed it struck a major oil terminal Monday in Crimea that provides fuel for Russia’s war effort as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the war has entered a key phase.
** Iran’s oil minister landed on Kharg Island, home to the country’s main export terminal, and held talks with a naval commander on Sunday, the oil ministry’s news website Shana reported, amid concern Israel could attack energy facilities.
** Companies that bring solar power to some of the poorest homes in Central and West Africa are said to be among the fastest growing on a continent whose governments have long struggled to address some of the world’s worst infrastructure and the complications of climate change.
** A factory fire has destroyed thousands of electric vehicles in Vietnam. The factory belonged to DK Bike, which manufactures electric bicycles and electric motorcycles, as well as 50cc small-displacement motorcycles according to their website.
** China is investing in EV factories, battery plants, and all sorts of other transition tech around the world. It is building EV factories and battery plants abroad to retaliate against a tariff push in the West that may prove to be just as counterproductive as sanctions on Russia.
** – The CEO of German carmaker Volkswagen said the European Union should consider adjusting planned tariffs against China-made electric vehicles to make allowances for investments made in Europe.
