** An ethanol plant in central Illinois has stopped injecting carbon dioxide (CO2) into the ground after a potential leak was discovered on the property for the second time this year. The problems at the Archer Daniels Midland (ADM) plant raise questions about the safety of about 150 other carbon capture wells proposed across the U.S., most with taxpayer funding.
** A tanker of Canadian crude was shipped from Vancouver to Alaska for the first time in at least 10 years as the recently expanded Trans Mountain pipeline opens up new export opportunities.
** Stellantis will close its Arizona Proving Grounds this year as it works to sell the property. It was one of numerous facilities, including the Auburn Hills headquarters and technology center, that the automaker, which has been facing numerous challenges related to sales and financial guidance in recent weeks, had negotiated during last year’s contract talks with the UAW for the ability to unload.
** A union representing striking machinists at Boeing said on Friday it is “actively engaged in indirect discussions” with the planemaker that are being facilitated by Acting U.S. Labor Secretary Julie Su.
** Electricity demand in the US is set to soar for the first time in decades, with growth as high as 15% in some regions over the next five years, according to energy consultancy Wood Mackenzie.
** General Motors (GM) is eyeing further North American investments in lithium and other critical minerals used to build electric vehicles after boosting its investment in a Nevada mine to nearly $1 billion earlier this week, an executive said.
** The Biden administration is shelling out billions of dollars for clean energy and approving major offshore wind projects as officials race to secure major climate initiatives before President Joe Biden’s term comes to an end.
World
** As Cuba’s electrical grid shut down Friday, leaving millions of Cubans without power nationwide hours after the government declared an “energy emergency,” authorities have not said when the lights will be back on.
** An oil terminal Iran built to bypass the vital strait of Hormuz appears to have partially filled with crude — offering Tehran a means to get a little of its oil into the world without using the waterway.
** A Russian contractor providing SUVs and pick-up trucks to Moscow’s troops blamed Western sanctions on Thursday amid criticism that its vehicles were arriving in poor condition. Sollers, the Russian company that owns the auto firm Ulyanovsk Automobile Plant, or UAZ, told local outlet Gazeta.RU that its subsidiary had lost key suppliers in 2022 due to the “conditions of sanctions restrictions.”
** Italy’s car industry faces an existential threat if manufacturers led by Stellantis NV don’t reverse a trend of declining production in the country, according to an automotive trade group.
