** Ford plans to idle a Detroit-area electric truck plant for weeks as it contends with softer-than-expected EV sales.
** Occidental Petroleum nears completion of a direct-air carbon capture facility in Texas that would be the first large-scale facility to remove carbon dioxide directly from the air; the company plans to build dozens more.
** The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced $18.6 million for 15 projects that will drive innovation in equitable clean transportation and provide first responders with the tools they need to properly respond to calls involving zero emission vehicles. The funding will expand DOE’S Clean Cities and Communities work to make clean transportation options more available, accessible, and affordable nationwide.
** A Trump presidency and Republican-controlled U.S. Senate could eventually remake the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, but recent appointments mean Democrats could retain power for at least 18 months.
** While Ford had an early lead among U.S. automakers in the transition to electric vehicles, the company’s EV division is now losing money while General Motors EVs surge.
** A group of five governors on Tuesday urged PJM Interconnection, the largest U.S. grid operator, to change the process it uses to determine the price paid to power plants after record-high prices awarded in its last auction. The governors are from Pennsylvania, Illinois, Maryland, New Jersey and Delaware.
** An Aurora contractor who bilked Marshall fire victims in Colorado out of more than $1 million dollars as they were rebuilding their homes pleaded guilty in Boulder District Court Tuesday.
** The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently announced 55 grants for a total of nearly $3 billion from the Clean Ports Program, funded through the Inflation Reduction Act. The selected applications will fund zero-emissions port equipment and infrastructure as well as climate and air quality planning at U.S. ports located in 27 states and territories.
World
** Venezuela’s oil exports rose to a four-year high, approaching 950,000 barrels per day in October, boosted by growing crude output and more sales to India and the United States, according to shipping data and documents from state firm PDVSA.
** A study in the Lancet says world governments are funding a global health crisis by continuing to direct trillions of dollars toward fossil fuels.
** Toyota Motor said on Wednesday its worldwide production fell for an eighth straight month in September, as both sales and output declined in its two biggest markets, the United States and China.
** Reduced shipments and lower pricing power slashed Stellantis revenue by 27% in the third quarter, the automaker said as it seeks to fix bloated inventories and poor commercial performance that led to a major profit warning last month.
** Argentina’s President Javier Milei on Wednesday dismissed his foreign affairs minister hours after the country voted in favor of lifting the U.S. economic embargo of Cuba at the U.N. General Assembly.
** Volkswagen asked its workers to take a 10% pay cut on Wednesday, arguing it was the only way that Europe’s biggest carmaker could save jobs and remain competitive as profits plunged to a three-year low and union bosses threatened strikes.
