** Kentucky U.S. Rep. Brett Guthrie, a longtime defender of the state’s coal industry, is selected to chair the House Energy and Commerce Committee, beating out Ohio Rep. Bob Latta.
** The Biden administration schedules an oil and gas lease sale for the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge offering 400,000 acres — the minimum allowed by a 2017 law — with restrictions aimed at reducing environmental impacts.
** An offshore wind company’s decision to put a planned wind farm on hold during the second Trump presidency is having ripple effects, endangering the development of a renewable energy hub in New York City.
** An Ohio panel votes to open hundreds of acres of state parkland for hydraulic fracturing while selecting bids for drilling in a wildlife area.
** Georgia Power has reached an agreement to settle ten lawsuits over health impacts blamed on groundwater contamination from coal ash, but it is not clear whether the settlements will prompt cleanup.
** Florida’s Supreme Court declines to hear a class-action lawsuit over whether Florida Power & Light adequately prepared for damages from Hurricane Irma in 2017.
** The U.S. solar industry is set to break installation records this year while meeting manufacturing milestones as the Inflation Reduction Act bolsters the industry.
** Elon Musk indicates he will slash federal funding for California’s high-speed rail project if he becomes a member of the incoming Trump administration.
World
** Saudi Aramco, the world’s largest crude oil exporter,cut its January 2025 prices for Asian buyers to its lowest level since early 2021, the company said this weekend, amid weakening demand from China.
** BP is looking for buyers to take a stakein its U.S. natural gas pipeline network, Reuters exclusively reported on Friday. The sale, which could be up to 49%, could raise up to $3 billion.
** Climate activist Greta Thunberg was filmed giggling as she declared “f–k Germany” and “f–k Israel” at an anti-Israel rally in Germany on Dec. 6, video shows. The 21-year-old appeared as a speaker at the demonstration in the southwestern German city of Mannheim, which included a discussion focused on “solidarity with Palestine and the climate movement.”
** China’s top electric vehicle maker BYD gained market share as the world’s largest auto market recorded its fastest-growing month in 2024, setting BYD up to exceed its global annual sales goal and overtake Ford (F) and Honda (HMC).
** China’s oil demand may peak in 2025, five years earlier than expected, as the shift away from gasoline and diesel accelerates, according to a report from the nation’s largest energy producer.