** The U.S. Senate environment committee on Wednesday weighed the confirmation of Aaron Szabo to be the EPA’s assistant administrator for Air and Radiation and David Fotouhi to be deputy administrator – two key roles that would lead any efforts to unwind the endangerment finding.
** Los Angeles County files a lawsuit against Southern California Edison alleging the utility’s equipment sparked the deadly Eaton Fire and seeking to recover related damages.
** Wyoming considers purchasing land in Washington state to develop an export terminal for shipping Powder River Basin coal to Asia after earlier proposals failed to acquire permits.
** Advocates say the impact of the trade war with Canada could be especially “catastrophic” for New York, which is constructing a transmission line intended to import hydropower from its northern neighbor.
** A Canadian cryptocurrency company buys two coal-fired generating plants in Pennsylvania to provide electricity to its bitcoin mining operations and possibly sell power to the grid.
** U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright promotes nuclear energy development but denies climate change during a visit to Tennessee’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory, which is home to nuclear research and the Climate Change Science Institute.
World
** In response to the tariffs imposed by President Trump, Ontario Premier Doug Ford announces plans to add a 25% surcharge on electricity exported to New York and other border states, and threatens to cut off the power supply entirely.
** Businesses are facing five to eight-year waiting times to connect to Europe’s strained grids as the emergence of new areas of demand drives an unprecedented rise in permit requests for power.
** BP on Wednesday announced plans to increase annual oil and gas investment to $10 billion through 2027 as part of a fundamental strategic reset. The energy giant also said it planned to lower its annual capital expenditure to sit within a range between $13 and $15 billion over the same time horizon.
** Indian commercial vehicle manufacturer Tata Motors has commenced trials of hydrogen-powered heavy-duty trucks, designed for long haul transportation, in India.
** European Energy has successfully commissioned its first solar park in Australia. The Mokoan solar park, now connected to the Australian grid, shows evidence of the company’s investment in Australia’s renewable energy sector.
