** Dow, a major producer of chemicals and plastics, wants to use next-generation nuclear reactors for clean power and steam at a Texas manufacturing complex instead of natural gas. Dow’s subsidiary, Long Mott Energy, applied Monday to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission for a construction permit.
** The California Legislative Analyst’s Office has testified to the Legislature that the California High Speed Rail project needs another $7 billion in public funding by summer of 2026. Unless the funding is obtained, construction on the project could stop in 15 months.
** BlackRock CEO Larry Fink is sounding the alarm on what he sees as a looming retirement crisis in the U.S., and he says younger generations have every right to feel uneasy about the future.
** It’s been nearly a month since hydropower company Hydro‑Québec sent electricity into the New England grid over its main transmission line, raising questions about how the region would deal with a longer-lasting or more widespread stoppage of Canadian energy.
** Pennsylvania utility regulators plan a hearing to discuss how growing demand on the grid from data centers and other users could affect the cost and reliability of the state’s power supply.
** Sempra Energy plans to sell some of the company’s natural gas assets to raise capital for oncoming growth of its Texas and California utilities, the company announced in a press release on March 31.
World
** China’s manufacturing activity grew in March for the highest rate in a year, official data showed Monday, a rare bright spot as the world’s second-largest economy struggles to climb out of a prolonged slump.
** Freshwater essential to lithium mining is running low in the world’s “Lithium Triangle,” a mineral-rich region in the Andean Plateau that stretches across parts of Argentina, Bolivia and Chile and contains more than half of all global lithium reserves.
** Canada’s propane exports have steadily increased over the last decade, reaching record highs in 2024 as new marine export terminals streamlined the flow of propane from western Canada to export destinations, particularly to Asia. U.S. propane imports from Canada have stayed relatively consistent since Canada began waterborne exports in 2019.
