** Energy Secretary Chris Wright railed against clean energy tax credits Tuesday, defending the Trump administration’s efforts to increase manufacturing powered by coal, natural gas and oil.
** The Trump administration plans to open Arctic waters off Alaska’s coast to offshore oil and gas leasing even though high costs and logistical challenges have foiled past attempts to drill there.
** President Trump exempts the Apache coal plant in eastern Arizona from stricter mercury emissions limits, allowing it to keep operating without expensive pollution control upgrades.
** A company files a lawsuit accusing more than 50 people of breaking into Seattle-area electric vehicle chargers and stealing metals and trade secrets.
** Xcel Energy agrees to expedite wildfire hazard mitigation in Boulder and other fire-prone Colorado cities.
** The federal Bureau of Land Management seeks public input on 21 proposed oil and gas leases covering about 9,000 acres in the Permian and San Juan Basins.
** The American Lung Association finds that Los Angeles is the nation’s smoggiest city for the 25th time, even though the number of high-ozone days has dropped 40% since 2000.
** A coalition of construction groups and natural gas companies sue a Chicago suburb over its ordinance that bans gas hookups in new homes and buildings.
** The U.S. House of Representatives plans to vote next week on a Republican plan to repeal the Biden administration’s approval of California’s landmark plan to end the sale of gasoline-only vehicles by 2035.
World
** New U.S. sanctions against Iran’s energy sector point to Washington’s “lack of goodwill and seriousness” over dialogue with Tehran, Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson said on Wednesday ahead of Iran-U.S. nuclear talks this weekend.
** Iran is ringing two deeply buried tunnel complexes with a massive security perimeter linked to its main nuclear facility, a report said Wednesday, amid U.S. and Israeli threats of attack.