** Congressional Republicans advance a measure to allow oil and gas companies to pay a $10 million fee to fast-track federal permitting reviews and bypass years of environmental reviews and litigation.
** Clean Refineries Inc. announces plans to invest $1 billion to redevelop a petroleum terminal in Louisiana into a net-zero emissions refinery to make marine-grade bunker fuel, asphalt, and diesel.
** Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey introduces a $10 billion plan aimed at reducing energy bills by capping monthly bill increases, exploring new generation and storage options, and allowing customers to pay for heat pumps and weatherization over time with a charge on their utility bill.
** Some researchers estimate that one ChatGPT query requires the energy equivalent of lighting a lightbulb for 20 minutes and 10 times as much electricity as a single Google search. Goldman Sachs projects that AI will increase data center power demand by 160 percent nationwide through 2030.
** A South Korean transformer manufacturer announces it will invest $51 million to expand its headquarters and factory in Memphis, Tennessee.
** Advocates say Texas’ standalone grid will easily meet soaring power demand during unseasonably high temperatures this week because of the rapid growth of renewables, which state lawmakers are trying to hobble through numerous bills.
** The National Weather Service scrambles to fill 155 vacancies by late May including a number of key positions in storm-prone Louisiana and Texas, where the agency is trying to attract more employees before hurricane season begins in a few weeks.
World
** The International Energy Agency (IEA) said on Thursday that economic headwinds combined with record sales of electric vehicles will slow global oil demand growth for the remainder of 2025, as supply is set to jump from planned OPEC+ output hikes.
** Canada’s Enbridge (ENB.TO), opens new tab said on Thursday that Stonlasec8 Indigenous Alliance will buy a 12.5% stake in the pipeline operator’s Westcoast system for C$715 million ($511.19 million), as Indigenous communities look to own stake in energy firms.
** Approximately every six weeks in Cuba, the unreliable and outdated electric grid plunges the majority of the country into darkness — sometimes for days at a time. Now, a solar project hopes to pick up the slack and bring some stability to the country’s power supply, Tech Xplore reported.
** China’s Xiaomi is seeing a slump in new orders for its SU7 electric sedan, analysts said on Wednesday, as the company and its charismatic CEO grapple with a growing consumer backlash that now threatens its runaway sales success.