** As the Atlantic hurricane season begins, Dominion Energy has finished burying more than 2,500 miles of the most outage-prone power lines in Virginia. The work is part of the company’s Strategic Underground Program, which was launched in 2014.
** Two Cheyenne, Wyoming companies have their sights on building the largest magnesium operation in North America in order to supply the U.S. with the metal of choice for lightweight vehicles and aircraft. China and Russia control over 90% of the global supply of magnesium.
** PepsiCo converts 20 semi-trucks to run on 99% biodiesel fuels in an attempt to curb transportation emissions as officials unveiled a new B99 pump in Iowa.
** The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Electricity announced more than $8 million in selections for funding to projects that accelerate microgrid innovation through the Community Microgrid Assistance Partnership (C-MAP) program. This program will fund 14 projects, reaching 35 towns and villages and 20 partners, including business and nonprofits, Alaska Native Corporations, a labor union, and power providers like utilities and energy cooperatives.
** The Trump administration is cutting funding to 24 green energy projects totaling $3.7 trillion, 70% of which received approval toward the tail end of the Biden administration. Oil giant ExxonMobil (NYSE: XOM) got caught in the crosshairs of these cuts. It stands to lose $332 million in funding for a carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) project at its refinery complex in Baytown, Texas.
** President Donald Trump‘s budget proposes to shut as soon as in a few months the Northeast Home Heating Oil Reserve, which stores 1 million barrels of diesel and was designed to protect consumers.
World
** One of the most carbon-polluting countries, India is also making huge efforts to harness the power of the sun, wind and other clean energy sources. Most of the electricity in India, the world’s most populous nation, still comes from coal, one of the dirtiest forms of energy.
** The world’s sources of critical minerals are increasingly concentrated in just a few countries, most notably China, leaving the global economy vulnerable to supply cutoffs that could disrupt industry and hit consumers with higher prices, a report said.
