Energy briefs

**The Environmental Protection Agency has placed roughly 140 employees on administrative leave days after they signed a public letter expressing concern about the treatment of federal employees and the Trump administration’s regulations on climate and public health.

** The arbitrators in a legal dispute between Exxon Mobil and Hess have reached a decision related to a major oilfield project in Guyana, according to two sources familiar with the matter, reported Reuters. The ruling will determine whether Chevron can move forward with its $53 billion planned acquisition of Hess.

** After six rate hikes in the past three years, Georgia regulators approve a deal to keep Georgia Power’s rates flat for the next three years — aside from storm recovery and fuel costs.

** Delta Utilities closes on its $484 million purchase of Entergy’s natural gas business in Louisiana and Mississippi.

** The Texas Supreme Court rules that a company that holds an oil and gas lease — and not the surface owner — owns water produced from oil and gas drilling and fracking, clarifying a legal question as the state considers using such wastewater to alleviate shortages.

** A North Dakota electric power cooperative plans a nearly $4 billion natural gas plant to meet needs from large industrial users, but says data centers aren’t driving its plans.

World

** The European Union has unveiled its 2040 climate target, combining bold emissions cuts with controversial concessions to win over divided member states. In a landmark move towards climate neutrality, the European Commission formally announced its long-awaited 2040 emissions-reduction target – specifically a 90 percent cut in greenhouse gas emissions from 1990 levels.

** Due to a scorching heatwave which has spread across Europe in recent days, a number of nuclear power plants in Switzerland and France have been forced to either reduce activity or shut down completely as extreme temperatures have prevented sites from relying on water from local rivers.

** All external power lines supplying electricity to the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant in Ukraine were down for several hours on Friday, the U.N. nuclear watchdog said, but the station’s management later said power had been restored.

** Huawei has filed a patent detailing a sulfide-based solid-state battery design with energy densities between 180 and 225 Wh/lb, roughly two to three times higher than today’s typical electric vehicle batteries.