** President Trump’s administration delivered a long-overdue blow to California’s high-speed rail project. Federal funding—$4 billion in unspent grants—has been yanked, halting what critics say is a boondoggle that has devoured billions while delivering broken promises.
** Rep. Bob Latta (R-Ohio), a powerful figure in U.S. energy policy as chair of the House Energy and Commerce Committee’s Energy Subcommittee, has hired Berkley Lane, a former lobbyist for major energy and tech firms, as his legislative assistant.
** California Democrat Rep. Zoe Lofgren charged the Trump Administration’s destruction of the EPA Office of Research and Development will have generational ipacts on Americans’ health and safety. She accused the administration of firing hardworking scientists while employing political alppointees whose job it is to lie incessantly to Congress and the American people.
** While gas is the No. 1 source of electricity in the U.S., new plants can’t be spun up quickly; top-tier turbine suppliers have warned of multi-year backlogs for that key ingredient. As for hydropower, new construction of major generators has stagnated for decades. Nuclear construction has shown more signs of life, but barely: Two new reactors were started and finished in the last 30 years, way behind schedule and massively over budget.
** The largest solar and energy storage facility in the United States is halfway complete, according to the company building it, as Electrek reported. The facility, located in Kern County, California, will eventually be a 2,000-megawatt project. AES, the company behind the endeavor, has contracts with major tech companies worldwide. When it’s finished, it will generate enough energy to power the equivalent of 467,000 homes each year.
World
** A massive new wind-power project is on the way to the Canadian province of Québec, according to Renewable Energy Magazine. The provincial electric utility, Hydro-Québec, has signed an agreement with EDF power solutions, which will deploy wind turbines made by Vestas in the southern region of Lac-Mégantic.
** China’s industry ministry is planning to ban the resale of cars within six months of their initial registration as part of efforts to combat sales of so-called zero-mileage used cars, an industry association publication reported on Saturday.
** China’s exports of rare earth magnets to the United States in June soared to more than seven times their May level, marking a sharp recovery in the flow of critical minerals used in electric vehicles and wind turbines after a Sino-U.S. trade deal.