** A fire broke out at a parking lot at Rivian Automotive’s manufacturing facility in Normal, Illinois late on Saturday damaging many of its electric vehicles, the U.S. startup said on Sunday. ** The car industry is backing away from rolling out electric vehicles in favor of hybrid options, indicating more defeats to the Biden-Harris administration’s efforts …
Category: EPA
$31 million in government funds added toward geothermal development
Another $31 million in government money is being handed out by the Biden administration toward geothermal energy projects. The U.S. Department of Energy announced the funding is part of “Building on President Biden and Vice President Harris’s Investing in America agenda.” The funds are reported to be an effort to advance geothermal energy …
Energy briefs
** Midwest grid operators MISO and Southwest Power Pool seek federal approval for changes to their joint operating agreement that would advance $1.7 billion in transmission projects and enable up to 30 GW of new generation. ** An Iranian hacker group this spring attempted to breach multiple Utah government sites, including state data related to oil and gas. ** …
Energy briefs
** During a campaign stop in Pennsylvania on Monday, former President Trump said he’d eliminate the Biden administration’s power plant rule but was noncommittal about his position on a tax credit for electric vehicles. ** Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) indicated to reporters at the Democratic National Convention that climate legislation would be on the agenda if Democrats retain the White House and …
Oklahoma joins emissions fight against Biden administration, arguing the new rule will result in higher electricity prices
Oklahoma was among 23-Republican-led states that went to the U.S. Supreme Court this week asking the Supreme Court to put a stop to a Biden administration rule limiting emissions of mercury and other toxic metals from power plants. Two coal companies were also part of the move challenging the rule that creates tighter emissions limits …
Energy briefs
** According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, developers and power plant owners added 20.2 gigawatts (GW) of utility-scale electric generating capacity in the United States during the first half of 2024. This new capacity is 3.6 GW (21%) more than the capacity added during the first six months of 2023. ** A pipeline worker who …
Energy briefs
** A century-old rail lift bridge that crosses the U.S.-Canada border near the cities of International Falls, Minnesota, and Fort Frances, Ontario, has collapsed, and it’s unclear when the area will reopen to water traffic along the Rainy River. No trains were involved, and no one was injured in Wednesday’s collapse, according to the Minneapolis Star Tribune. ** …
Energy briefs
** Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird led a coalition of eight state attorneys general in filing a court brief supporting Ohio’s lawsuit against the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) over California’s electric vehicle mandates. Bird is joined by the Republican attorneys general from the states of Idaho, New Hampshire, North Dakota, South Dakota, Tennessee, Virginia and …
Energy briefs
** An oil company reports it plans to begin operations next summer at a $1.3 billion direct air capture project in Texas as it absorbs one of the Permian Basin’s largest independent oil producers. ** As she looks to secure Pennsylvania voters for the upcoming presidential election, Vice President Kamala Harris is trying — and struggling — to dodge …
Energy briefs
** Chevron has achieved a technological breakthrough, producing first oil from a U.S. Gulf of Mexico field under extreme subsea pressures, the energy company said on Monday. ** Volvo’s all-electric semi trucks have reached the landmark of driving 50 million miles, making work safer and quieter for drivers. According to Electrek, Volvo said that if its vehicles had …