** President Joe Biden has named Willie Phillips, a Democrat, acting chairman of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, FERC said on Tuesday. Phillips joined the commission in December, 2021 after being appointed by Biden and approved by Congress. Phillips will be the first Black person to take the reigns at FERC. ** Two men were charged Tuesday …
Category: EPA
Energy headlines
** The states hit hardest by blackouts in last week’s winter storm have significantly increased reliance on heating homes with electricity over the last decade, putting more strain on the power grid when temperatures plummet. ** General Motors has begun the long process of installing the 40,000 Level 2 charging stations it announced as part of …
Biden administration shows poor performance in environmental enforcement
As much as he is anti oil and gas and a proponent of green energy, President Biden’s administration hit a two decade low this year in Federal environmental enforcement. A new report by the Environmental Integrity Project said the 72 civil enforcement cases closed in court during the fiscal year that ended in September …
Headlines
** The National Weather Service has warned that a “reinforcing shot” of cold air from Canada could cause more snowfall across the Great Plains and Midwest this week, and the eastern half of the country would remain in a deep freeze. In Erie County — which includes Buffalo, N.Y. — the death toll jumped to …
Headlines of other energy stories
** Three power substation facilities were vandalized in Pierce County, Washington, on Christmas morning, knocking out power to more than 14,000 customers, authorities said. ** The West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude ended last week’s rally up by 5.46%. Saudi Arabian stocks climbed on Sunday, the Tadawul All Share Index (TASI), inching 0.2% higher. The global …
Headlines
** The EPA has released its final rules on reduced NOx and particulate emissions for heavy-duty vehicles such as semi-trucks, buses and other commercial vehicles. They’re the first new rules in more than 20 years according to the organization. The rules apply to engines starting with the 2027 model year, and the EPA expects significant emissions improvements. …
Other headlines
** The head of ConocoPhillips’s Alaska operations signaled the company would walk away from an $8 billion oil project in the Arctic if the US government forced it to further scale down drilling to just two locations, saying that would no longer be economically viable. ** A survey of more than 900 auto executives by KPMG …
Energy headlines
** ERCOT on Friday notified power generators in Texas that they need to be online and ready to provide power during an expected wave of cold air that could drop overnight temperatures into the 20s late next week. ** CubicPV Inc., a startup backed by Bill Gates, plans to construct a $1 billion silicon wafer factory for solar panels in …
Other headlines
** The Senate has bucked Sen. Joe Manchin’s (D-W.Va.) latest effort to get his energy deal with Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) attached to must-pass legislation. The chamber blocked Manchin’s permitting reform amendment from getting onto a defense funding bill known as the National Defense Authorization Act in an 47-47 vote. Sixty votes were needed to advance …
Other energy headlines
** Members of the House Select Committee on the Climate Crisis say more remains to be done as the panel wraps up its work ahead of the new Congress. ** President Biden wants Americans to know gas prices are falling fast—and he deserves the credit. The average pump price has plunged from $5 per gallon in June …