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☆ Biden administration softens EV mileage rule in a win for automakers
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-19 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

The original Biden administration proposal would have lowered such "petroleum-equivalent fuel economy" ratings for EVs by 72% in 2027. The industry cheered the Energy Department announcement. Automakers, auto dealers and the UAW called the original EPA plan unrealistic. The National Resources Defense Council (NRDC) and Sierra Club had urged EV mileage rating reductions after the Energy Department left them unchanged for two decades. "The automakers' free ride is over," he said, adding that changes "will curtail automakers' use of phantom credits they used to keep selling gas-guzzlers."

Persons: Biden, Joe Biden's, Donald Trump, John Bozella, Tesla, Pete Huffman Organizations: Detroit, Biden, Department of Energy, Reuters, U.S, Republican, Energy Department, Ford, Alliance, Automotive, United Auto Workers, General Motors, Chrysler, Traffic, Environmental Protection Agency, EPA, Toyota, Honda, Hyundai, GM, Volkswagen, UAW, National Resources Defense Council, Sierra Club, Energy Locations: New York City, United States, Michigan, fleetwide, U.S, NRDC

☆ Your energy costs could become a lot more unpredictable
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-01 | by ( Catherine Boudreau | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

For more than a decade, Americans could rely on cheap natural-gas prices to heat their homes and power businesses. Prices shot up exponentially, and homeowners, renters, and businesses are still seeing the ripple effects on their utility bills — even though natural-gas prices have since fallen. Just six years later, the US surpassed Qatar to become the world's leading exporter of natural gas. Slocum added that natural-gas exports put upward pressure on prices, citing recent reports by the US Energy Information Administration and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission . The higher costs between 2021 and late 2023 are due to the energy crisis in Europe and "cannot explicitly be linked" with greater US gas exports, the spokesperson said.

Persons: Joe Biden, Tyson Slocum, Goldman Sachs, Slocum, Mike Sommers Organizations: Service, Business, LNG, US Energy Information Administration, Federal Energy Regulatory, American Petroleum Institute, CNBC, Energy, Consumer Locations: Russia, Ukraine, Europe, Texas, New Mexico, Qatar

WASHINGTON (AP) — A project to build a first-of-a-kind small modular nuclear reactor power plant was terminated Wednesday, another blow to the Biden administration's clean energy agenda following cancellations last week of two major offshore wind projects. Oregon-based NuScale Power has the only small modular nuclear reactor design certified for use in the United States. “We absolutely need advanced nuclear energy technology to meet (the Biden administration’s) ambitious clean energy goals,'' spokeswoman Charisma Troiano said. In 2020, the Trump administration approved up to $1.4 billion for the project, known as the Carbon Free Power Project. Most prospective subscribers were unwilling to take on the risks associated with developing a first-of-a-kind nuclear project, the Utah group said.

Persons: Joe Biden's, Biden, Charisma Troiano, “, Timothy Fox, Fox, Trump, Obama, John Hopkins, NuScale, Ken Cook, ” Cook, ___ McDermott Organizations: WASHINGTON, Biden, Idaho National Laboratory, Energy Department, DOE, ClearView Energy Partners, The Energy Department, Energy Department's, Energy Department's Idaho National Laboratory, Carbon, Power, Congress, Utah Associated Municipal Power Systems, Nuclear Energy Institute, Environmental, U.S . Nuclear Regulatory Commission, AP Locations: Oregon, United States, Utah, Idaho, New Jersey, U.S, Washington, Idaho Falls , Idaho, Energy Department's Idaho, California, Providence , Rhode Island

☆ US stock trade mixed as key bond yields near 5% and oil spikes again on Middle East conflict fears
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-20 | by ( Phil Rosen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

US stocks opened mixed on Friday, as the 10-year Treasury yield hovered just below 5%. Oil prices rose and are on pace for a second week of gains as conflict in the Middle East continues. A US Navy destroyer also shot down missiles launched from Yemen that could have been headed for Israel. download the app Email address Sign up By clicking “Sign Up”, you accept our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy . AdvertisementAdvertisementUS stocks opened mixed on Friday as the yield on the 10-year Treasury hovered just below 5% while oil prices rose amid fears the Israel-Hamas conflict could spread.

Persons: —, Michael Reinking, Reinking Organizations: Treasury, US Navy, Service, Energy, Strategic Petroleum Reserve, NYSE, Dow Jones Locations: Yemen, Israel, Gaza

☆ US oil production just hit an all-time high. 'Millions of people will die,' if this trend continues, a Stanford climate scientist said.
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-17 | by ( Seth Borenstein | Associated Press | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

US oil production reached an all-time high last week at 13.2 million barrels per day. If this trend continues, "millions of people will die," Stanford climate scientist Rob Jackson said. And it conflicts with oft-repeated Republican talking points of a Biden "war on American energy." Weekly domestic oil production has doubled from the first week in October 2012 to now. US oil production reached an all time high recently.

Persons: Biden, Rob Jackson, Bill Hare, Hare, John Sterman, Jackson, Samantha Gross, Gross, Stanford's Jackson, Joe Biden, Susan Walsh Biden's, Jared Bernstein, Bernstein, They've, Joshua Boak Organizations: Service, United, Biden, U.S . Department of Energy's Energy, Administration, United Nations, United Arab Emirates, Exxon, Mobil, Cote d'Ivorie, Climate Interactive, Stanford University, Carbon, White, Brookings Institution, Energy, EIA, AP, American Energy, Republican, House Energy, Commerce, White House Council, Economic Advisers, Wildlife Locations: Stanford, United States, Norway, Australia, United Kingdom, Canada, France, Shell, Guyana, Cote, Saudi Arabia, Alaska, Washington ,

☆ Tesla urges US to adopt much tougher fuel efficiency rules
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-17 | by ( David Shepardson | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Victoria Klesty/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsWASHINGTON, Oct 17 (Reuters) - Electric vehicle manufacturer Tesla (TSLA.O) on Tuesday urged the Biden administration to finalize much tougher fuel economy standards through 2032 than U.S. regulators have proposed. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) in July proposed raising Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) car requirements by 2% and by 4% for trucks and SUVs annually between 2027 and 2032. The NHTSA's proposal would result in a fleet-wide average fuel efficiency of 58 miles (93 km) per gallon by 2032. On Monday a group representing General Motors (GM.N), Toyota Motor (7203.T), Volkswagen (VOWG_p.DE) and nearly all other major automakers sharply criticized NHTSA's proposal, saying it is unreasonable and requested significant revisions. U.S. automakers separately have warned the fines would cost GM $6.5 billion, Stellantis $3.1 billion and Ford $1 billion, citing NHTSA's projections.

Persons: Biden, Tesla, David Shepardson, Jason Neely Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, Traffic Safety Administration, General Motors, Toyota, Volkswagen, American Automotive Policy Council, Detroit Three, NHTSA, Ford, GM, Chrysler, Alliance, Automotive Innovation, U.S, Energy, Thomson Locations: Oslo, Norway, Victoria, NHTSA's

☆ Automakers blast US plan to hike fuel efficiency rules
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-16 | by ( David Shepardson | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The Alliance for Automotive Innovation said the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's (NHTSA) Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) proposal was unreasonable and requested significant revisions. The auto alliance said last month automakers would face more than $14 billion in non-compliance penalties between 2027 and 2032. Automakers also raised alarm at the Energy Department's proposal to significantly revise how it calculates the petroleum-equivalent fuel economy rating for EVs in NHTSA's CAFE program, saying it would "devalue the fuel economy of electric vehicles by 72%." GM said on Monday it could support NHTSA's proposal if the Energy Department rescinded its petroleum-equivalent proposal. Automakers and the United Auto Workers union have previously also complained parallel rules proposed by the Environmental Protection Agency are not feasible and should be significantly softened.

Persons: Jorge Duenes, Biden, David Shepardson, Jamie Freed Organizations: Toyota Motor Manufacturing, REUTERS, Rights, General Motors, Toyota, Volkswagen, Alliance, Automotive Innovation, NHTSA, American Automotive Policy Council, Detroit Three, Ford, GM, Chrysler, U.S, Energy, Energy Department, Subaru, United Auto Workers, Environmental Protection Agency, Thomson Locations: Baja California, Tijuana, Mexico, NHTSA's, KS

☆ The US is planning its first fusion plant, and it could generate pollution-free power by 2035
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-25 | by ( Associated Press | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Nuclear fusion is a breakthrough technology that could help the US achieve pollution-free power. Calling nuclear fusion a pioneering technology, Granholm said President Joe Biden wants to harness fusion as a carbon-free energy source that can power homes and businesses. A successful nuclear fusion was first achieved by researchers at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California last December in a major breakthrough after decades of work. Nuclear energy is an essential component of the Biden administration's goal of achieving a carbon pollution-free power sector by 2035 and net zero emissions economy by 2050. "We want to see everybody moving forward as quickly as possible (on the clean energy transition), including ourselves," she said.

Persons: it's, —, Biden, Jennifer Granholm, Granholm, Joe Biden, It's, Dennis Whyte, Rishi Sunak, Sunak Organizations: Service, US, Associated Press, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Control, Plasma Science, Fusion Center, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Energy, UK Locations: VIENNA, Vienna, California, France, Washington

REUTERS/Callaghan O'Hare/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsWASHINGTON, Aug 31 (Reuters) - The Biden administration is offering $12 billion in grants and loans for automakers and suppliers to retrofit their plants to produce electric and other advanced vehicles, Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm said on Thursday. "I don't know that this will have an impact on the collective bargaining," Granholm said, adding that the administration has spoken with automakers, auto workers, and communities. The administration will also offer $3.5 billion in funding to domestic battery manufacturers, Granholm said. For the advanced vehicles, $2 billion in grants will come from the Inflation Reduction Act which was passed by Democrats last year, and $10 billion in loans will derive from the Energy Department's Loans Program Office. Reporting by Timothy Gardner in Washington Editing by Bill Berkrot and Matthew LewisOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Energy Jennifer Granholm, Daniel Yergin, Callaghan O'Hare, Biden, Jennifer Granholm, Granholm, Joe Biden, Shawn Fain, Timothy Gardner, Bill Berkrot, Matthew Lewis Organizations: Energy, P Global, REUTERS, Rights, United Auto Workers, UAW, Detroit Three, Energy Department, Thomson Locations: Houston , Texas, U.S, Michigan, Michigan , Ohio , Illinois, Indiana, Belvidere , Illinois, Washington

☆ US offers $12 billion for automakers, suppliers to make advanced vehicles
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-31 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

REUTERS/Callaghan O'Hare/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsWASHINGTON, Aug 31 (Reuters) - The United States is making $12 billion available in grants and loans for automakers and suppliers to retrofit their plants to produce electric and other advanced vehicles, Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm told reporters on Thursday. The Biden administration will also offer $3.5 billion in funding to domestic battery manufacturers, Granholm said. For the advanced vehicles, $2 billion of the funding will come from the Inflation Reduction Act which Democrats passed last year, and $10 billion will come from the Energy Department's Loans Program Office, Granholm said. The automaker has left open the possibility that the factory could get a new product with government aid. Reporting by Timothy Gardner in Washington Editing by Matthew LewisOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Energy Jennifer Granholm, Daniel Yergin, Callaghan O'Hare, Jennifer Granholm, Biden, Granholm, Shawn Fain, Timothy Gardner, Matthew Lewis Organizations: Energy, P Global, REUTERS, Rights, United Auto Workers, UAW, Thomson Locations: Houston , Texas, U.S, United States, Michigan , Ohio , Illinois, Indiana, Belvidere , Illinois, Washington

☆ The odd behavior of a subatomic particle may shake up physics
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-10 | by ( Will Dunham | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

An experiment studied the wobble of subatomic particles called muons as they traveled through a magnetic field. Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory/Ryan... Read moreWASHINGTON, Aug 10 (Reuters) - The peculiar wobble of a subatomic particle called a muon in a U.S. laboratory experiment is making scientists increasingly suspect they are missing something in their understanding of physics - perhaps some unknown particle or force. The experiment studied the wobble of muons as they traveled through a magnetic field. Casey was alluding to a principle called Lorentz invariance that holds that the laws of physics are the same everywhere. The researchers shot beams of muons into a donut-shaped superconducting magnetic storage ring measuring 50 feet (15 meters) in diameter.

Persons: Ryan, Read, Brendan Casey, Casey, Rebecca Chislett, Chislett, Will Dunham, Rosalba O'Brien Organizations: . Department, Energy's Fermi, Accelerator Laboratory, Fermi, Accelerator, U.S . Energy, Fermilab, " University College London, Thomson Locations: Batavia , Illinois, U.S, WASHINGTON

☆ Ford-SK venture to get $9.2 billion US loan for battery plants
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-22 | by ( David Shepardson | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

WASHINGTON, June 22 (Reuters) - The U.S. Energy Department plans to lend up to $9.2 billion to a joint venture of Ford Motor (F.N) and South Korea's SK On to help it build three battery plants in Tennessee and Kentucky. The conditional commitment for the low-cost government loan for the BlueOval SK joint venture comes from the government's Advanced Technology Vehicles Manufacturing (ATVM) loan program. The joint venture is building three battery manufacturing facilities in Kentucky and Tennessee capable of collectively producing more than 120 gigawatt hours annually, the Energy Department said. This is the sixth loan for battery supply chain projects from the ATVM program. Last year, the department awarded a joint venture of General Motors (GM.N) and LG Energy Solution (373220.KS) $2.5 billion to help finance construction of new lithium-ion battery cell manufacturing facilities.

Persons: Jigar Shah, Dave Webb, Robert Rhee, Ford, Jim Farley, Tesla, David Shepardson, Toby Chopra, David Evans, Alexander Smith Organizations: U.S . Energy Department, Ford Motor, Korea's SK, BlueOval SK, Technology Vehicles Manufacturing, SK, South Korea's SK Innovation, Energy Department, Energy, Ford, Lincoln, Republican, Republicans, Biden, General Motors, LG Energy, Ultium Cells, Thomson Locations: Tennessee, Kentucky, South, United States, KS, Ohio , Tennessee, Michigan, Fremont , California

☆ US announces $46 million in funds to eight nuclear fusion companies
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-31 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

WASHINGTON, May 31 (Reuters) - Eight U.S. companies developing nuclear fusion energy will receive $46 million in taxpayer funding to pursue pilot plants attempting to generate power from the process that fuels the sun and stars, the Department of Energy said on Wednesday. Generating more energy from fusion reaction than goes into it has eluded scientists for decades. The Energy Department's Milestone-Based Fusion Development Program hopes to help develop pilot-scale demonstration of fusion within a decade. The awardees are:-Commonwealth Fusion Systems-Focused Energy Inc-Princeton Stellarators Inc-Realta Fusion Inc-Tokamak Energy Inc-Type One Energy Group-Xcimer Energy Inc-Zap Energy IncThe funding, which comes from the Energy Act of 2020, is for the first 18 months. Looking to launch fusion plants that use lasers or magnets, private companies and government labs spent $500 million on their supply chains last year, according to a Fusion Industry Association (FIA) survey.

Persons: Harris, Jennifer Granholm, Timothy Gardner, Matthew Lewis Organizations: U.S, Department of Energy, Energy, Biden, Harris Administration, Commonwealth Fusion Systems, Inc, Princeton Stellarators Inc, Tokamak Energy Inc, One Energy, Xcimer Energy, Fusion Industry Association, FIA, Thomson Locations: Washington

☆ Biden signs legislation to declassify certain intelligence on Covid pandemic origins
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-20 | by ( Spencer Kimball | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

President Joe Biden on Monday signed legislation requiring the Office of the Director of National Intelligence to declassify information on any possible links between a lab in China and the origins of the Covid-19 pandemic. Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines now has 90 days to declassify all information on possible links between the Wuhan Institute of Virology and the origin of Covid. The Federal Bureau of Investigation has also concluded that the pandemic likely began with a lab incident in Wuhan, China, the agency's director Christopher Wray told Fox News. The pandemic began three years ago in Wuhan, China, though it's still unknown how Covid spread to people. The intelligence community was divided in a 2021 report ordered by Biden that reviewed information on the pandemic's origins.

☆ Biden's budget proposal calls for boosting climate resilience funding
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-09 | by ( Emma Newburger | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

President Joe Biden's budget proposal for 2024 includes billions of dollars spread across federal agencies to combat climate change, with a bulk of investment going towards boosting disaster resilience and conservation, cutting pollution and advancing clean energy technologies. Among the most ambitious of Biden's funding requests is the roughly $24 billion to help build communities' resilience to climate-related disasters including floods, wildfires, storms, extreme heat and drought. The proposal also comes as the White House continues to implement provisions of the Inflation Reduction Act, the largest climate bill ever passed by Congress. The spending is spread across agencies tasked with combatting climate change, advancing climate resilience and bolstering clean energy technologies. The White House proposes $16.5 billion to support climate science and clean energy innovation, with more than $5.1 billion to fund research on climate adaptation and resilience across agencies like NASA and the Interior Department.

For 100 of those applicants, the Energy Department has hired staff to provide business development advice and "intense mentorship," Jigar Shah, head of the Energy Department's Loan Programs Office, told Reuters on the sidelines of the CERAWeek energy conference in Houston. Given the rapidly evolving technologies in the clean energy space, Shah said the department might shorten loan terms. If we think that that's a risk, then we just change the terms of the loan," Shah said. The LPO office would like more applications from electric utilities and oil and gas companies for projects designed to reduce emissions, as well as geothermal companies, Shah said. Commercial debt markets are "less interested in the more innovative approaches that (wind companies) are taking.

Wray's comments Tuesday came after Baier noted that the Energy Department had cited the FBI's earlier findings in its report. A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Mao Ning, said earlier Tuesday that China has "always been open and transparent" about Covid. In its assessment, the Energy Department also described the "likely" laboratory-related leak as an "accident," the official added. The Energy Department is one of 18 government departments and agencies that make up the U.S. intelligence community. Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., said, "China obviously is very threatened by this," but "the lab leak story is not anti-Chinese.

Feb 27 (Reuters) - The U.S. Energy Department on Monday said it will lend Li-Cycle Holdings Corp (LICY.N) $375 million as it builds a battery recycling facility in New York set to become one of the country's largest sources of lithium by next year. Senator Chuck Schumer, a New York Democrat who serves as Senate majority leader, had long advocated for Li-Cycle to receive the funding. Li-Cycle's Rochester, New York, processing facility is slated to open later this year at a cost of roughly $485 million. The Rochester facility will break down that black mass into lithium and other metals. The Energy Department in the past month has agreed to lend $2 billion to Li-Cycle peer Redwood Materials and $700 million to ioneer Ltd's (INR.AX) Rhyolite Ridge lithium mining project.

U.S. scientists have achieved “ignition” — a fusion reaction that produced more energy than it took to create — a critical milestone for nuclear fusion and a step forward in the pursuit of a nearly limitless source of clean energy, Energy Department officials said Tuesday. The process imploded a tiny capsule inside the hohlraum that is filled with deuterium and tritium, creating a fusion reaction. Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory"We have taken the first tentative steps toward a clean energy source," said Jill Hruby, the Energy Department's National Nuclear Security Administration. The Inflation Reduction Act provided millions in new funding for fusion projects and the White House this year convened the first fusion summit and developed a 10-year plan to commercialize fusion technology. A technician reviews an optic inside the preamplifier support structure at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in Livermore, Calif., in 2012.

☆ Biden grants PG&E $1.1 billion to keep Diablo Canyon nuclear plant open
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-21 | by ( Emma Newburger | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

The Biden administration on Monday said it's providing Pacific Gas & Electric Co. with a $1.1 billion grant to help the company prevent the closure of Diablo Canyon, California's last nuclear power plant. Diablo Canyon was originally scheduled to be decommissioned in two phases in 2024 and 2025, but state lawmakers in September voted to keep it open for five more years. PG&E applied for funding in the Department of Energy's initial phase of the $6 billion Civil Nuclear Credit program aimed to keep U.S. nuclear power reactors open. Diablo Canyon is California's single largest source of power, providing 8.6% of the state's total electricity and 17% of its zero-carbon electricity. Final terms of the grant are subject to negotiation and finalization, the Energy Department said, but the funding is designed to cover PG&E's anticipated losses from keeping Diablo Canyon open.

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The U.S. Energy Department's Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy, or ARPA-E, aims to develop a dozen projects to recycle spent nuclear fuel. "I don't see many really looking seriously into reprocessing," Grossi told Reuters in an interview late on Wednesday at the COP27 climate summit in Egypt. Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter had halted reprocessing of nuclear waste in 1977, citing proliferation concerns. "Nobody will be doing reprocessing without the IAEA being involved," he said, noting that any nuclear waste recycling North Korea is undertaking is an exception. The United States has spent billions of dollars over decades on a project at Yucca Mountain in Nevada to store nuclear waste.

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