DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

☆ Mitch McConnell is stepping down in November. 3 men named John have long been angling to succeed him.
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-28 | by ( Bryan Metzger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

AdvertisementBut three men have long been considered to be candidates — and they're all named John. John Thune, John Barrasso, and John Cornyn. John Thune of South DakotaKevin Dietsch/Getty ImagesThune, 63, is the second-highest-ranking Senate Republican. AdvertisementJohn Barrasso of WyomingAnna Moneymaker/Getty ImagesBarrasso, 71, is the third-highest-ranking GOP senator, serving as chair of the Senate GOP conference. AdvertisementJohn Cornyn of TexasAnna MoneymakerCornyn, 72, is not in Senate GOP leadership — but he served as the conference's whip from 2013 to 2019.

Persons: —, Mitch McConnell, McConnell, Donald Trump, John, John Thune, John Barrasso, John Cornyn, John Thune of, John Thune of South Dakota Kevin Dietsch, Thune, Sen, Tim Scott, Trump, Trump's, John Barrasso of, John Barrasso of Wyoming Anna Moneymaker, He's, Barrasso, John Cornyn of, John Cornyn of Texas Anna Moneymaker Cornyn, he's, Cornyn Organizations: Service, Kentucky Republican, Business, Republican, GOP, Thune, South Dakota Republican, Senate, Safer Locations: Sens, John Thune of South Dakota, John Barrasso of Wyoming, John Cornyn of Texas, Thune, Uvalde , Texas

☆ Top Biden official at Senate hearing defends liquefied natural gas pause
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-08 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

A top U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) official on Thursday defended President Joe Biden's pause on approvals of liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports at a Senate hearing called by a fellow Democrat who said he will investigate the decision. Deputy U.S. Energy Secretary David Turk told the Senate energy committee that the DOE will finish the review as quickly as possible but it he could not predict a timeline other than it would take "months, not years." A U.S. official earlier on Thursday told Reuters "I don't think we're concerned at all about our ability to meet (European) demand." Senator Joe Manchin, a Democrat from natural gas producer West Virginia who called the hearing, said the pause sends the wrong signal to allies in Europe and Asia. The pause signals "the wrong direction for our country, a very wrong direction," Manchin said.

Persons: Energy David M, Turk, Joe Biden's, Biden, David Turk, Joe Manchin, West, Manchin Organizations: Energy, Green Energy Africa, Cape Town International Convention, U.S . Department of Energy, DOE, U.S . Energy, U.S, Thursday, Reuters, LNG Locations: Cape Town , South Africa, United States, Europe, Ukraine, West Virginia, Asia

REUTERS/Rebecca Cook/File Photo/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsWASHINGTON, Dec 1 (Reuters) - The Biden administration on Friday issued-long awaited guidance that will limit Chinese content in batteries eligible for electric vehicle tax credits starting next year. The FEOC rules come into effect in 2024 for completed batteries and 2025 for critical minerals used to produce them. Treasury said the few materials being exempted each account for less than 2% of the value of battery critical minerals. The rules are expected to further reduce the number of electric vehicles eligible for EV tax credits. Earlier this year, new battery and mineral sourcing requirements took effect with price and buyer income eligibility caps from Jan. 1.

Persons: Rebecca Cook, Biden, Joe Manchin, Manchin, David Shepardson, David Lawder, Chizu Organizations: Motors, Bolt, Orion Assembly, REUTERS, Rights, U.S, Treasury, Alliance, Automotive Innovation, Ford Motor, The Energy Department, Companies, Energy, Thomson Locations: Lake Orion , Michigan, U.S, China, Michigan, North Korea, Russia, Iran, North America, Washington

☆ U.S. to limit Chinese firms, battery parts from winning EV tax credits
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-01 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

The Biden administration on Friday issued long-awaited guidance that will limit Chinese content in batteries eligible for electric vehicle tax credits starting next year. The FEOC rules come into effect in 2024 for completed batteries and 2025 for critical minerals used to produce them. Treasury said the few materials being exempted each account for less than 2% of the value of battery critical minerals. The rules are expected to further reduce the number of electric vehicles eligible for EV tax credits. Earlier this year, new battery and mineral sourcing requirements took effect with price and buyer income eligibility caps from Jan. 1.

Persons: Joe Biden, Biden, General Motors, Ford, Marco Rubio, Joe Manchin Organizations: U.S, Treasury, Alliance, Automotive Innovation, General, Ford, Energy Department, Companies, Energy Locations: Washington , DC, China, Michigan, North Korea, Russia, Iran, North America

☆ Henry Kissinger, a dominating and polarizing force in US foreign policy, dies at 100
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-29 | by ( Paul Leblanc | Kristin Wilson | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +15 min

Alfred Eisenstaedt/Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images Kissinger takes a call in his office in the early 1970s. Bettmann Archive/Getty Images Kissinger talks with journalists on his way to meet with NATO foreign ministers. Bettmann Archive/Getty Images Kissinger, second from left, walks with Leonid Brezhnev, secretary-general of the Soviet Communist Party, in 1973. Bettmann Archive/Getty Images Kissinger looks out a window at the King David Hotel in Jerusalem in 1975. Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images Kissinger is greeted by US Sen. John McCain after a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing in 2015.

Persons: CNN — Henry Kissinger, Kissinger, Henry Kissinger, Stephen Voss, Walter, Heinz Alfred Kissinger, Henry, William P, Rogers, Alfred Eisenstaedt, Tom Blau, Richard Nixon, Nixon, Warren Burger, Alamy Kissinger, Le Duc Tho, Tho, Wally McNamee, Corbis, Zhou Enlai, Leonid Brezhnev, Dirck Halstead, Gerald Ford, Nancy, pats, King David Hotel, David Hume Kennerly, Kirk Douglas, David, Elizabeth, Mikki Ansin, Diana Walker, Peter Southwock, Princess Diana, Colin Powell, Barbara Walters, Diana, David McNew, George W, Bush, Charles Dharapak, Christian Wulff, Stephan Schraps, Hillary Clinton, Madeleine Albright, John Kerry, Chip Somodevilla, US Sen, John McCain, Tom Williams, Ash Carter, Yin Bogu, Cui Tiankai, Zhang Chaoqun, Donald Trump, Jim Watson, Andrew Harnik, Maximilian, Daniel Vogl, Xi Jinping, Nixon’s, Reagan, ” Kissinger, CNN’s Wolf Blitzer, ”, CNN’s Fareed Zakaria, “, Lincoln, Bernie Sanders, Count, ” Sanders, Clinton, “ I’ve, Zakaria Organizations: CNN, Kissinger Associates, Bettmann, Getty, Harvard University, Harvard's Center for International Affairs, National Security Council, US Arms Control, Disarmament Agency, State Department, Camera, State, Chief, Everett, Inc, Paris Peace Accords, MPI, NATO, Soviet Communist Party, Hulton, King, Times Newspapers, Concord Academy, Senate Energy, Richard, US Diplomacy Center, US, Armed Services, Nixon Library, Museum, Capitol, Science, Arts, New York’s, Nazis, United States Army, Jewish, Pentagon, CBS News, Richard Nixon Presidential Library, Republican Party Locations: Nazi Germany, Connecticut, Washington , DC, Fürth, Germany, United States, Paris, Beijing, ITAR, Washington ,, Japan, Egypt, Israel, Jerusalem, Massachusetts, Boston, New York, Yorba Linda , California, Berlin, Xinhua, AFP, Bavarian, Vietnam, China, Cambodia, Chile, Soviet, Saigon, Laos, New, Furth, Nazi, Soviet Union, South Vietnam, North Vietnam, Fuerth

☆ Ukraine Heads Into Winter With a Fragile Power Grid
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-22 | by ( Constant Méheut | More About Constant Méheut | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

As winter cold sets in across Ukraine, concerns are growing that Russia will soon resume large-scale attacks on the power grid, repeating a tactic it used last year to try to break the will of Ukrainians by plunging them into cold and darkness. Those fears are compounded by what Ukrainian experts and current and former officials say is an energy system that is more fragile than it was a year ago. In interviews, they described power plants still hobbled by Russian attacks last winter, unfinished repairs to substations and shortages of critical equipment like transformers. The Ukrainian authorities declined to provide detailed data on the current state of the power grid, saying it was sensitive information in wartime. “Not a lot has changed since then,” Victoria Voytsitska, a former lawmaker and senior member of the Ukrainian Parliament’s energy committee, said in an interview.

Persons: “, Victoria Voytsitska, ” Organizations: United Locations: Ukraine, Russia, United Nations, Ukrainian

☆ Germany's budget committee pauses 2024 budget deliberations -panel members
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-17 | by ( Maria Martinez | Thomson Reuters | Maria Martinez Is A Reuters Correspondent In Berlin Covering German Economics | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

REUTERS/Liesa Johannssen/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsBERLIN, Nov 17 (Reuters) - Germany's budget committee paused final deliberations on the 2024 draft budget early on Friday morning, according to the chief budget officers of the coalition government, after a constitutional court ruling threw negotiations into disarray. The contents of the ministries' budgets were finalised during the committee meeting, the budget officers said. On Wednesday, the constitutional court decision prompted the government to postpone the formal vote of the budget committee until next Thursday. Despite the court ruling, the 2024 budget is expected to be passed as planned at the end of the Bundestag's budget week on Dec. 1, according to members of the budget committee. The chief budget officers of the coalition government accused the opposition of refusing to cooperate in budget deliberations.

Persons: Liesa, Chancellor Olaf Scholz's, Joerg Kraemer, Friedrich Merz, Commerzbank's Kraemer, Maria Martinez, Holger Hansen, Clarence Fernandez, Gerry Doyle Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, Greens, Free Democrats, European Commission, dpa, Bundestag's Energy, CDU, CSU, Christian Democratic Union, ESF, Economic, Stabilization, Thomson Locations: Berlin, Germany, Ukraine

All three candidates vying to win the Feb. 14 election in Southeast Asia's largest economy have said they will prioritise cleaning up the power sector to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. To do that, Defence Minister Prabowo Subianto and former provincial governor Ganjar Pranowo, running neck-and-neck in recent surveys, would consider ending state-run Perusahaan Listrik Negara's (PLN) monopoly in order to allow renewable power producers to sell directly to customers. Former Jakarta governor Anies Baswedan, trailing in opinion polls, has called for improved leadership for the power sector but has not proposed breaking up PLN's monopoly. Proponents argue that opening the sector would accelerate adoption of renewables, as independent power producers will be incentivised to offer green power to companies pledging carbon neutrality. Agam, from the climate consultancy, said delaying renewable power to companies could mean lost investment.

Persons: Prabowo Subianto, Dita Alangkara, Ganjar Pranowo, Anies Baswedan, Agam Subarkah, Alexander Sonny Keraf, PLN, Prabowo, Eddy Soeparno, Soeparno, Gayatri Suroyo, Ananda Teresia, Stefanno Sulaiman, Stanley Widianto, Tony Munroe, Miral Organizations: Indonesia's Defense, Association of Southeast Asian Nations, ASEAN, REUTERS Acquire, Rights, Reuters, Defence, Former Jakarta, Cendekia, POWER WHEELING Ganjar, Thomson Locations: Jakarta, Indonesia, Rights JAKARTA, Southeast Asia's

☆ Senator asks Treasury to bar Chinese battery firms, minerals from US EV tax credits
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-13 | by ( David Shepardson | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Car miniature, "Electric vechicles (EVs)" words, U.S. and Chinese flags are seen in this illustration taken, September 26, 2023. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration Acquire Licensing RightsWASHINGTON, Nov 13 (Reuters) - Democratic Senator Joe Manchin urged the U.S. Treasury on Monday to adopt the "strictest possible standards" to prevent Chinese-produced minerals or Chinese battery companies from winning electric vehicle tax credits. In 2022, Congress passed the Inflation Reduction Act barring $7,500 in future consumer EV tax credits if any battery components are manufactured or assembled by a "foreign entity of concern." The foreign entity of concern rules come into effect in 2024 for completed batteries and 2025 for critical minerals used to produce them. A key decision in the guidance is whether Ford Motor Co's (F.N) deal to license the technology of Chinese battery manufacturer CATL (300750.SZ) for use in Ford-owned U.S. battery plants will meet the Treasury's standards to access the tax credits.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, Joe Manchin, Manchin, Janet Yellen, Ford, David Shepardson, Chris Reese, Jonathan Oatis Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, Democratic, U.S . Treasury, Energy Committee, Treasury, Ford, Thomson Locations: China, Michigan

☆ Senators urge US to take steps to boost battery production, citing China
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-06 | by ( David Shepardson | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Workers are seen at the production line of lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles (EV) at a factory in Huzhou, Zhejiang province, China August 28, 2018. REUTERS/Stringer/ File photo Acquire Licensing RightsWASHINGTON, Nov 6 (Reuters) - Two influential Democratic U.S. senators urged the Energy Department to take steps to boost U.S. battery manufacturing and next-generation battery research, citing China's dominance and export controls, according to a letter seen by Reuters. China dominates the global EV battery supply chain including production of graphite - the single largest component. The letter wants a committee briefing by Dec. 1 "on ongoing research and development of next-generation battery technologies." China accounts for 70% of the global production of lithium-ion batteries, the letter said, noting of five critical minerals required for most lithium-ion batteries, China "controls between 60-100% of the mining or refining for these minerals."

Persons: Stringer, Mark Warner, Joe Manchin, China's, Jennifer Granholm, David Shepardson, Leslie Adler, Stephen Coates Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, Democratic U.S, Energy Department, Reuters, Senate, Energy, Pentagon, Department of Defense, Thomson Locations: Huzhou, Zhejiang province, China, United States, Asia, U.S

☆ Who was Lewis Strauss, the villain played by Robert Downey Jr. who tried to frame J. Robert Oppenheimer as a communist?
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-24 | by ( Sebastian Cahill | Hannah Getahun | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Lewis Strauss oversaw J. Robert Oppenheimer as chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission. Strauss used Oppenheimer's communist sympathies to begin stripping his security clearances. However, Strauss was the first to take serious action about Oppenheimer's Communist accusations. The film reenacts another instance when Strauss feels Oppenheimer slighted him — as Oppenheimer and Albert Einstein, played by Tom Conti, speak by a pond after Strauss offers Oppenheimer a prestigious job at the Institute for Advanced Study. Strauss also began a separate security proceeding with the AEC over Oppenheimer's alleged Communist ties, which resulted in his security clearances being suspended.

Persons: Lewis Strauss, J, Robert Oppenheimer, Strauss, Nolan's, Oppenheimer, Robert Downey Jr, J.Robert Oppenheimer, Herbert Hoover, Cillian Murphy, Murphy, Harry Truman, Eisenhower, Jean Tatlock, Florence Pugh, —, Albert Einstein, Tom Conti, Einstein, Edgar Hoover, surveilling Oppenheimer, Oppenheimer's, Hoover, William Liscum Borden, Nolan, David Dastmalchian, Downey, Christopher Nolan, Amadeus, that's, Mozart, Salieri, Emily Blunt, Kitty Organizations: Atomic Energy Commission, Service, US Navy, AEC, —, Manhattan Project, Institute for, FBI, Joint Atomic Energy, Commerce, Democrats, Rotten, The New York Times Locations: Wall, Silicon, West Virginia, Nolan's, Soviet Union, Canada

☆ 'Oppenheimer' fact v. fiction: A nuclear historian breaks down what the movie got right and wrong
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-21 | by ( Jenny Mcgrath | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +18 min

J. Robert Oppenheimer was an immensely complex figure, and the movie's based on a biography of him. Fact: Oppenheimer mocked Strauss about isotopesJ. Robert Oppenheimer testifies before the Senate in October 1945. Fact: A big thunderstorm delayed the Trinity TestOppenheimer (Cillian Murphy) stands next to the test bomb in "Oppenheimer." If it weren't for the atomic bomb, Oppenheimer would likely be best known for bolstering theoretical physics at the University of California, Berkeley. Fiction: Oppenheimer consulted Einstein about Teller's calculations(L-R) Tom Conti as Albert Einstein and Cillian Murphy as J. Robert Oppenheimer in "Oppenheimer."

Persons: Christopher Nolan's, Oppenheimer, Robert Oppenheimer, J, Alex Wellerstein, Kai Bird, Martin Sherwin, Wellerstein, Niels Bohr wasn't, Patrick Blackett, Bird, Sherwin, Blackett, Niels Bohr, Ernest Rutherford, Bohr, Oppenheimer's, Cillian Murphy, Abraham Pais, Baudelaire, e.e, cummings, who's, Haakon Chevalier, Peter, Peter Oppenheimer, Kitty, Haakon, Barbara Chevalier, Robert, Perro, Werner Heisenberg, peppering Bohr, Heisenberg, Strauss, David Hill, Lewis Strauss, Dwight D, David Inglis, Inglis, I've, Arthur Compton, Trinity Test Oppenheimer, Jack Hubbard, Leslie Groves, Hubbard, Feynman, Richard Feynman, I'm, Groves, Robert Serber, David Bohm, Philip Morrison, Willis Lamb, Hitler, Hartland Snyder, Kip Thorne, John Wheeler, Roger Penrose, Penrose, Murphy, Trinity, there's, —, Karl T, Compton, Stimson, Henry Stimson, that's, Harry Truman, Wallenstein, Einstein, Tom Conti, Albert Einstein, Melinda Sue Gordon, Edward Teller, Hans Bethe, Enrico Fermi, Bethe, Roger Robb, He's, Teller, Stanislaw Ulam, Gordon Dean, Charlotte Serber, Charlotte Serber's, she's, Serber Organizations: Service, Manhattan Project's Los Alamos Laboratory, Stevens Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Eisenhower's, Federation of American Scientists, Time, Atomic Energy Committee, Trinity Test, Trinity, Los, University of California, Clovis, National Security Research, Manhattan Project . National Security Research, FBI Locations: Wall, Silicon, England, Leiden, Holland, New Mexico, Perro Caliente, Los Pinos , New Mexico, Germany, Nazi, Denmark, Sweden, Los Alamos, Europe, Berkeley, Poland, Amarillo , Texas, Japan, Kyoto, Alamos

☆ EU Parliament delays renewable energy vote after late backlash
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-22 | by ( Kate Abnett | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BRUSSELS, May 22 (Reuters) - The European Parliament has delayed a planned vote to approve new EU renewable energy targets, after France and other countries lodged last-minute opposition to the law last week, according to an internal email seen by Reuters. The vote in the Parliament's energy committee had been due to take place on Tuesday. The European Union is attempting to finalise a key pillar of its climate agenda - a law containing a binding goal for the EU to get 42.5% of its energy from renewable sources by 2030. Parliament had been due to hold a first vote on Tuesday, followed by a final vote in July. The EU Parliament and EU countries' approval of the law was supposed to be a formality, after negotiators from both sides agreed what was supposed to be a final deal earlier this year.

☆ Republicans ask watchdog to assess US oil reserve management
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] The Bryan Mound Strategic Petroleum Reserve, an oil storage facility, is seen in this aerial photograph over Freeport, Texas, U.S., April 27, 2020. REUTERS/Adrees Latif/File PhotoWASHINGTON, May 8 (Reuters) - Two Republicans on Monday asked a congressional watchdog to assess the Biden administration's management of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve and audit its modernization program, saying sales from the SPR have undermined U.S. energy security. Over about six months last year, the Biden administration conducted a record sale of 180 million barrels of oil to combat high gasoline prices after Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The Biden administration wrote to lawmakers last month, saying the sales did not damage the SPR. The lawmakers said they were concerned about delays and cost overruns in the SPR modernization program authorized by Congress in 2015.

[1/2] Solar panels are built at the QCells solar energy manufacturing factory in Dalton, Georgia, U.S., March 2, 2023. The Inflation Reduction Act, which passed last year without a single Republican vote, is a signature Biden accomplishment and offers $369 billion investment to address climate change. This includes $270 billion in tax incentives. Republicans have portrayed the tax credits as a distortion of the free market that gives unfair advantage to clean-energy producers over fossil fuels. Frisone, of CZAR-Power, said he plans to call Republican officeholders to make his case, adding, "This is a political stunt -- why are we doing it?"

WASHINGTON, March 31 (Reuters) - The U.S. Treasury Department on Friday unveiled stricter electric vehicle tax rules that will reduce or cut tax credits on some zero-emission models but grant buyers another two weeks before the new requirements take effect. The EV battery sourcing guidance issued on Friday triggers new requirements for critical minerals and battery components and takes effect for vehicle purchases starting April 18. The government will publish by April 18 a revised list of qualifying models and tax credit amounts. The $430 billion Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) signed by Biden in August eliminated manufacturer's EV sales caps but imposed new conditions on EV credits. Republican Senator Marco Rubio introduced legislation this month seeking to block EV tax credits for batteries produced using Chinese technology, saying it would "significantly restrict the eligibility of IRA tax credits and prevent Chinese companies from benefiting."

☆ Manchin threatens to sue US Treasury over EV tax credit rules
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-30 | by ( David Shepardson | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

WASHINGTON, March 29 (Reuters) - Senate Energy Committee Chair Joe Manchin said on Wednesday he may go to court after the U.S. Treasury releases guidance later this week on battery sourcing guidance for electric vehicle tax credits. Manchin said he is most concerned about how Treasury will classify processing and manufacturing in determining eligibility for $7,500 EV tax credits. Manchin, who has often pushed fossil fuel industry interests in Congress, says he is trying to move the EV battery supply chain from China. Reuters reported earlier the Treasury battery sourcing rules for electric vehicle tax credits, due out by Friday, will result in fewer vehicles qualifying for full or partial credits. The EV rules are part of a $430 billion bill passed by Democrats in August to cut climate emissions and reduce drug costs, dubbed the Inflation Reduction Act.

☆ US battery sourcing guidance to cut some EV tax credits -official
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-29 | by ( David Shepardson | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

WASHINGTON, March 29 (Reuters) - The U.S. Treasury Department's long-awaited guidance on battery sourcing requirements for electric vehicle tax credits due out by Friday will result in fewer vehicles getting full or partial credits, a U.S. official told Reuters. The Biden administration believes that over time the tax credit will result in more EVs sold as automakers revamp supply chains to meet critical mineral and battery component rules, the official said. It is not immediately clear when or how many EVs will lose tax credits or see them cut. On Tuesday, the United States and Japan on Tuesday signed a trade deal on EV battery minerals, which will grant Japanese automakers wider access to a new $7,500 U.S. EV tax credit. Some of those vehicles may see credits decline after the battery guidance takes effect.

☆ Democratic Sen. Manchin threatens legal action over Treasury EV battery guidance
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

WASHINGTON, March 29 (Reuters) - Senate Energy Committee Chair Joe Manchin said on Wednesday he may go to court after the U.S. Treasury releases guidance later this week on battery sourcing guidance for electric vehicle tax credits. "If it goes off the rails," and if it violates the intent of the climate legislation approved in August, "I will do whatever I can -- if that means going to court and I can do it, I'd do it," said Manchin, a Democrat. Manchin said he is most concerned about how Treasury will classify processing and manufacturing in determining eligibility for $7,500 EV tax credits. Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Leslie AdlerOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Indonesian officials call for audit after Pertamina fire kills 13
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/3] Firefighters try to extinguish a fire at a fuel storage station operated by Indonesia's state energy company Pertamina, in Jakarta, Indonesia, March 3, 2023. REUTERS/Willy KurniawanCompanies Pertamina (Persero) PT FollowJAKARTA, March 4 (Reuters) - Indonesian officials called for an investigation and an audit of state energy company Pertamina's (PERTM.UL) facilities after a fire at its storage facility killed 13. "I have ordered Pertamina to immediately investigate this case thoroughly," State-Owned Enterprise Minister Erick Thohir said via his Instagram page. Sugeng Suparwoto, who heads parliament's energy committee, called for an audit of Pertamina's facilities. Sugeng also said there should be a bigger distance between Pertamina's storage facilities and residential areas.

☆ EU lawmakers' body agrees on safeguards against illegal data transfers
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-09 | by ( Foo Yun Chee | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BRUSSELS, Feb 9 (Reuters) - A key committee at the European Parliament on Thursday agreed to stringent safeguards to prevent non-EU governments from gaining illegal access to EU data, drawing criticism from a tech lobbying group. EU concerns about data transfers have grown since former U.S. intelligence contractor Edward Snowden in 2013 revealed mass U.S. surveillance. The committee introduced safeguards against unlawful international data transfer by cloud service providers and set stricter conditions on business-to-government data requests. Tech trade association ITI said lawmakers may be going too far with provisions restricting transfers of non-personal data that exceed those set out under EU privacy rules for personal data. "Data flows are the backbone of the digital economy and allow companies to reach consumers and access new markets.

☆ Yellen touts battery investments in Tennessee after Biden speech
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-08 | by ( David Lawder | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/2] U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen gives a speech after she visited the House of Slaves (Maison des Esclaves) at Goree Island off the coast of Dakar, Senegal January 21, 2023. "The Inflation Reduction Act is offering meaningful tax credits to spur clean energy investment and production. Importantly, the law deliberately encourages place-based investments," Yellen said in excerpts of remarks for delivery at the Ultium Cells plant. EUROPEAN COMPLAINTSBut European and Asian allies have complained that the Inflation Reduction Act's tax subsidies will pull green investments away from those regions toward the United States. Le Maire also said that U.S. rules on the tax credits, now being finalized by Yellen's staff, should be made available to a "maximum" of European components.

☆ U.S. Treasury secretary to visit GM JV battery plant in Tennessee
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-06 | by ( David Shepardson | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

WASHINGTON, Feb 6 (Reuters) - Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen will visit a General Motors (GM.N) LG Energy Solution (373220.KS) joint venture battery cell manufacturing plant in Tennessee on Wednesday to tout rising U.S. electric vehicle and battery production, the department said Monday. The 2.8-million-square-foot, $2.6 billion Ultium Cells plant in Spring Hill, Tennessee, is set to begin production later this year and is the second of three planned JV plants. The plant is expected to eventually employ 1,700 people and will produce cells for the Cadillac Lyriq, which is produced at the adjacent GM assembly plant. Yellen and other Cabinet officials are traveling this week to tout the IRA's boosting of green energy manufacturing and battery production. China currently produces 70% of batteries for electric vehicles, Treasury said.

☆ U.S. Senator blocks bid to close EV tax window
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-27 | by ( David Shepardson | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

WASHINGTON, Jan 26 (Reuters) - Senator Debbie Stabenow thwarted a bid on Thursday by fellow Democrat Joe Manchin to pass a measure that would block some electric vehicles from receiving a $7,500 tax credit. The $430 billion U.S. Inflation Reduction Act passed in August restricts the $7,500 consumer tax credits to North American-made EVs and imposes new battery sourcing rules and again made General Motors (GM.N) and Tesla (TSLA.O) eligible for EV tax credits. That drew Manchin's ire, who proposed legislation on Wednesday to make the battery tax credit requirements retroactive to Jan. 1. Automakers need more time to meet battery sourcing requirements, she said. The "March target release date for battery sourcing guidance reflects the time that has been needed to work through significant complexities."

☆ Bill Gates-backed nuclear demonstration project in Wyoming delayed because Russia was the only fuel source
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-16 | by ( Catherine Clifford | In Catclifford | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

An artist rendering of the advanced nuclear power reactor demonstration project that Bill Gates' nuclear innovation company, TerraPower, plans to build in the frontier-era coal town, Kemmerer, Wyoming. TerraPower's advanced reactor demonstration will face delays of at least two years because its only source of fuel was Russia, and the Ukraine war has closed the door on that trade relationship. Wyoming Senator John Barrasso, a Republican, thinks it's a wake-up call for the U.S."America must reestablish itself as the global leader in nuclear energy," Barrasso said in a written statement. "Instead of relying on our adversaries like Russia for uranium, the United States must produce its own supply of advanced nuclear fuel." Barrasso also sent a letter to the Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm to urge the United States to move faster in securing a source of HALEU.

Search resuls for: "Energy Committee"

25 mentions found