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[1/3] Young boys carry plastic as they look for items to salvage from the Nasolo river in Ndirande township in Blantyre, Malawi March 15, 2023. REUTERS/Eldson ChagaraBLANTYRE/MAPUTO, March 15 (Reuters) - Malawi and Mozambique were racing to rescue survivors from Tropical Cyclone Freddy on Wednesday as the death toll rose above 270 from one of the most powerful storms recorded in the southern hemisphere. In neighbouring Mozambique at least 21 people had died as of Tuesday, according to the disaster agency. The overall death toll since Freddy first made landfall in February is now estimated at more than 270 in Malawi, Mozambique and Madagascar. We've rescued thousands but thousands more are still unreachable," said disaster agency spokesperson Paulo Tomas by telephone from Quelimane.

☆ Why a U.S. national electric grid would be great for the climate — and is nearly impossible
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-22 | by ( Catherine Clifford | In Catclifford | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +15 min

But the energy grid in the U.S. has developed over decades as a patchwork of thousands of individual utilities serving their own local regions. The Department of Energy is in the process of conducting a National Transmission Planning Study,to look into all of this. "Many mid-U.S. states have excellent wind resources, and the southwest U.S. has excellent solar resources, but the population is insufficient to use them," McCalley told CNBC. Finally, improved energy sharing would also lead to a more reliable energy grid for consumers. At the kickoff for its next round of transmission planning, MISO had a three hour planning meeting with 377 people in the meeting.

☆ Factbox: Potential winners and losers from the new U.S. EV charging standards
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

EV CHARGING COMPANIES: Many, including Volkswagen's (VOWG_p.DE) Electrify America, ChargePoint(CHPT.N) and EVGo (EVGO.O), will accelerate the rollout of chargers due to the federal funding. U.S. EV AUTO SECTOR: The rollout of more charging stations will encourage EV adoption in the United States. INTERSTATE HIGHWAY REST STOPS: They could see an influx of investment as companies establish charging stations along heavily traveled routes. TESLA: Under the new charging standards, the White House said EV market leader Tesla (TSLA.O) has agreed to open part of its U.S. charging network to EVs made by rivals. EV CHARGING COMPANIES: While the charging companies get financial support in their expansion efforts, only a handful of the dozen who commented to the Biden administration ahead of Wednesday's announcement said that they could meet the "Buy American" standards under the proposed timelines.

☆ Instant View: New Biden EV charger rules stress Made In America, force Tesla changes
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

The White House seeks to give consumers unfettered access to a growing coast-to-coast network of EV charging stations, including Tesla Inc's (TSLA.O) SuperChargers. KEVIN DEMPSEY, PRESIDENT AND CEO OF THE AMERICAN IRON AND STEEL INSTITUTE"The domestic steel industry is prepared to play a strong role in the expansion of our national EV charging infrastructure. "It was a surprise to us that they would require assembly immediately given that domestic manufacturing for high-power charging infrastructure is starting basically from scratch. BRENDAN JONES, PRESIDENT AT CHARGING STATION OPERATOR BLINK CHARGING"These rules are absolutely in line with Blink's expectations. EV MAKER FISKER"Fisker supports a strategy that allows all charging providers to expand the charging network across the US as fast as possible.

It seeks to give consumers unfettered access to a growing coast-to-coast network of EV charging stations, including Tesla Inc's (TSLA.O) SuperChargers. Tesla, the nation's largest EV maker and charging company, plans to adopt the CCS standard and expand beyond its proprietary connectors, the administration said. The United States and its allies Mexico and the European Union (EU) have clashed over protectionist policies implemented by Biden. The United States and the EU set up a task force last year to look at American laws that Europeans fear will discriminate against foreign electric car makers. EV chargers require iron and steel for some of their most crucial parts, including the internal structural frame, heating and cooling fans and the power transformer.

SAN FRANCISCO, Feb 15 (Reuters) - Tesla (TSLA.O) will open part of its U.S. charging network to electric vehicles (EVs) made by rivals as part of a $7.5 billion federal program to electrify the nation's highways to cut carbon emissions, the Biden administration said on Wednesday. There are also nearly 10,000 "destination" chargers with Tesla plugs that can recharge a vehicle overnight. Opening up access to Tesla's network would be a quick win for an ambitious federal program to build 500,000 EV chargers by 2030, up from 130,000 currently. Administration officials did not say whether a contract has been signed, but federal officials will control disbursement of about a third of the $7.5 billion federal program. Chris Harto, a senior policy analyst at Consumer Reports, said, "There is no doubt the $7.5 billion in federal charging investment threatens Tesla's competitive advantage.

[1/3] A Tesla is charged at an electric car supercharger station in Los Angeles, California, U.S. August 2, 2018. A dearth of chargers on U.S. roads has slowed the growth of EV sales and the positive environmental impact, advocates say. In January of last year, Tesla wrote the Federal Highway Administration, offering the Biden administration suggestions on how to shape the charging program. In Ohio, the company responded to a recent request that companies submit charging proposals, state officials told Reuters. The Department of Transportation next week will detail final requirements that all electric vehicle chargers must meet to be eligible for funding under the $7.5 billion effort to electrify highways and interstates across the nation.

SAO PAULO, Jan 10 (Reuters) - Brazilian power company Eletrobras (ELET6.SA) is investigating whether the collapse of two transmission towers is related to anti-government riots on Sunday after finding signs of sabotage, according to two people familiar with the probe. The towers - one of which fell on Sunday and the other in the early hours of Monday - were operated by Eletrobras subsidiaries Furnas and Eletronorte. Eletrobras, the mines and energy ministry and regulatory agency Aneel have set up a crisis committee to monitor potential threats to Brazil's power grid, according to a third source. A third tower operated by power transmission company Evoltz also collapsed, according to a report by Brazil's National Electric System Operator (ONS) on Tuesday. Eletrobras, Furnas and Evoltz did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

WASHINGTON, Jan 4 (Reuters) - Albert Gore III, a former Tesla public policy employee, has been named executive director of the Zero Emission Transportation Association (ZETA), the Washington-based group said on Wednesday. Congress in 2021 approved $5 billion for EV charging stations and in August passed new electric vehicle tax credits. "Lots of work ahead, starting with implementation of the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Program and new industrial policies in the Inflation Reduction Act," said Gore in a LinkedIn post. Gore worked for Tesla for nearly seven years in public policy and business development. The IRA lifts the 200,000-vehicle per manufacturer cap that had made Tesla and General Motors (GM.N) ineligible for EV tax credits.

☆ China's economy looks different than it was going into the pandemic
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-22 | by ( Evelyn Cheng | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

China's exports started to fall year-on-year in October — for the first time since May 2020, according to Wind Information. Net exports had supported China's GDP growth over the last several years, contributing as much as 1.7 percentage points in 2021, the analysts said. But China's exports to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations have picked up, surpassing those to the U.S. and EU on a monthly basis in November, according to customs data. They expect ASEAN's GDP growth to rebound in 2023, while the U.S. and EU spend part of next year in recession. Jin pointed out that China's car exports, especially of electric cars and related parts, helped support overall exports this year.

Elon Musk's Twitter profile is seen on a smartphone placed on printed Twitter logos in this picture illustration taken April 28, 2022. Taibbi has an exclusive podcast deal with Musk's friend and Twitter investor David Sacks via his podcasting platform, Callin. Taibbi and Weiss both write newsletters on Substack, which is partly funded by Andreessen Horowitz, a co-investor in Twitter with Musk. Musk has even gone so far as to say that Twitter, which he now owns and leads, interfered with U.S. elections. During a Twitter Spaces discussion, Musk suggested more files would be released regarding how Twitter handled the 2020 presidential election, the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol and the Covid-19 pandemic.

☆ Tesla stock has dropped more than 35% since Elon Musk first said he'd buy Twitter
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-04 | by ( Lora Kolodny | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

(Photo by Gotham/Getty Images)Since Tesla CEO Elon Musk announced his bid to buy social network Twitter , shares in his electric vehicle maker have dipped by more than 35%, and closed down just 3.6% for the day on Friday, amid a market rally that followed a volatile week. Musk first announced he had agreed to buy Twitter on April 25, 2022. Tesla shares closed that day at $332.67, and closed today at $207.47 capping his first full week of Twitter ownership. He has not said who, if anyone, may replace him as Twitter CEO, although he has told followers on Twitter that his position as sole director and CEO of the social network is temporary. Musk's ownership of the social network has caused some automakers, including GM and Audi, to pause ad spending there.

☆ Cuba is in the middle of an escalating tug-of-war between Russia, U.S.
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-27 | by ( Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +8 min

It also once again thrust the Caribbean island into the middle of an escalating tug-of-war between its seaside neighbor, the United States, and ally, Russia. The sales also potentially alleviated the weight of international sanctions on Russia for its invasion of Ukraine. Until the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991, the Soviets sold Cuba oil well below market price. A double hit to its power gridPreexisting economic turmoil and blackouts came to a head this fall when Cuba’s power grid took a double hit. Increased sales to China, India and even Cuba have helped Russia ease the economic brunt of sanctions.

☆ Shell ties up with renewables firm for Australia battery storage project
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SYDNEY, Oct 14 (Reuters) - Shell Energy Australia, global oil and gas major Shell Plc's (SHEL.L) renewable energy business in the country, and AMPYR Australia (AMPYR) signed an agreement to develop a battery energy storage system, the companies said on Friday. The proposed 500 megawatt (MW) battery project will be built in the central west region of Australia's New South Wales (NSW) state, Singapore-based renewable energy firm AMPYR said. "(This) will be one of the largest battery storage projects in NSW, contributing to the reliability of the national electricity market and further advancing Australia's clean energy future," AMPYR Director Ben Salmon said. The environmental impact statement of the battery energy storage system project is expected to be released for public consultation later this month. Battery energy storage is essential for preventing blackouts — amid coal-fired plants being retired in Australia — as it can absorb energy during the day when prices are cheap and release the energy when wind and solar power are not available, typically when prices are higher.

☆ Strikes, possible blackouts and a plunging currency: Brits are being hit by a wave of bad news
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-13 | by ( Elliot Smith | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

'The recession has begun' The U.K. is the only G-7 economy not to have re-attained its pre-pandemic GDP level by the second quarter of 2022, Citibank Chief U.K. The ONS said GDP was only just returning to its pre-pandemic level, highlighting the challenge facing Prime Minister Liz Truss' "growth, growth, growth" agenda. "We now believe the recession in the U.K. has begun in the third quarter of 2022 and will likely last for three quarters. "The cost of living crisis is having a detrimental effect on individuals, not only financially, but physically and mentally too." Members of the CWU (Communication Workers Union) also continue to strike, including 115,000 postal employees of former state monopoly Royal Mail.

☆ Russia is bruised as winter approaches. Can Ukraine land another blow?
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-13 | by ( Rob Picheta | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +13 min

That blast, which was used by the Kremlin as a justification for Monday’s onslaught, bruised the Russian psyche and handed Ukraine a significant strategic boost. And the airborne strikes distract from what has been a dismal stretch for Russia in the ground war. They were “an indication of the nature of the threat from Russia,” Giles said. “The reopening of a northern front would be another new challenge for Ukraine,” Giles said. Beyond weapons supplies, Ukraine will be watching to ensure that Western resolve stays firm if Russia tightens energy supplies even further.

☆ Hurricane Ian strengthens to Category 4 storm as it barrels toward Florida
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-28 | by ( Tim Stelloh | Tim Stelloh Is A Breaking News Reporter For Nbc News Digital. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +3 min

Hurricane Ian strengthened to a powerful Category 4 storm as it bore down on Florida’s Gulf Coast Wednesday after knocking out power to all of Cuba. Traffic moves slowly Tuesday on Interstate 4 East in Four Corners, Fla., as residents evacuate the Gulf Coast of Florida in advance of the arrival of Hurricane Ian. Win McNamee / Getty ImagesMore than 2 million people along Florida’s Gulf Coast were under evacuation orders, DeSantis said. The latest on Hurricane Ian The Category 4 storm was 75 miles from Naples, on Florida's Gulf Coast, early Wednesday. Ian was producing storm surge flooding early Wednesday across the lower Florida Keys.

☆ Cuba entirely without power after Hurricane Ian
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

HAVANA, Sept 27 (Reuters) - Cuba's electrical grid collapsed late on Tuesday, leaving the entire country without power shortly after the passage of Hurricane Ian, which ravaged the western end of the island with violent winds and flooding. Lázaro Guerra, Technical Director of the Electric Union of Cuba, said a failure in the national electric system, in part associated with the storm, had affected infrastructure, state-run media reported. Guerra said the union would work through the night and early Wednesday to restore power. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterReporting by Dave Sherwood; Editing by Sandra MalerOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Cuba slowly begins to restore power after Hurricane Ian knocks out grid
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-28 | by ( Dave Sherwood | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

REUTERS/Alexandre MeneghiniHAVANA, Cuba, Sept 28 (Reuters) - Cuba had slowly begun to restore power across the eastern end of the island, the state electricity provider said early on Wednesday, after Hurricane Ian caused the country's grid to collapse, turning off the lights for more than 11 million people. But officials said Hurricane Ian had proven too much, knocking out power even in far eastern Cuba, which was largely unaffected by the storm. By early morning Wednesday, officials said some power had been restored to the areas with the least storm damage. Further west in Cuba, nearer the capital Havana, the process would be slower and more "complicated," the generator said. Ian, which left a swath of destruction and at least two dead across western Cuba, has now strengthened into an extremely dangerous Category 4 hurricane, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said on Wednesday.

☆ All 50 states get green light to build EV charging stations covering 75,000 miles of highways
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-27 | by ( Emma Newburger | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

The U.S. Transportation Department on Tuesday said it approved electric vehicle charging station plans for all 50 states, Washington D.C. and Puerto Rico covering roughly 75,000 miles of highways. Under the plan, entitled the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Formula Program, states provided their EV infrastructure deployment plans to the Joint Office of Energy and Transportation. States are now approved to build a network of EV charging stations along designated alternative fuel corridors on the national highway system and have access to more than $1.5 billion to help build the chargers. It's unclear how many charging stations the funds will support, and states have not yet shared specific charger locations. Transportation Department officials have said that states should install stations every 50 miles and ensure each station is located within one mile of an interstate highway.

☆ Germany Readies Electricity Price Cap as Economic Pain Mounts
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-26 | by ( Bojan Pancevski | Kim Mackrael | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

BERLIN—Germany is preparing to introduce a national electricity price cap this fall if the European Union fails to agree on a similar move for the entire bloc, according to government officials. The cap would shield consumers and businesses from further increases in energy prices triggered by the economic war between Russia and the West over Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.

☆ Europe's energy crisis has gotten so bad that French power stations are being allowed to break environmental rules as a fresh heatwave looks set to cause more chaos
▼ + stars: | 2022-08-09 | by ( Beatrice Nolan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

French power stations are reportedly being allowed to break environmental rules to stay open, per Bloomberg. In France, the crisis is so bad that power stations are being permitted to break environmental rules to stay open as the country struggles to maintain national energy supplies, according to a report from Bloomberg. The waiver, reportedly in place until September, allows Electricite de France to keep the energy plants operating amid national pressure on supply. In France, rivers and waterways are used to cool power plants. Under the current environmental rules, nuclear plants must reduce or stop output when river temperatures reach a point at which use by the plants may harm the environment, per Bloomberg.

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