Bureau of Land Management
- The Bureau of Land Management intends to sign off on a $1 billion, 690-megawatt solar farm spanning 7,100 acres near Las Vegas to serve NV Energy Inc. ratepayers, according to a final environmental review of the project. The solar farm would be the country’s largest built to date, and the BLM suggests it will approve the project after one more public comment period.
- Interior Secretary David Bernhardt signed a temporary redelegation of authority that extends the tenure of BLM acting Director William Perry Pendley through April 3.
Environmental Protection Agency
- The Environmental Protection Agency’s Scientific Advisory Board released draft letters criticizing the science that the Trump administration used to justify three major rules regarding the Waters of the United States definition, fuel economy and regulatory data disclosures. The findings of the 41 board members, many of whom were appointed under President Donald Trump, could be used against the administration in court challenges, according to legal experts.
- Data released by the EPA over the holiday season shows the backlog of unfunded Superfund clean-up projects under the Trump administration is the largest in about 15 years. The unfunded projects are located in Puerto Rico and 17 states.
Tesla
- Tesla Inc. will make its first public deliveries of Model 3 sedans produced at its Shanghai factory in China on Jan. 7 — one year after the automaker began construction on the plant, according to a Tesla representative. Company executives said the Shanghai plant reached a production goal of 1,000 units per week.
- Tesla Inc. delivered 112,000 cars in the fourth quarter of last year, bringing its 2019 delivery total to 367,500, and produced a record 104,891 vehicles during the quarter. Analysts said Tesla could deliver up to half a million cars this year.
Oil
- Oil prices increased $2.35 to $68.60 per barrel, with Brent futures jumping 3.5 percent in early trading, following a U.S. airstrike in Iraq that killed Iranian Maj. Gen. Qassem Soleimani. Brent futures rose to levels similar to those after the September attacks on oil facilities in Saudi Arabia.
- Oil companies in the Middle East began increasing security following Iran’s vow to retaliate against the United States for Soleimani’s death. Exxon Mobil Corp., which has facilities in southern Iraq, said it is monitoring the situation and has measures in place to protect its workers, while Chevron Corp., which has operations in Iraqi Kurdistan, said employee and facility safety is a priority.
Coal ash
- Duke Energy Corp. will remove almost 80 million tons of coal ash from basins in North Carolina under a settlement with state regulators, which requires Duke to completely excavate seven coal ash ponds and only partly close two others. The deal, which will save Duke about $1.5 billion, is “the most extensive” such cleanup nationwide, according to a senior attorney with the Southern Environmental Law Center, which helped negotiate the settlement.
An item in Friday morning’s Energy newsletter on House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s (D-Calif.) statement at the UN conference in Madrid occurred in December 2019, not this month.
