Tennessee U.S. Representative Scott DesJarlais (R-TN-04) was appointed chairman of the U.S. House Armed Services Subcommittee on Strategic Forces on Tuesday.
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Tennessee U.S. Rep. Andy Ogles’ Bill Prohibiting New Energy Standards on Clothes Washers Passes House
The U.S. House of Representatives passed Tennessee U.S. Representative Andy Ogles’ (R-TN-05) Liberty in Laundry Act on Tuesday by a 215-200 vote.
Read the full storyBiden Admin Cuts $85 Million Check to Boost Production of Green Appliance Despite Cratering Demand
The Biden administration is deploying roughly $85 million to boost production of a green appliance despite plummeting consumer demand, according to a Wednesday press release from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE).
The White House on Wednesday announced nearly $85 million in grants for four producers of electric heat pumps, the DOE wrote in a statement. The announcement comes despite cratering demand for the electric appliance, with total U.S. shipments of the product falling 16 percent in 2023 despite the federal tax credit being raised from $300 to $2,000 in January 2023, according to a study from the University of California Berkeley’s Haas School of Business.
Read the full storyFederal Judge Pauses Biden’s Partial Liquefied Natural Gas Export Ban
A federal judge on Monday temporarily blocked the Biden administration’s ban on new exports of liquified natural gas exports to non-free trade agreement countries.
Judge James Cain Jr. of the Western District of Louisiana issued a preliminary injunction against the U.S. Department of Energy’s partial LNG export ban after more than a dozen states sued, arguing the ban was illegal.
Read the full storyAirlines Launch Effort Backing Green Jet Fuel Tax Credit that Could Raise Food Prices for Americans
A coalition of major airlines has formed a group supporting a tax credit pushed by President Joe Biden that experts say could jack up food prices.
More than 40 companies, including Boeing, American Airlines, JetBlue and United as well as ethanol trade groups, are pushing the federal government to “expand” existing tax credits for “sustainable aviation fuel” (SAF) and to pass legislation to increase the fuel’s availability, Axios reported. Corn-based ethanol is a common component in SAF and experts previously told the Daily Caller News Foundation that increasing the demand for corn by incentivizing its use in jet fuel could indirectly raise food costs for Americans.
Read the full storyOhio Senate Wants Biden’s New Natural Gas Policy Stopped
Oil and gas groups, along with labor associations, have applauded the Ohio Senate for pushing back against the Biden administration’s pause in natural gas permitting.
Senate Resolution 121 unanimously passed with an amendment that amplifies the importance of U.S. liquefied natural gas to the economy, national security and position in the world.
Read the full storyTennessee AG Skrmetti Pushes Back Against Department of Energy Proposal Targeting Consumer Boilers
Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti led a coalition of 20 other attorneys general in drafting a comment letter in opposition to a new U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) proposal regarding consumer boilers.
Read the full storyTennessee AG Pushes Back on the Biden Administration’s Proposed Rule on Water Heaters
Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti filed another public comment opposing the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) latest rule to set new efficiency standards for consumer water heaters.
The DOE’s rule, proposed in July, would “prescribe energy conservation standards for various consumer products and certain commercial and industrial equipment, including consumer water heaters,” according to the department.
Read the full storyTwo Vanderbilt Assistant Professors Receive Research Funding from the U.S. Department of Energy
Two assistant professors in the department of physics and astronomy at Vanderbilt University have been selected to receive funding for research as part of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Early Career Research Program.
Read the full storyTennessee Rep. Applauds Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s New Director Appointment
Tennessee U.S. Representative Chuck Fleischmann (R-TN-03) applauded the recent appointment of Dr. Stephen K. Streiffer to be the next director of the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL).
Read the full storyBiden Admin Gives Ford, Foreign Company Whopping $9 Billion Loan for EV Plants
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) on Thursday announced a conditional loan of up to $9.2 billion to a joint electric vehicle venture between Ford and Korean battery maker SK On.
When combined with state subsidies offered to the joint venture, known as BlueOval SK, the record-breaking loan means that taxpayers will be financing nearly the entire $11.4 billion investment by Ford and SK, according to Blomberg. The loan is the latest in a series of increasingly large offers from the DOE’s Loan Program Office (LPO), which had its lending authority surge to $400 billion — more than 10 times the $33 billion it has issued since 2009 —following the passage of President Joe Biden’s signature climate law, the Inflation Reduction Act.
Read the full storyDOE and EPA Awards TVA After Implementing Rolling Blackouts for Failing to Meet Energy Demand During Christmas Weekend
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) selected the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) as one of the ENERGY STAR Partners of the Year in energy efficiency for 2023.
The ENERGY STAR program honors a “group of businesses and organizations that have made outstanding contributions to protecting the environment through superior energy achievements,” according to the program’s description on the EPA and DOE websites.
Read the full storyFirst U.S. Nuclear-Powered Data Center, Bitcoin Mine Coming to Pennsylvania
The country’s first nuclear-powered data center and bitcoin mining operation – located in northeastern Pennsylvania – will soon welcome its first tenant.
Cumulus Data said the first of several 48 megawatt “powered shell data center” at its 1,200-acre campus in Columbia County that will provide digital infrastructure and decarbonized energy to clients via the Susquehanna Steam Electric Station in Berwick is now ready for lease.
Read the full storyOhio State University President Suddenly Resigns after Investigation
Ohio State University (OSU) President Kristina M. Johnson PhD, announced Monday night that she will transition out of her role as president in May 2023 at the end of the current academic year.
According to reports by The Columbus Dispatch, the university’s board of trustees asked Johnson to resign after an investigation was conducted by an outside firm into concerns about her which were raised by staff. What those concerns consisted of and the details of the investigation are not clear. Johnson allegedly had a contentious relationship with several members of the board and reportedly is being held personally responsible for the departure of at least two high-ranking university officials.
Read the full storyControversial Energy Official Charged with Stealing Woman’s Luggage at Minneapolis−Saint Paul International Airport
Sam Brinton, one of the first “openly genderfluid individuals in federal government leadership,” was charged with felony theft last month after allegedly stealing a woman’s luggage at MSP Airport.
The MIT grad went viral earlier this year when he announced his new role as the deputy assistant secretary of the Office of Spent Fuel and Waste Disposition in the U.S. Department of Energy.
Read the full storyRep. Austin Scott Meets with Taiwanese Ambassador as Rep. Drew Ferguson Lambasts Biden for Oil Relations with Communist China
U.S. Representatives Austin Scott (R-GA-08) and Drew Ferguson (GA-03) were among the delegation of American officials that met the Taiwanese Ambassador to the United States Hsiao Bi-khim at a China Task Force roundtable on Thursday.
Rep. Scott took the opportunity to express his frustration at the Biden administration for its stance on energy and the ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP) of the People’s Republic of China (PRC).
Read the full storyUniversity of Kansas Researcher Convicted of Secretly Working for China
On Thursday, a researcher with the University of Kansas was convicted of covering up illegal work he was doing on behalf of China while living in the United States.
According to ABC News, U.S. District Judge Julie Robinson is still weighing a motion to have the case against Feng Tao of Lawrence, Kansas dismissed. Robinson asked Tao’s lawyers to submit in writing their arguments for dismissal. Until then, the trial will proceed accordingly.
Read the full storyU.S. Energy Department Spent over $1 Billion on Failed Carbon-Cutting Projects
Over the last decade, the United States Department of Energy (DOE) spent $1.1 billion on various projects that attempted to reduce carbon emissions through the practice of carbon capture and storage (CCS), only for the vast majority of these projects to either fail or be cancelled.
According to the Daily Caller, the waste of taxpayer money was revealed in a Government Accountability Office (GAO) report that was released in December. The report revealed that the DOE had invested $684 million in eight different CCS projects that focused on coal, only for seven of them to be cancelled, while only a single facility remained in operation. The remaining $438 million was spent on three industrial CCS facilities; of these three, two were successful while one was cancelled.
Read the full storyOil and Gas Production to Account for 68 Percent of Energy Consumption Over Next Two Decades
Over the next two decades, oil and gas production is projected to account for 68 percent of energy consumption in the U.S. and will play a key role in the energy transition to a low carbon future, according to a new report published by the U.S. Department of Energy.
Natural gas is increasingly powering plants to produce electricity, but oil and natural gas are revitalizing the U.S. petrochemical industry, growing the liquefied natural gas industry, and boosting high-tech materials, the report states.
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