Tennessee 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.

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Biden 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.

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DOE 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.

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First 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.

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Ohio 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.

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Controversial 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.

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Rep. 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).

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University 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.

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U.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.

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Oil 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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