The US to fine big oil for methane emissions

The US government has rolled out a new plan to charge oil and gas companies for their methane emissions, Bloomberg reported on Friday. The fee — mandated by Congress in the Inflation Reduction Act last year — will start at USD 900 per metric ton this year and increase to USD 1.5k by 2026. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) said the fee would incentivize the industry to curb methane leaks and venting.

The fee wasn’t very well received: The oil and gas industry has criticized the proposal, saying it would undermine America’s energy advantage and stifle innovation, according to Bloomberg. The American Petroleum Institute (API) said it supports smart federal methane regulation, but that the fee would create an “incoherent” and “confusing” regulatory regime. The API is lobbying Congress to repeal the fee, which would affect only a few hundred large-emitting facilities out of thousands that report greenhouse gas emissions to the EPA.

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• EVs are getting a new set of tires courtesy of Goodyear: The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company is rolling out new tires this May with improved durability to handle the weight of EVs, which are heavier than cars with internal combustion engines. The ElectricDrive 2 tires were unveiled last week and have a 60k mile warranty compared to the average EV tire, which typically lasts from 30k to 40k miles. (Bloomberg)
• Adani to invest USD 24 bn in Gujarat’s green energy sector:Indian conglomerate Adani Group is set to pump USD 24 bn into the Indian state of Gujarat’s green and renewable energy sectors in five years, according to Chairman Gautam Adani. (Reuters)
• Operations begin on world’s first 100k ton green hydrogen project: The world’s first 100k ton photovoltaic hydrogen demonstration project is now operational in the Chinese region of Inner Mongolia. The project is also Inner Mongolia’s first hydrogen-producing integrated project for wind-solar hydrogen production, and it works by producing hydrogen and oxygen through solar-powered electrolysis. (Wam)