• The warfare in Gaza and Ukraine prompted crude oil prices to gain more than a dollar last Thursday and settle higher than $90 for the day.
Global benchmark Brent crude for June finished up $1.30 or 1.5% at $90.65 a barrel on ICE Futures Europe.
U.S. benchmark West Texas Intermediate crude for May settled up $1.16 or 1.4%, to close at $86.59 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
It was the highest level for Brent and WTI since October of last year.
May natural gas fell 7 cents to $1.77 per 1,000 cubic feet.
• The 730,000 customers of Entergy Arkansas will see a drop in their utility bills, as the company intends to cut electricity rates in May.
In its recent announcement, Entergy said average residential customers will see a drop of about $10 a month.
Entergy Arkansas is the state’s largest utility and explained the reduction in rates is due to fuel rates that have declined to their lowest levels in 10 years, reported the Arkansas Democrat- Gazette.
“The total decrease customers see on their bills will vary based on their individual energy usage but comes at a time when our customers need bill relief and will extend during the upcoming hot summer months,” said Ventrell Thompson, vice president of customer service.
• Gov. Andy Beshear vetoed legislation promoting nuclear energy in coal-producing Kentucky, but stressed his objections dealt with an advisory board and not with the use of nuclear power.
• The U.S. was the world’s largest exporter of liquified natural gas in 2023, according to federal data released last week. U.S. exports of the fossil fuel last year surpassed those of major exporters Qatar and Australia and amounted to 12% more American gas shipped than in 2022, the independent Energy Information Administration said.
• The Environmental Protection Agency awarded $20 billion in federal green bank grants to eight community development banks and nonprofit organizations to use on projects combating climate change in disadvantaged communities and helping Americans save money and reduce their carbon footprints.
• A state board in New Mexico pulled the plug on opponents fighting mandated increases in the number of electric vehicles for sale across the state.
Dealers had been fighting the mandate pushed by Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, who contends the required sale of EVs will help curb emissions and address climate change. The state Environmental Improvement Board voted against the New Mexico Automotive Dealers Association as the group takes its legal case to the state Court of Appeals.
The Navajo Nation is opposed to the mandates, saying it comes down to an affordability issue caused by the high price of EVs, according to The Associated Press.
• The number of solar operations in Missouri grew by 32% in the past year, according to a new report.
At the same time, Climate Central found there was a decline in wind generation and it led to an overall drop in power from the two renewable energy sources.
Missouri’s 32% gain was from 2022 to 2023. Its neighboring state of Illinois produced a 24% growth in solar power. World
• Danish innovators are at work on a solar power enterprise on 2,000 acres in Pinal County, Arizona. The project just might energize social media use sometime soon, as Facebook parent company Meta is going to be a main destination for the electricity, powering a nearby data center.
• China’s manufacturers are pumping out so many solar panels that the resulting global glut has caused prices to tank. Solar panels – 80% of which are made in China – are so cheap that they are now being used to line garden fences in Germany and the Netherlands, Financial Times reported.
• Chinese wind turbine makers continue to pace the global market, taking four of the top five spots in a ranking of the world’s top manufacturers of both onshore and offshore wind power equipment.
• Just over a week after the catastrophic collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers announced it plans to fully reopen the channel leading to the Baltimore port by the end of May – a significant update, since the disaster halted vessel traffic and delivered a serious blow to a port critical to local and national economies.
• The Panama Canal will need at least the rest of this year to fully recover from the 2023 drought that depleted water levels, choked vessel traffic and cost shippers millions of dollars.