Green banks stay the course

This roundup of U.S. energy news headlines is part of our Canary Media Daily newsletter. Sign up to get it in your inbox each morning.

BATTERIES

• The levelized cost of energy for four-hour battery storage is now 65%-75% cheaper than that for gas peaker plants across the globe, a new WoodMackenzie analysis finds. (Utility Dive)

FOSSIL FUELS

• The Trump administration lifts sanctions on Russian diesel and suggests the U.S. could soon buy the fuel. (Politico)

• Federal regulators direct Energy Transfer to detail past repairs to the company’s hazardous liquid pipeline network nationwide, which totals about 20,000 miles, following a 600-gallon crude-oil spill outside Detroit. (Inside Climate News)

• Democrats and clean energy advocates turn the Trump administration’s orders to keep coal plants open in Michigan and Indiana into an affordability issue as the November election nears. (Capital and Main)

METALS

• A new report details how automakers in Europe are driving up demand for primary steel produced in American coal-blast furnaces. (report)

• Companies’ intensifying quest to produce lithium in the arid California desert is coming up against conflicts over water use, pollution, and other issues. (Inside Climate News)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES

• Demand has surged on the used vehicle market for Ford’s electric F-150 Lightning, which the automaker stopped making after retooling its entire EV strategy. (Bloomberg)

GRID

• As the U.S. faces a shortage of electric transformers, Virginia companies are expanding production of the essential grid devices. (Cardinal News)

• The Public Utility Commission of Texas votes to adopt new large load interconnection standards that soften requirements laid out in an earlier proposal and eliminate a planned nonrefundable interconnection fee. (Utility Dive)

UTILITIES

• The New York Public Service Commission opens an inquiry into how utilities are using artificial intelligence, saying the technology could have ​“negative consequences for the safety and reliability of New York’s critical infrastructure.” (Utility Dive)