“The Biden administration’s plan to jump-start a domestic supply chain for electric vehicles is on track to shatter expectations,” Axios reports.

“Democrats offered carmakers new tax credits as an incentive to scale up domestic battery manufacturing — and they’re racing to take advantage.”

“Some experts say the value of those tax credits may be four times higher than Congress’ budget experts anticipated.”

“Exxon Mobil rocketed to its highest-ever annual profit last year, riding surging oil prices to resurrect its status as one of America’s most profitable companies and erase billions of dollars of losses incurred during the pandemic,” the Wall Street Journal reports.

“The largest U.S. oil company turned in record annual earnings of $55.7 billion for 2022 in its quarterly earnings Tuesday, outpacing big banks, tech giants and vaccine makers.”

“President Biden approved more oil and gas drilling permits in his first two years in office than did former President Donald Trump,” Yahoo News reports.

“Despite that statistic, Republicans have routinely criticized Biden over his aversion to selling new oil and gas leases on federal land, which, in addition to the halting of construction of the Keystone XL pipeline project, they say resulted in a surge in gasoline prices after Russia invaded Ukraine in Feb. 2022.”

“Republicans are aiming to neutralize one of the main tools that President Joe Biden used to lower gasoline prices before last year’s elections — his prolific releases of oil from the nation’s Strategic Petroleum Reserve,” Politico reports.

“Nearly a year after Russia’s invasion, the Ukraine crisis has permanently reshaped the global energy system and brought severe economic pain,” Axios reports.

“The worst-case scenarios haven’t come to pass, thanks to a mix of EU policies, Russian President Vladimir Putin’s miscalculations and pure luck. But the impact is apparent on every facet of the market, from natural gas to oil to low-carbon energy.”

Politico: “Genuine or not, the stove flap gave Republican lawmakers an opening to put Biden’s energy policies back on the front burner, after last year’s spurt of high gasoline prices had faded from the headlines. It also touches on a real, coast-to-coast crusade by liberal city and state leaders to prohibit gas stoves and furnaces in new buildings, on the grounds that they endanger health and contribute to climate change.”

“But the White House has disavowed enacting any such ban at the federal level.”

“The White House on Thursday sharply criticized what it called a ‘backwards’ bill introduced by House Republicans that would limit presidential authority to tap the national Strategic Petroleum Reserve, which President Biden has done repeatedly in an effort to bring down gas prices,” Yahoo News reports.

“Known as the Strategic Production Response Act, the bill was introduced earlier this week by Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA) to prevent the president from releasing any oil from the reserve (except in case of a carefully defined ‘severe energy supply interruption’) unless the president at the same time opens up more federal lands to oil and gas drilling — something Republicans have sharply criticized Biden for resisting.”

“Gas prices will probably be significantly cheaper overall next year. Yet the national average could still climb back above the $4-a-gallon threshold as soon as May,” CNN reports.

At least six local political news websites across Alabama and Florida have been secretly taking payments from power companies to run stories attacking clean energy, NPR reports.

Emily Atkin: “This is a high-stakes story for both the climate and democracy. It shows fossil fuel interests taking advantage of a struggling local news environment to push an anti-renewable agenda on an unwitting public.”

“Volatile energy markets have made 2022 a big year for commodity traders. One of the biggest and perhaps most unlikely winners: The U.S. government,” the Wall Street Journal reports.

“Emergency releases from the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve are slated to end this month, concluding an unusual attempt to lower gas prices after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine sent oil prices soaring.”

“Over the release period, Washington sold 180 million barrels of crude at an average of $96.25 apiece, well above the recent market price of $74.29—meaning the U.S., for now, is almost $4 billion ahead.”

Bloomberg: “The Biden administration is making good on a plan to replenish the nation’s emergency oil reserves, starting with a 3 million barrel purchase of crude. … In addition, the DOE is planning a roughly 2 million barrel crude oil exchange to meet emergency supply needs caused by the shutdown of TC Energy Corp.’s Keystone pipeline.”

Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm was set to announce a “major scientific breakthrough” Tuesday in the decades-long quest to harness fusion, the energy that powers the sun and stars, the AP reports.