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A maze of crude oil pipe and equipment is seen with the American and Texas flags flying in the background at the Strategic Petroleum Reserve in Freeport, Texas.

Richard Carson | Reuters

WASHINGTON — The U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill Friday aimed at limiting the president’s ability to draw down the nation’s Strategic Petroleum Reserve for any reason other than a “severe energy supply disruption.”

The law is meant to prevent a repeat of President Joe Biden’s numerous withdrawals from the SPR in 2022, that were intended to lower consumer gas prices ahead of the midterm elections

The bill passed on a near party line vote, 221-205, after more than six hours of individual House votes on various proposed amendments.

Titled the Strategic Production Response Act, the legislation passed Friday would prohibit any new drawdowns on the SPR until federal agencies had developed a plan to lease federal lands for oil and gas production “by the same percentage as the percentage of petroleum…that is to be drawn down,” according to the bill’s text.

Despite passing the House, the legislation is all but certain never to be signed into law. It lacks the support to pass the Democratic-controlled Senate and the White House has said Biden will veto it if it ever comes to his desk.

Days before the vote, Biden’s Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm said at a White House press briefing that the bill “would impose unnecessary, unhelpful restrictions on when the SPR can be used to help provide supply.”

“It would not offer any tangible benefits to the American people,” Granholm told reporters. “Instead, it would interfere with our ability to be responsive during an international emergency … a natural disaster or a pipeline outage at home.”

The White House has long argued that the releases from the SPR in the past year were necessary to offset the surge in gas prices sparked by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

But Republicans counter that the size of the overall 2022 release, 180 million barrels, was excessive, and that individual releases and announcements about future releases were timed for maximum political benefit for Democrats.

Over the last year, the total oil in the reserve shrunk to about 380 million barrels, its lowest since 1984, raising concerns about energy security.

When Biden took office in 2021, the SPR contained 638 million barrels.

Friday’s legislation marked the second time that the Republican controlled House has passed a bill related to the SPR, the first one prohibited the sale of petroleum reserves to Russia, China, Iran and North Korea. It passed with support from Democrats as well as Republicans.

Following Friday’s passage, the bill’s chief sponsor, House Energy and Commerce Committee Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers, applauded the vote.

“President Biden has turned a longtime bipartisan strategic asset, the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, into a political tool to cover up the consequences of his expensive rush-to-green agenda,” she said in a statement.

The legislation “provides a path towards making energy more affordable and reliable for Americans by preserving the SPR’s vital and central purpose — to provide the oil supplies Americans need during true emergencies, not drain them away for non-emergency, political purposes,” she added.

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Ford F-150 Lightning sales have been falling for months: What’s going on with the EV pickup?

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Ford F-150 Lightning sales have been falling for months: What's going on with the EV pickup?

Is Ford’s electric pickup in trouble? Sales have been down for months, and February showed no relief. What’s going on with the Ford F-150 Lightning?

Ford F-150 Lightning sales drop again in February 2025

Ford’s US sales dropped by 9% last month. Although electrified vehicles, including EVs and hybrids, both notched double-digit growth, sales of Ford’s gas-powered (ICE) models, which accounted for over 85% of deliveries, fell nearly 13%.

Hybrids saw higher demand with sales up 27.5% to 15,357, while EV sales increased 15% to 7,326. The Mustang Mach-E was a bright spot with 3,312 models sold in February, up 13% from the prior year.

With 6,841 Mach-Es sold through the first three months of 2025, Ford’s electric crossover SUV remains a top-selling EV in the US.

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Ford’s electric pickup didn’t fare as well. F-150 Lightning Sales were down nearly 15% last month with only 2,199 units sold. Through March, Ford has sold 15% fewer Lightning models than it did at this time last year.

Ford-Lightning-sales
2024 Ford F-150 Lightning Platinum Black (Source: Ford)

Sales of the electric pickup have been slipping for months now. In the final three months of 2024, F-150 Lightning sales were down 10%.

The Lightning, alongside Rivian’s R1T, are no longer the only electric pickups on the market. Ford is facing new competition with the Tesla Cybertruck, Chevy Silverado EV, and GMC Sierra EV, arriving.

Ford-Lightning-sales
2024 Ford F-150 Lightning Flash (Source: Ford)

According to Cox Automotive, the Tesla Cybertruck slipped past the Lightning to become the fifth best-selling EV in the US last year with nearly 39,000 units sold. Ford’s Lightning was sixth with just over 33,500 models sold.

Ford extended its “Power Promise” promo earlier this year to boost demand, giving EV buyers a Level 2 home charger and other benefits, but Lightning sales are still down.

Ford-lightning-sales
Ford Mustang Mach-E (left) and F-150 Lightning (right) (Source: Ford)

The American automaker cut Lightning production at its Rouge Electric Vehicle Center last year, citing slower-than-expected demand. A new report from Automotive News claims Ford is now ending a pilot program to stock and distribute EVs through regional hubs after it failed to catch on. It was designed to speed up deliveries.

Although Ford plans to launch a smaller midsize electric pickup, it won’t arrive until at least two more years. With new competition, like the Ram 1500 REV and Volkswagen Scout pickup, hitting the market over the next few years, Ford may find it even harder to attract buyers.

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Costco members can get up to $10,000 off the 2025 Volvo EX90

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Costco members can get up to ,000 off the 2025 Volvo EX90

Costco’s Auto Program recently introduced some new member-only incentives, and the 2025 Volvo EX90 BEV is now on its list.

Volvo is offering Costco Executive Members $2,000 off the 2025 EX90. Costco Gold Star and Business members are eligible for $1,500 off. The incentives are available on all versions of the Volvo EX90 for members who purchase or lease from February 24 to April 30, 2025. It’s the only non-GM EV that’s that’s eligible for an incentive through the EV program.

The offer is compatible with A-Plan pricing for employees, as well as Affinity Pricing for teachers and first responders. Costco members will have had to have been members as of February 23 and be the primary members on the Costco account to qualify.

Volvo-EX90-interior
Volvo EX90 interior (Source: Volvo)

However, CarsDirect gave the heads up on how buyers can get up to $10,000 off the EX90’s MSRP. As we stated, if you’re a Costco Executive Member, that’s $2,000 off. Then, add the $7,500 EV Lease Allowance and a $500 loyalty discount on leases if you currently own or lease a Volvo or have owned or leased a Volvo within the past six months.

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With the destination fee included, the base EX90 MSRP starts at $81,290, so that brings it down to $71,290, a more than 12% discount, a pretty good deal.

The 2025 AWD Volvo EX90, which can seat seven passengers comfortably, has a range of up to 310 miles and is NACS-compatible. It has a 510 hp engine, 110 kWh battery capacity, and can go from 0-60 mph in 4.7 seconds.

Click here to find a local dealer that may have the 2025 Volvo EX90 in stock. – trusted affiliate partner

Read more: Review: Volvo EX90 is a smooth AWD 7-seat luxury kid-hauler


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Tesla chairwoman sells $33 million worth of TSLA as she lets Elon Musk destroy the brand

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Tesla chairwoman sells  million worth of TSLA as she lets Elon Musk destroy the brand

Tesla chairwoman Robyn Denholm has sold another $33 million worth of Tesla stocks (TSLA) as she lets Elon Musk destroy the company’s brand.

As the head of Tesla’s board of directors, Denholm is amongst the few people who actually have oversight over Elon Musk at Tesla.

While Musk is CEO, he owns only about 13% of Tesla’s shares. Still, he is seen as having complete control over the company and the board, which is actually what led to a judge rescinding his compensation package last year.

That’s partly because when he “negotiated” himself a $55 billion compensation package with the board, the board also gave itself exorbitant compensation, which it eventually had to partly give back to the company after shareholders sued it for excessive compensation.

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Despite Musk making threats to shareholders to get more control over Tesla and resorting to resource tunneling, the board, including Denholm, has remained silent.

Meanwhile, Denholm has been pocketing generational wealth through Tesla.

The chairwoman has received hundreds of thousands of Tesla shares at a discount through stock options as part of the previously mentioned “excessive board compensation,” and she has been selling them as son as she is allowed.

Last month, she sold $43 million worth of Tesla stocks, and today, Tesla revealed through a required SEC filing that Denholm is another 112,390 Tesla shares worth over $33 million through Merill Lynch:

With this sale, she has now sold over $100 million worth of Tesla stocks over the last 3 months.

Kimball Musk, Elon’s brother, and Tesla’s Chief Financial Officer Taneja Vaibhav also recently sold ahead of a recent drop in the company’s stock price.

Electrek’s Take

Over $100 million in the last three months—that’s apparently the going rate for a chairperson to let Elon Musk destroy years of work building the Tesla brand.

That’s a hard deal to pass on, especially if you have low morals, which is Tesla’s main problem right now. Musk has surrounded himself with yes people with low morals.

He has distanced Tesla from its mission and no one is saying anything because they are let go or getting compensated to shut up about it.

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