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NTSB Takes Lead Investigating Crash of Amazon Air Cargo Plane

The National Transportation Safety Board and other agencies investigating the fatal crash of an Atlas Air cargo 767-300 jet contracted by Amazon Air — Amazon.com’s freight delivery service — are being hampered by difficult conditions at the accident site east of Houston.

Two crew members and a third pilot, who was in the jump seat catching a ride to Houston, died Feb. 23 when Flight 3591 en route from Miami to Houston’s George Bush Intercontinental Airport went down into the shallow waters of Trinity Bay, near Anahuac, Texas, about 40 miles from Houston.

Authorities have recovered all three bodies.

An NTSB “go-team” including Chairman Robert Sumwalt immediately went to the crash scene. The agency is receiving assistance from the FBI and other law enforcement organizations.

“Our entire purpose for being here is to find out what happened so that we don’t have to go through this again,” Sumwalt said at a news conference at the site. “We’re not here to determine the probable cause. We’re not here to speculate. We’re just here to collect the perishable evidence.”

Nikola Chooses Mark Russell as President

Mark Russell has joined Nikola Corp.’s executive management team as president at a time when the company said it is poised to start production of several groundbreaking zero-emissions vehicles.

Russell was president and chief operating officer of Worthington Industries, a publicly traded global metals manufacturing company, from 2012 to 2018.

“We needed the best. We needed a seasoned manufacturing executive to join the Nikola team,” founder and CEO Trevor Milton said in a statement. “Mark’s background and experience match well with the challenge to ramp up production of the extraordinary vehicles we will unveil at Nikola World on April 16-17.”

Nikola has more than four years of production committed with pre-order reservations. Nikola’s Coolidge, Ariz., manufacturing facility is scheduled to come online in 2022 and will be capable of building up to 35,000 trucks per year, according to the Phoenix-based company.

“I’m thrilled to be joining the Nikola team at this critical time and look forward to assisting its growth into production and beyond,” Russell said.

Diesel Climbs 4.2¢ to $3.048 a Gallon

The U.S. average retail price of diesel rose 4.2 cents to $3.048 a gallon, according to the Department of Energy, as crude prices dropped amid pressure from President Donald Trump to keep the price of oil low.

The national average price of diesel is 4.1 cents higher than it was a year ago, when the price was $3.007, DOE said after its Feb. 25 survey of fueling stations.

Average prices for diesel rose in every region, with the largest increase in the Midwest after a 6.5-cent jump to $2.969 a gallon.

Additionally, the U.S. regular gasoline average price rose 7.3 cents to $2.39 a gallon, 15.8 cents lower than a year ago, DOE’s Energy Information Administration said.

Crude futures on the New York Mercantile Exchange closed Feb. 25 at $55.16 per barrel compared with $56.09 on Feb. 18. It was crude’s first drop in nine sessions.

A tweet from President Trump coincided with the decline.

PHMSA Issues Rule Requiring Oil Spill Response Plans for Flammable Trains

The Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration has issued a final rule that requires railroads to develop and submit comprehensive oil spill response plans for route segments traveled by high-hazard flammable trains.

The rule applies to trains that are transporting petroleum oil in a block of 20 or more loaded tank cars and trains that have a total of 35 loaded petroleum oil tank cars.

The 174-page final rule provides regulatory flexibility and improves response readiness to mitigate the effects of rail accidents and incidents involving petroleum oil and the flammable trains, PHMSA said in a Feb. 14 announcement. The agency said the rule also is needed due to expansion in U.S. energy production having led to “significant challenges for the country’s transportation system.”

It revises the oil spill response plan requirements that currently oblige railroads to establish geographic response zones along various rail routes and ensures that both personnel and equipment are staged and prepared to respond in the event of an accident.

Nuro Raises Nearly $1 Billion From SoftBank Vision Fund

Nuro, a robotics company specializing in automating local commerce deliveries, has secured $940 million in funding from the SoftBank Vision Fund, according to a Feb. 11 press release. To date, the company has raised more than $1 billion from partners.

Nuro’s flagship product, an unmanned road vehicle service, promises a future in which errands such as picking up groceries will be automated. The California-based startup wants to provide affordable and on-demand delivery for a variety of goods.

“This partnership gives us the opportunity to take the next step in realizing our vision for local commerce and the broad application of our technology,” Nuro co-founder Dave Ferguson said.

The company will use the new financing to expand delivery service into new geographies, add partners, scale its fleet, extend and mature its self-driving technology and grow its team.

Los Angeles Nixes Plan to Upgrade Three Natural Gas Generators

Los Angeles will ditch a plan to spend billions rebuilding three natural gas-fired power plants as the city moves toward getting all of its electricity from renewable energy.

The city will phase out the three units that together represent 38% of the city’s natural gas portfolio by 2029, according to a statement Feb. 12 by Mayor Eric Garcetti. The move reverses an earlier decision by the city’s utility to extend the life of the coastal gas generators and marks another step in California’s march toward weening itself from fossil fuels.

“This is the beginning of the end of natural gas in Los Angeles,” Garcetti said in the statement. “The climate crisis demands that we move more quickly to end dependence on fossil fuel, and that’s what today is all about.”

Natural gas generators are becoming an endangered species in California, which has set a goal of getting all of its electricity from carbon-free sources by 2045. Last year, state regulators approved a plan for PG&E Corp. to deploy battery energy-storage systems that will replace three gas-fired units owned by Calpine Corp. Power producer NRG Energy Inc. pulled the plug last year on a plan to build a new gas facility on the Southern California coast after a state agency filed a recommendation against granting a permit.

Diesel Jumps 4¢ to $3.006 a Gallon

The U.S. average retail price of diesel rose 4 cents to $3.006 a gallon, according to the Department of Energy. Likewise, crude prices climbed into the mid-$50 range as international supplies tightened and concerns over a deeper trade war with China lessened.

The price of diesel broke a string of five weeks in which it had been below $3 a gallon.

The national diesel average price is 2.1 cents lower than it was a year ago, when the price was $2.985, DOE said after its Feb. 18 survey of fueling stations, reported the day after the U.S. Presidents Day holiday.

The regional average diesel prices rose in every area, with California notching the highest at $3.739 a gallon.

Robot Package Delivery Trucks Developed in Detroit Ready for China, US

Looking like a delegation of toasters from space, a generation of electrically powered, self-driving mail trucks will roll out of a suburban Detroit industrial park later this year. Their mission: Revolutionize mail and package delivery.

About 2,000 of the boxy, shiny Quadrobot U1 four-wheel-drive, four-wheel-steer delivery vans will begin service with the Chinese postal service late this year, delivering packages in cities along the populous South Coast.

The startup company aims to have another 30 in trial service delivering goods in downtown Detroit and suburban downtowns, including Birmingham and Royal Oak. Quadrobot CEO and Chairman Mike Wang outlined the plans during an interview in the modest Madison Heights building where the company he founded will begin assembling Quadrobots for U.S. service later this year.

DOT Announces $705 Million for Repairing Infrastructure Ravaged by Disasters

The Federal Highway Administration will dedicate more than $705 million in emergency relief funds to help 34 states and three territories rebuild infrastructure mangled by natural disasters.

The funds, announced Feb. 5, are meant to help the states, American Samoa, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands repair roads and bridges that have been damaged by floods, storms and other natural disasters.

FHWA’s emergency relief program reimburses states, territories and federal land management agencies for expenses associated with damage wrought by natural disasters. In addition to road and bridge reconstruction, the funds support detours, guardrail replacements and safety device repairs.

“The department is pleased to reimburse states and territories that have made critical repairs to their transportation infrastructure following natural disasters such as wildfires, storms and floods,” Secretary of Transportation Elaine Chao said in a press release.

About $153 million (more than one-fifth of the total sum) will be dedicated to repairing infrastructure ravaged by hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria in 2017.

Harvey swept through the Houston area in August causing massive flooding in what is one of the costliest disasters in U.S. history.

Lawmakers oppose Puerto Rico’s Jones Act waiver request

A request by the Governor of Puerto Rico to allow foreign-flagged vessels to ship liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the United States is getting push-back on Capitol Hill.

The Puerto Rican economy was devastated by Hurricane Maria in 2017, and the U.S. territory faces long-term energy needs to help with rebuilding. But the Jones Act, a 1920 maritime regulation, requires commercial vessels moving between the U.S. ports, including Puerto Rico, be US-built, crewed, and flagged. Puerto Rico requested in December that the U.S. issue a 10-year waiver of the law.

However, after hearing that the Trump Administration is considering approving the LNG waiver, Democratic and Republican leaders of the U.S. House Transportation & Infrastructure committee urged the request be denied.