Monthly Archives: February 2019

In the news today…

Coal:

• E&E Energywire reports a series of coal-reliant states and communities are stepping up to try to save the plants and mines that have long powered their economies.
• Utility Dive reports statements from a former EPA official that the Trump administration’s shift away from enforcing air quality standards for major stationary sources will allow coal plants and other facilities to emit more harmful pollution.
• Argus reports the Wyoming Legislature approved legislation designed to encourage generators to sell coal-fired power plants rather than close them.
• The Charleston Gazette-Mail and Argus report the West Virginia House of Delegates Wednesday passed a bill that would reduce the severance tax on thermal coal by 2 percentage points over the next two years.
• FOX56 carries a piece that looks at the lasting effects from the decline of coal mining in local communities, and how a new mine and new funding opportunities could give this rust belt region a coal comeback.

Energy:

• The Star Tribune reports about 25 percent of the region’s energy was unavailable during the polar vortex, including coal plant malfunctions.
• S&P Global Platts reports PJM Interconnection power generation retirements are expected to reach nearly 4,200 MW this year, mostly from coal-fired generation, while more than 15,000 MW is planned to be added to the footprint, mostly from natural gas-fired generation, according to grid operator data.
• The State reports a special legislative committee studying whether to sell Santee Cooper was divided Wednesday over how to move forward with a handful of offers to buy the debt-laden, state-owned utility.

EPA:

• Politico Pro reports Senate lawmakers Wednesday advanced the nomination of Andrew Wheeler to be administrator of the EPA by a 52-46 vote, setting up final confirmation by Thursday.

Green New Deal:

• The Register Herald carries an op-ed from Rep. Carol Miller (R-WV 3^rd District), in which she writes that the Green New Deal would have serious consequences to the energy industry in West Virginia. She adds that it is important to remember that today coal is clean, affordable, dependable and allows our country to be self-reliant.

Infrastructure:

• E&E News PM reports a memo dated yesterday, the White House Office of Management and Budget and the Council on Environmental Quality provided recommendations for state agencies reviewing infrastructure projects under NEPA.

In the news today…

Coal:

• Axios carries a piece from Sunrise Project’s Justin Guay, in which he writes on a report showing that more than 100 globally significant financial institutions have now restricted access to financing for the coal industry.
• Wyoming Public Media reports a bill seeking to keep retiring coal plants alive has passed third reading out of Wyoming’s House of Representatives today: 50-8-2. It would obligate utilities to look for another potential buyer in good-faith and accept any reasonable offer.
• Charleston Gazette-Mail reports the West Virginia House of Delegates on Tuesday adopted Delegate Eric Nelson’s amendment to phase in a reduction of the severance tax on steam coal from 5 percent to 3 percent over two years.
• Energy News Network reports a recent study highlights the $8.2 billion New England spends on imported fossil fuels each year.
• Utility Dive reports city officials in Farmington, New Mexico say they’ve reached an agreement with an investor to extend the life of a local coal-fired power plant but the news is a surprise to the facility’s majority owner.

EPA:

• Politico Pro reports EPA’s Assistant Administrator for Enforcement and Compliance Assurance Susan Bodine said the agency was shifting its Clean Air Act enforcement away from power plants to focus on reducing pollution from sources like cars and trucks.
• Politico Pro reports EPA will hold a public hearing next month on its proposed changes to the Mercury and Air Toxics Standard (MATS), and is extending the public comment period as well.

Power Grid:

• E&E Energywire reports bitter cold during last month’s polar vortex has generated more debate about the increasing role of wind energy in the Upper Midwest.

Nominations:

• Politico Pro reports the Senate will take a key procedural vote on the nomination of Andrew Wheeler to lead the EPA today at 12:15 p.m.
• Politico Pro reports former DOE lawyer David Hill has emerged as the Trump administration’s leading pick to fill the open seat at FERC, according to three sources familiar with the discussions.

Natural Resources:

• E&E Daily reports the House last night overwhelmingly passed a massive, bipartisan public lands package, securing well over the two-thirds’ support needed to pass the legislation under suspension.

In the news today…

Coal:

• The Daily Mail WV carries an op-ed, in which the author writes now is the time for West Virginia to develop their coal reserves while the world demand for met coal is growing.
• New Hampshire Union Leader reports New Hampshire will soon be home to the only coal-fired power plants left in New England, and the owner of those power plants says they will be burning coal for the foreseeable future.
• Argus reports the city of Farmington, New Mexico, and private holding company Acme Equities have entered a preliminary agreement that could prevent the early retirement of the San Juan Generating station.

EPA:

• Inside EPA reports construction and other industry attorneys are doubting state water regulators’ fears that Trump administration plans to narrow the scope of the CWA could undermine states’ push to assume dredge-and-fill permit power under section 404 of the law, countering that the precise impacts of the CWA rule remain unclear.

Climate:

• Inside EPA reports a new draft climate change resolution by Sen. Dianne Feinstein, offered as an alternative to the more ambitious Green New Deal, would largely reinstate a suite Obama-era greenhouse gas rules and policies that Trump officials are trying to roll back, including EPA’s CPP utility GHG rule and passenger vehicle GHG limits.
• Energy News Network reports a recent policy forum in Washington D.C. explored the economic benefits of cutting reliance on fossil fuels.

Power Grid:

• E&E Energywire reports that the FERC will hold a technical conference this year related to the reliability of the bulk power system.
• Argus reports ERCOT is more at risk of not meeting summer power demand following a decision to allow the Texas Municipal Power Agency to mothball the Gibbons Creek power plant, the grid’s chief executive warned.
• Bloomberg reports the CEO of grid operator PJM says planned closures of nuclear and coal plants won’t impact reliability.

World News:

• Washington Examiner reports the Trump administration claims to be making significant headway in swaying Germany to import more U.S. natural gas, using the country’s recent plans to close all its coal plants by 2038 as leverage.

In the news today…

Coal:

• The Huntington Herald-Dispatch carries an editorial in which the author writes the future of mines in West Virginia that sell coal into the power market will remain dim unless new technologies, new market demands or new regulations make coal competitive again.
• Argus reports Generator FirstEnergy Solutions has closed two of the three coal-fired generation units at the Bruce Mansfield power plant in Shippingport, Pennsylvania, two years ahead of the original retirement schedule.

Power Grid:

• Bloomberg reports PJM Interconnection LLC Chief Executive Officer Andy Ott states that the grid can handle the closing of 30,000 MW, more than enough to cover the closure of the slated 18,000 MW of coal and nuclear plants.

World News:

• Axios reports that one region of Australia will be zero percent dependent on coal and 100 percent dependent on renewables by next year, a shift from 90 percent dependent on coal a decade ago.
• Financial Times reports a senior London commodity hedge fund manager is forecasting coal demand in Europe will collapse within three years, betting that the price of EU carbon emission allowances will soar to levels that force power stations to close across the continent.

In the news today…

Coal:

• The Washington Post and E&E Climatewire report one of the world’s biggest mining companies, Glencore has promised to cap the amount of the coal it is capable of taking out of the ground as it faces pressure from investors to rein in greenhouse gas emissions.
• The Associated Press reports Montana-Dakota Utilities plans to retire the coal-fired electric generation units at Heskett Station near Mandan in 2021. MDU said Tuesday the company will replace the coal-fired units with a new natural gas facility.
• E&E Energywire reports operators of a century-old coal plant in Alabama say Obama-era environmental rules are behind their decision to close the facility, which first started churning out electricity in 1917.
• Washington Examiner reports as the furor over Democratic Gov. Ralph Northam’s blackface incident is seemingly dying down, his first act of redemption will likely be to sign a bill marking the beginning of the end of coal use in the Old Dominion.
• E&E Energywire reports a study by Indiana researchers shows coal and natural gas could dominate the state’s electricity supply for decades without changes in policy.

Green New Deal:

• The Wall Street Journal carries an op-ed from Robert Blohm, an elected member of the Operating Committee and the Standards Committee of the North American Electric Reliability Corp. In the piece, Mr. Blohm writes the Democrats’ Green New Deal calls for a fully renewable electric power grid. Regardless of the economic or political challenges of bringing this about, it is likely technologically impossible.

Energy:

• North of 60 Mining News outlines how reliance on foreign minerals may impacts the auto and energy storage industries in the United States, highlighting a message that Simon Moores, the managing director at Benchmark Mineral Intelligence, delivered to the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee.
• Inside Climate News reports that significantly more battery storage would be necessary in a 100 percent renewable energy grid.

EPA:

• Politico Pro reports new pollution data released by EPA today showed that U.S. carbon dioxide emissions from power plants increased by 0.6 percent in 2018, while emissions of nitrogen oxides and sulfur dioxide extended their downtrends.

In the news today…

Coal:

• The Bismarck Tribune reports a utility plans to close a 100 MW coal plant in central North Dakota in 2021 and replace it with a natural gas peaker plant.

Climate:

• Indiana Public Media reports commercial energy demand is expected to increase in Indiana as the state adapts to climate change, according to a new report. (Indiana Public Media)
• Power Line carries a post from John Hinderaker where he dissects the Democrats’ Green New Deal.
• The Washington Post reports the White House is considering creating a Presidential Committee on Climate Security to determine whether climate change threatens national security, according to records obtained by a media outlet. Documents suggest the panel would be led by National Security Council senior director William Happer and formed by executive order, but it is uncertain how much support the idea has in the Trump administration.

In the news today and from the weekend…

Coal:

• Argus reports an early analysis of peak power demand during the recent polar vortex shows power grids were able to perform without major issues. That could provide a compelling argument against maintaining coal-fired generation to guarantee fuel security.
• S&P Global reports Arch Coal Inc.’s stock price has been slowly climbing since green-lighting a West Virginia metallurgical coal mine that analysts are expecting to fortify the company’s post-bankruptcy strategy of directing free cash flow to shareholder value initiatives.
• E&E Greenwire reports Virginia lawmakers have approved legislation to require the state’s largest electric utility to excavate and clean up unlined coal ash pits.
• Energy News Network reports the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) issues a draft operating plan that calls for a shift from coal to natural gas and distributed generation as the electricity sector evolves in the Southeast.
• The Huntington Herald Dispatch carries an op-ed from Bill Raney, president of the West Virginia Coal Association. In the piece, Raney writes about the importance of keeping coal in the energy mix.

Minerals:

• E&E Energywire reports the U.S. government will lead an ambitious effort to develop technologies to recycle lithium-ion batteries from electric vehicles, cellphones and other sources to ensure a reliable and affordable supply of metals crucial to battery production in anticipation of soaring global demand and potential shortages, DOE officials said Friday.

EPA:

• Politco Pro reports the EPA’s decision to not conduct a new cost-benefit analysis for its reversal of part of an Obama-era mercury rule and instead rely on old data drew pushback from inside the Trump administration, according to documents recently released by the agency.
•  E&E GreenWire reports a call for clearer regulation language on the Waters of the United States (WOTUS) rule.

In the news today…

EPA:

• Inside EPA has coverage on Thursday’s EPA public hearing on the proposed changes to the 2015 new source performance standards (NSPS). Katie Sweeney is quoted.
• E&E Greenwire reports Congressional appropriators dismissed President Trump’s drive to slash EPA’s budget, opting instead for the status quo. Negotiators released legislation late last night to fund several agencies like the DOI and EPA for the remainder of the fiscal year and avoid another partial government shutdown.
• E&E Greenwire reports Michael McKown, senior vice president of law and administration at Murray Energy Corp., told EPA Thursday that the agency doesn’t have the legal standing to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from new coal-fired power plants.
• Politico Pro reports Senate Majority Leader McConnell Thursday filed cloture on Andrew Wheeler’s nomination to lead the EPA, a key procedural step that indicates a floor vote is imminent.

Coal:

• The Hill and Politico Pro report the Tennessee Valley Authority’s (TVA) board voted to shut down a Kentucky coal-fired power plant Thursday, days after President Trump publicly called on them to keep it open.
• E&E Energywire and The Olympian reports the Trump administration on Thursday announced the approval of two coal mining projects in southern Utah, including one nestled between two national parks in the state’s red rock region.
• Metro News WV reports Arch Coal announced Thursday work has begun to develop another coal operation in northern West Virginia which will create 600 mining jobs when fully operational.
• E&E Greenwire reports Navajo and environmental groups plan to sue Peabody Energy Corp. if it does not address alleged issues with the closure of its coal mine supplying the presently doomed Navajo Generating Stations.
• WTRF 7 News reports Bob Murray made a visit to West Virginia Governor Jim Justice. Mr. Murray said his message was the absolute necessity of reducing the severance tax on thermal coal — that’s power plant coal — in West Virginia.
• E&E Climatewire reports a Wyoming bill would keep coal-fired power plants from closing.
• Axios reports coal exports out of Australia brought in record-high revenue last year, according to government data released this month

Energy:

• Morning Consult (DC) carries an op-ed from Winston Porter, a former assistant administrator at the EPA, in which he warns the U.S. is becoming over-reliant on natural gas while not properly valuing the contribution of traditional baseload sources of power.
• The Tribune-Democrat (PA) carries an op-ed from Rachel Gleason, executive director of the Pennsylvania Coal Alliance in Harrisburg. In the piece, Gleason writes that, if the U.S. is to keep meeting the ongoing power needs of a growing nation, it would be sensible to ensure that coal plants remain in operation.

Happy Valentine’s Day!

In the news today…

EPA:

• Politico Pro reports EPA’s revised WOTUS proposal will be published in today’s Federal Register, opening up a 60-day public comment period on the contentious regulation.

Coal:

• Washington Examiner reports coal plants can’t close fast enough to meet United Nations’ climate goals, according to a new report released Wednesday.
• E&E Greenwire reports Alabama coal company Drummond Co. has reached a settlement with EPA and a local health board over benzene pollution from a coke facility.
• Politico Pro reports after President Trump weighed in this week on the future of an ailing Kentucky coal plant, the Tennessee Valley Authority board of directors will decide the plant’s fate today.
• E&E Climatewire carries an interview with Wyoming Gov. Mark Gordon, in which he discussed leading a fossil fuel-dependent state in an increasingly climate-conscious world to managing coal’s decline to his views on renewable energy.
• 89.3 WFPL News Louisville reports economic development leaders from the Ohio Valley’s coal communities used a Congressional hearing on climate change Tuesday to say that their communities must be central to conversations about climate solutions.

Energy Policy:

• E&E Greenwire reports Senate Energy and Natural Resources Chairwoman Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) Wednesday expressed hope that the current Congress could pass a “refreshed” energy reform bill. She spoke about her priorities yesterday at the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners’ winter policy summit in Washington, D.C.

Climate:

• E&E Daily reports Senate Majority Leader McConnell is moving quickly on his pledge to bring the “Green New Deal” up for a vote, taking the initial parliamentary steps that would allow a debate within days. The Kentucky Republican last night placed the resolution directly on the Senate calendar, allowing it to bypass committee action and be eligible to be called up for debate within three legislative days.

In the news today…

Coal:

• Washington Examiner reports Republicans and Democrats of the House Natural Resources Committee sparred Tuesday morning over the impact progressives’ Green New Deal resolution could have on communities dependent on coal and other fossil fuels.
• Clarksburg Exponent Telegram (WV) carries an op-ed from Bill Raney, president of the West Virginia Coal Association. In the piece, Raney writes about the importance of keeping coal in the energy mix.
• Argus reports a bipartisan group of U.S. senators have revived efforts to support carbon capture utilization and sequestration (CCUS) technology deployment for coal plants.

Clean Water Act:

• E&E Greenwire reports Democratic lawmakers in Congress are asking the Trump administration for more time to comment on its WOTUS regulation. Some lawmakers say 60 days isn’t enough time to review and consider a proposal that would roll back some Clean Water Act protections that have been in place since the Reagan administration.

Climate:

• E&E Greenwire reports the DOE official at the forefront of the Trump administration’s grid reliability efforts offered caution today to the progressive push to reach 100 percent renewable energy within 10 years in response to a question about the “Green New Deal.”
• Associated Press and the E&E Energywire report U.S. officials have again been faulted by a federal judge for failing to adequately consider the potential climate change effects of expanding a massive coal mine in the sagebrush-covered hills of southeastern Montana.

EPA:

• E&E News PM reports the Trump administration’s proposed replacement for the Clean Power Plan won’t work unless accompanied by an overhaul of the New Source Review pre-construction permitting program, EPA air chief Bill Wehrum said today in defending the agency’s controversial bid to meld the two.

In the news today…

Coal:

• Bloomberg reports a 17-megawatt generator, built for $245 million, is set to open in April at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, just 100 miles from the state’s only coal mine. This is the first coal-fired plant to open in the U.S. since 2015.
• Politico Pro and E&E Energywire report President Trump wants to bail out a coal plant in Kentucky that is supplied by one of his top supporters, Bob Murray. The Tennessee Valley Authority says the plant is unnecessary and would be too expensive to keep around, but Trump wants the federally owned utility to change its mind before a key board vote this week.
• Power Engineering reports residents in western Kentucky want to keep the last coal-fired power plant situated at a Tennessee Valley Authority generation station. Hundreds rallied over the weekend to try and save the coal-fired unit at the Paradise Fossil Plant, according to several news reports.
• E&E Daily reports House Democrats yesterday demanded the DOI prove why it canceled a survey of studies linking mountaintop-removal coal mining to illness and disease — the latest in a series of document demands associated with controversies pre-dating Democratic control of the House.

TSCA:

• Inside EPA reports at least 22 states are ramping up efforts to approve chemicals management legislation despite the sweeping overhaul of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) that some proponents hoped would end a patchwork of state chemicals rules, with observers saying states are “filling in” regulatory gaps EPA cannot address under the toxics law.

Climate:

• E&E News PM reports House Democrats are renewing pressure on EPA to explain rollbacks for three major climate rules in the face of experts’ warnings of the urgent need to cut greenhouse gas emissions globally.
• E&E Energywire reports a law enacted last year that boosts federal tax credits available to companies using carbon capture and storage could lead to the removal of nearly 50 million metric tons per year of carbon dioxide from power plants by 2030, equivalent to taking about 7 million cars off the road, according to a new analysis.
• Axios reports one of the biggest concerns about the use of technology to capture carbon dioxide emissions is that it would displace renewable energy and deepen dependence on fossil fuels, but a new report out today suggests that’s largely unlikely to happen.

Natural Resources:

• E&E Daily reports a broad public lands package that includes provisions from nearly every senator advanced in the upper chamber last night, with a final passage vote expected today.

Energy:

• Politico Pro reports regulators are in town for the annual winter meeting of the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners, where officials from EPA, FERC and the DOE will address the audience on issues related to the regulation of utilities across the U.S.
• Los Angeles Times reports Los Angeles is abandoning a plan to spend billions of dollars rebuilding three natural gas power plants along the coast, Mayor Eric Garcetti said Monday, in a move to get the city closer to its goal of 100% renewable energy. With coal, now nearly removed from the city’s energy mix, it’s time to start planning for a future with zero planet-warming energy sources, Garcetti said — and that means no natural gas.

In the news today and from the weekend…

Energy Policy:

• E&E News PM reports a draft DOE grid study concludes that vulnerabilities to the grid system are more important in causing power outages than fuel security or power plant operation.
• Argus reports the Wyoming Senate passed a bill on February 6 aimed at getting generators to sell coal-fired power plants rather than retire them.
• The Hill carries an op-ed from Bernard L. Weinstein, associate director of the Maguire Energy Institute and an adjunct professor of business economics in the Cox School of Business at Southern Methodist University in Dallas. In the piece, Weinstein writes that the combination of too few power plants being built and too many serviceable power plants being shuttered prematurely threatens the viability of America’s power supply.

EPA:

• Politico Pro reports EPA is working “as expeditiously as practicable” to finalize its replacement rule for the Clean Power Plan, but its timeline may slip because of the government shutdown, the agency said in a court filing Friday.
• Inside EPA reports Acting EPA Administrator Wheeler plans for the agency to publish its proposal to narrow the scope of Clean Water Act (CWA) jurisdiction in the Federal Register the week of Feb. 11, a long-awaited move that will formally start the 60-day clock for public comments at least two months after the rule was first unveiled.
• E&E Greenwire reports EPA expects to take action this spring on a high-stakes Clean Water Act debate pending before the Supreme Court. EPA is weighing whether to clarify and potentially narrow its interpretation of the types of pollution discharges that require federal permits.

Climate:

• E&E Greenwire reports the Trump administration last week took a major step toward releasing long-anticipated guidance on how federal agencies should consider greenhouse gas emissions under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).
• The Hill reports 58 House Democrats and Republican Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.) sponsored a nonbinding resolution reaffirming support for the Paris climate change agreement and calling for no withdrawal from the pact. The U.S. cannot legally withdraw from the accord until November 2020, and the resolution would not require the country to return to the agreement.
• E&E Daily reports the House will return to work on climate change this week with four hearings that will help gauge where Democrats want to go with the issue in the 116th Congress.

DOI:

• The Wall Street Journal reports David Bernhardt, acting secretary of the DOI who has been nominated to lead the agency, said his job “is one of balance” between environmental and production interests, and that while the agency will maintain its emphasis on energy, it will also support conservation.

Infrastructure:

• E&E Daily reports as momentum continues to build for a broad infrastructure package, the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee will hold a hearing this week on the nation’s infrastructure needs and potential funding opportunities.

In the news today…

Coal:

• E&E Greenwire reports President Trump did not mention coal during the State of the Union, but coal supporters dismissed the idea they have been forgotten.
• Gillette News Record reports a bill aimed to shield against collateral damage from the coal industry’s decline passed the Wyoming Senate Wednesday. Senate File 159 proposes to strong-arm utilities like Rocky Mountain Power away from closing their coal-fired power plants in Wyoming. They should sell them instead, the bill contends.

Climate:

• CNN reports Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) and Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) introduced their Green New Deal resolutions, which lay out a goal to transition the United States off fossil fuels and toward 100 percent renewable and zero-emission resources, as well as to create millions of high-paying jobs. The resolutions also call for investment in renewables, zero-emission vehicles, energy efficiency improvements and smart power grids.
• Independent Record reports Montana lawmakers are considering two bills to tax carbon pollution, and not surprisingly owners of Colstrip Power Plant say the measures would kill the facility.
• E&E Daily reports the panel that House Democrats created to combat global warming is called the Select Committee on the Climate Crisis, but the fossil fuel connections of the members named yesterday suggest to some environmentalists a certain lack of urgency.
• Axios reports a small bipartisan group of lawmakers introduced legislation Thursday that would support the build-out of technology capturing carbon dioxide emissions.

Energy Policy:

• E&E Daily reports House and Senate lawmakers this week introduced more than a dozen bills related to energy and the environment. Many of the bills are returning from prior sessions of Congress, as members look to get an early start on a host of priorities.

World News:

• The Guardian reports one of the UK’s last seven coal power stations will close this year after half a century of generating electricity, as the polluting fuel continues its rapid decline in the energy mix.
• E&E Energywire reports an Australian minerals company says it’s close to perfecting processes for tapping a huge new source of electric vehicle battery materials — recovering critical metals and minerals from conventional mining waste and spent batteries.

In the news today…

EPA:

• Politico Pro reports the Trump administration has rescheduled its public hearing on its proposed rewrite of the Waters of the U.S. rule for the end of February.
• Politico Pro and E&E Greenwire report EPA’s proposal that declares the Obama-era mercury rule for power plants to be not appropriate and necessary will be published in Thursday’s Federal Register, opening a 60-day comment period.
• E&E Greenwire reports three environmental and conservation groups are challenging EPA’s approach to fostering compliance with its 2015 ground-level ozone standard.

Coal:

• E&E Energywire reports Peabody said yesterday it would cease operations at the Kayenta mine on the Navajo and Hopi reservations in the third quarter of this year in anticipation of the Navajo Generating Station’s (NGS) scheduled closure in December.
• S&P Global reports both gas-fired and coal-fired power plants have weaknesses when it comes to fuel security, an official from PJM told state energy officials Wednesday, highlighting the importance of fuel diversity in the broader conversation of grid resilience.
• Casper Star Tribune reports Peabody has reduced the amount of coal it plans to produce from Wyoming’s North Antelope Rochelle mining complex this year by 10 million tons, the company announced Wednesday following the firm’s release of quarterly earnings.

Clean Water Act:

• E&E Greenwire reports the Army Corps of Engineers has directed the agency to slash state review of Section 404 permits under the Clean Water Act.

Energy Policy:

• E&E Greenwire reports the new head Democrat of the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Energy offered a preview today of how the panel will look to advance clean energy technologies over the next two years. The strategy, heavily focused on funding research and development as well as expanding the use of the national laboratories, appears to be an emerging trend in the short term for the Democrats in charge of overseeing the DOE.

Uranium:

• Politico Pro reports the nuclear power industry is feuding with U.S. mining firms over a request for President Trump to impose import restrictions on uranium in the name of protecting U.S. national security.

World News:

• Axios Expert Voices contributors Sagatom Sah and David Livingston write that the controversial election of Felix Tshisekedi to the presidency of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) at the end of last year raises many new questions about the country’s future, especially with respect to the global cobalt market. Cobalt is an important component in electric vehicle batteries.