Monthly Archives: September 2022

In the news today…

Grid:

• Washington Post and Axios report Hurricane Ian weakens into a tropical storm after leaving more than 2.5 million people without power in Florida.

Railways:

• Argus reports US railroads have reached a new tentative labor agreement with a union whose members had rejected an initial contract proposal earlier this month.
• Argus reports a new US Senate bill would require railroads to meet specific performance standards or face additional pressure from frustrated shippers.

Coal:

• Argus reports coal exports from Hampton Roads, Virginia, reached their third-highest level this year in August as some rail shipments accelerated and coal sellers filled orders made earlier in 2022.

In the news today…

Grid:

• Star Herald reports that the Nebraska Public Power District held a community meeting on a planned transmission line meant to improve resilience and relieve congestion. The new lines will help ease congestion on the city’s sole existing 115-kilovolt transmission system.
• Fox35 Orlando reports that Florida utilities are preparing for Hurricane Ian power outages.

Permitting:

• E&E Energywire reports Progressive lawmakers, green advocates and Republicans all cheered Tuesday night when Sen. Joe Manchin waved the white flag on his effort to attach permitting reform to the short-term government funding bill, but the effort still has signs of life.

Coal:

• Argus reports US coal consumption fell in July from year-earlier levels despite a jump in total electricity demand.
• Axios reports recent analyses and news reports together provide the latest evidence that coal’s huge role in the global energy mix won’t greatly erode soon.

In the news today…

Grid:

• Grist reports that Puerto Ricans question why restoration of their electric grid is taking so long after Hurricane Fiona, seeing as the Category 1 storm only grazed the island.
  
• Courthouse News reports that California researchers work to develop a smart grid to increase resilience as more intermittent renewables come online and power demand increases.

Mining:

• High Country News reports the Bureau of Land Management is taking comments on whether it should open about 28 million acres to oil, gas and mineral extraction.

Permitting:

• E&E Daily reports the Senate will take a vote Tuesday evening that could decide the immediate fate of Senate Energy and Natural Resources Chair Joe Manchin’s permitting bill and set the stage for a last-minute fight about government spending.
• Washington Examiner reports Sen. Joe Manchin is trying to rally support behind his permitting reform bill as the Sep. 30 deadline, provided in his deal with Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, closes in.
• Washington Post reports little-noticed language in a controversial permitting bill from Sen. Joe Manchin III (D-W.Va.) would change the way states issue Clean Water Act permits, drawing concerns from environmentalists about altering a bedrock environmental law, even as the practical effect of the provision remains unclear.

Coal:

• Mining.com reports over the last year and a half, the renaissance of coal – both kinds – has been gobsmacking.

Senate:

• E&E Daily reports committees will process several of President Joe Biden’s agency and judicial picks this week, with the Senate looking to confirm as many nominees as possible by the end of the year.

In the news today and from the weekend…

Grid:

• Bloomberg reports that power was restored to about half of the 3.1 million people in Puerto Rico after Hurricane Fiona knocked out power to the entire island a week ago.
• New York Times and Politico report that climate change-exacerbated heat and drought is straining California’s electric grid, forcing officials to rethink how power is generated, transported and traded.
• Utility Dive reports that Federal regulators propose incentivizing utilities to improve their cybersecurity measures.

Coal:

• Investor’s Business Daily reports the once-mighty coal industry is entering its final acts, say more than a few analysts, doomed by climate change and falling costs of cleaner energy. Yet coal stocks are burning bright as a natural gas supply squeeze stokes demand.

Minerals:

• E&E Greenwire reports the Biden administration may help fund overseas mining projects to obtain more minerals necessary to build renewable energy technology, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Thursday.
• Mining.com reports Republican congressman Ken Calvert (CA-42) this week introduced the Monitoring and Investigating Nations Exploiting States (MINES) Act to “hold China and Russia accountable for their efforts to monopolize critical mineral resources around the world, particularly in developing nations.”

Mining:

• Washington Post reports a mining company that wants to extract an assortment of rare elements from southeast Nebraska has announced an agreement that will provide up to $285 million to help cover the roughly $1.1 billion cost of building the mine.

In the news today…

Puerto Rico:

• Politico reports President Joe Biden said the federal government will pay 100% of Puerto Rico’s recovery costs over the next month, including debris removal, power and water restoration, shelter and food, as the island tries to rebuild after Hurricane Fiona hit over the weekend. The federal government typically pays 75% of disaster recovery expenses and shares the remaining cost with state and local entities.

Permitting:

• E&E News reports Federal Energy Regulatory Commission Chair Richard Glick said the agency is ready to use its new authority as detailed in Sen. Joe Manchin’s (D-W.Va.) permitting proposal, but noted that FERC “can’t move forward from a progress perspective on policy related to transmission just at FERC, and the states can’t do it alone.” Manchin’s bill, called the Energy Independence and Security Act, would for the first time give the agency authority to issue permits for long-distance transmission lines listed as being in the national interest.

Minerals:

• Mining.com reports the Biden administration plans to use a gathering of resource-rich nations to spur new investment as part of its bid to shift the supply chain for rare-earths minerals away from China.

In the news today…

Grid:

• Utility Dive reports that Republican attorneys general challenge federal regulators’ efforts to reform regional transmission planning, saying they lack congressional authority to enact the program meant to help bring renewables online.
• Energy News Network/Planet Detroit reports “Current reliability just isn’t adequate.” Michigan regulators order the state’s two largest utilities to detail plans for improving electric service reliability.

Coal:

• Trains reports mines have had to curtail production due to poor rail service that’s only getting worse even as demand for coal rises.
• PRWeek reports António Guterres has insisted that “polluters must pay”, telling attendees at the United Nations General Assembly in New York yesterday: “We need to hold fossil-fuel companies and their enablers to account.”

Minerals:

• Mining.com reports Perpetua Resources has been awarded two funding grants from the US Department of Defense (DOD) Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) to study the domestic production of military-grade antimony trisulfide, an essential component in ammunition and dozens of other defense materials.

Permitting:

• Reuters reports U.S. Senator Joe Manchin will unveil his full energy permitting bill on Wednesday to speed fossil fuel projects and offer incentives for renewable energy electricity transmission, legislation that faces an uphill battle.

In the news today…

Grid:

• Missouri Independent reports that critics say regional grid operators have been caught flat-footed amid the widespread shift to clean energy, creating bottlenecks as renewable energy projects seek to come online.
• E&E News reports a brief outage in Texas last year highlights the challenge of rapidly integrating large amounts of solar energy into the grid.
• NPR reports that most of Puerto Rico remains without electricity after being hit by Hurricane Fiona; the island’s governor promises power will be restored in “a matter of days.”

Coal:

• Vancouver Sun reports the longshore and warehouse union at Westshore Terminals is on strike, suspending operations at one of Canada’s largest and busiest ports for moving coal.

Minerals:

• Forbes reports the ongoing transition away from fossil fuels will likely trigger shortages of some key metals used in electric vehicle batteries requiring hundreds of new mines.
• Washington Post reports from Bloomberg that lithium prices are surging.

In the news today and from the weekend…

Grid:

• Reuters reports that grid operator MISO issued a hot weather alert for Tuesday in Missouri and Iowa, calling on energy companies to review outage plans and avoid capacity shortfalls.

Permitting:

• E&E Daily reports the Democrats’ permitting overhaul plans hangs in the balance this week as lawmakers inch toward the Sept. 30 deadline to pass a government funding bill to prevent a shutdown.

Railway:

• The Hill reports the White House-brokered agreement to avert a railroad strike has the potential to fall apart, threatening widespread economic disruption right before the midterm elections.

Coal:

• Yahoo! reports coal is making a comeback globally.

Carbon Capture:

• Bismarck Tribune reports a $1.1 million research project underway in North Dakota will help develop a model for using agricultural grazing land for carbon capture and offsetting emissions.

In the news today…

Grid:

• E&E News reports that in Massachusetts, the Electric Power Research Institute’s outdoor laboratory pushes grid equipment to its limits to observe its weaknesses in the face of more extreme weather.
• NOLA.com reports that Louisiana regulators approve $39 million for a New Orleans power plant after previously blocking it because city officials said they would not enforce the state’s abortion ban.
• KFYR reports that a North Dakota authority begins taking public comment on proposals to spend federal infrastructure funding on bolstering the state’s electric grid over the next five years.

In the news today…

Grid:

• CNN reports Michigan ranks among the top states for power outages in recent years as extreme weather, growing demand and aging infrastructure strain the power grid, according to a Climate Central analysis.

Mining:

• E&E Greenwire reports the Trump administration’s environmental review of a land swap for the contentious Resolution Copper mine in Arizona was flawed, scientists at the Bureau of Land Management concluded in a report earlier this year and made public this week.
• E&E News PM reports U.S. officials have withdrawn parcels of public land near the Fort Belknap Indian Reservation in Montana from future mining to protect a reclamation area where more than $80 million has been spent to clean up past mining contamination.

Coal:

• Wall Street Journal carries an op-ed which argues Beijing is building more coal-fired capacity than the rest of the world combined, U.S. climate lectures notwithstanding.
• E&E Energywire reports more than 300 existing and recently retired coal plants are suitable sites for next-generation nuclear plants, according to a new study from the Energy Department.

In the news today…

Coal:

• Bloomberg and Mining.com reports commodities groups are sounding the alarm as a potential railway strike threatens to cripple transportation of vital goods from food and lumber to coal.
• Argus reports global coal production and consumption is unlikely to have reached a peak yet, with geopolitical upheaval set to push overall demand and seaborne trade higher in the years ahead.

Energy:

• E&E Climatewire reports EPA is asking outside experts to weigh in on how it can write protective and legally sturdy rules to tackle power plant carbon pollution.
• Axios reports coal prices are soaring as the global energy crisis forces power providers worldwide to boost usage of the carbon-laden mineral.

Minerals:

• Inside EPA reports the Biden administration’s consideration of increased domestic mining of critical minerals is drawing competing arguments from environmental groups, which want stricter regulations, and the uranium mining sector, which warns any additional costs or burdens on the domestic supply of uranium could worsen a growing supply-chain crisis.
• Nevada Current reports a group of conservationists are seeking to get a tiny rare Nevada spring snail listed as an endangered or threatened species, arguing that the species is threatened by a planned lithium mine in Thacker Pass.

In the news today and from the weekend…

Grid:

• WQAD reports an Iowa utility has completed a $15.5 million transmission project that will improve local grid reliability and support a new solar project.
• MLive reports that the owner of a Michigan nuclear plant applies for a federal grant to restart the 800 MW facility, which has been closed since May.

Coal:

• E&E Energywire reports carbon dioxide emissions from the U.S. power sector increased 7 percent between 2020 and 2021 as coal use spiked to nearly a quarter of U.S. electricity, according to a report this month.

The Pipeline reports on “California’s Electric Boogaloo to Nowheresville.” Written by Steven F. Hayward of Powerline fame.

In the news today…

Energy Permitting:

• Washington Post reports despite the chorus of opposition from progressive lawmakers and activists, however, the stark political reality is that Democratic leadership plans to attach the permitting bill to a stopgap funding measure, giving it a good chance of passing.
• Politico Pro reports Sen. Bernie Sanders made official Thursday his plan to vote down a must-pass government funding if it includes Democrats’ energy permitting reform proposal.
• E&E Daily reports Sen. Bernie Sanders said Thursday he would oppose a stopgap government spending measure that includes forthcoming permitting legislation, underscoring progressive resistance to the bill amid protests by environmental groups.

Minerals:

• Mining.com reports Tesla Inc. is plotting a potential lithium refinery on the gulf coast of Texas.

Coal:

• Argus reports coal-fired generation in the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) decreased from year-earlier levels for the fourth month in a row in August, despite greater overall generation and restrained use of renewable power.
• Argus reports US thermal coal exports posted annual declines for a third consecutive month in July, led by decreases in shipment to parts of Asia and Africa.

Grid:

• E&E News reports that a record-shattering heat wave pushed temperatures to all-time highs in several California cities yesterday, straining the state’s electrical grid almost to the point of forced power shutoffs.

In the news today…

Grid:

• Star Herald reports that Nebraska Public Power District crews are scouting potential routes for a 115kV transmission line to improve reliability in the Scottsbluff area.
• KMBC reports that as heat waves become more common, Kansas City utility Evergy says it has plans and backup power plants in place to respond to spikes in demand.

Mining:

• S&P Global reports mining company executives’ preference for safe, short-term returns has led to a massive underinvestment in new copper mines and exploration, jeopardizing the metal-intensive energy transition.
• E&E Daily reports Senate Democrats returned to Capitol Hill last night looking for a path forward on permitting reform legislation and preventing a government shutdown.

Coal:

• Argus reports coal-fired generation in the PJM Interconnection, the US’ largest electric grid, fell in August from year-earlier levels for the fourth month in a row.

Minerals:

• New York Times reports investments in battery factories, solar panel manufacturing and mining will help the Biden administration meet targets for reducing greenhouse gases.

Grid:

• NBC Bay Area reports that thousands were without power yesterday in the San Francisco Bay area. PG&E said that the extreme heat was causing transformers to blow. Earlier Monday, the president of California ISO, which oversees the state’s electric power system, warned that the worst may be ahead. Forecasted demand for Monday and Tuesday is at all-time record levels, and the potential for rotating outages has increased significantly.

In the news today and from the weekend…

Grid:

• E&E News reports clean energy advocates say it’s inappropriate for grid operator MISO to be weighing in with support for proposed natural gas plants in its territory when the organization should be neutral on energy sources.

Mining:

• Reuters reports U.S. mining companies, automakers and a bipartisan group of congressional members are recommending that the federal government cut the time needed to permit a new mine in order to boost domestic production of electric vehicle minerals.
• Inside EPA reports as the Biden administration weighs the need for reforming mining policies to bolster critical supply chains for low-carbon technologies, environmental and industry groups are renewing debate over whether EPA’s Superfund financial assurance requirements are needed — or could be justified — to ensure contaminated mining activities are remediated.
• Wall Street Journal reports for electric vehicles to qualify for Washington’s new tax credits, a wave of investment in mineral extraction and processing will have to follow the build-out of U.S. battery plants.
• E&E Daily reports Congress returns from its recess this week to face major questions over a promised vote on permitting reform.

Minerals/Metals:

• Reuters reports Piedmont Lithium Inc said on Thursday it will build a lithium processing plant in Tennessee to supply the rapidly-growing electric vehicle (EV) industry.

In the news today…

Mining:

• Mining Weekly reports despite being home to extensive and varied mineral resources, the US is facing grave mineral supply challenges.
• Inside EPA reports industry groups representing the electric vehicle (EV) and mining sectors are pressing the Biden administration to pursue regulatory or statutory changes that speed permits for mineral extraction, arguing environmental reviews for such projects can take up to a decade to finish.
• E&E Greenwire reports two Republicans yesterday asserted their control over a federal mine safety commission as the term for the panel’s lone Democrat expired, according to an email sent to agency staff.

Minerals:

• Politico Pro reports Ford Motor Company, in a filing submitted Tuesday, is pressing the federal government for changes in permitting in order to allow more domestic mining of critical minerals needed for domestic production of electric vehicle batteries.

Coal:

• Metropolis Planet reports a downstate Illinois coal plant in operation since 1955 closes today before transitioning to a solar and battery storage site.