In the news today…
Coal:
- Marketplace reports Murray Energy is currently in federal court in a case centered on rights concerning reporting safety problems in mines due to comments by their CEO, Bob Murray.
- RenewEconomy reports Hawaiian Electric is preparing for the end of fossil fuels on the islands by beginning its second phase of its renewable energy resource procurement plan centered on solar power. The plan is to retire fossil fuel plants on Maui and Oahu in the next five years.
- Billings Gazette reports Montana House lawmakers heard the first arguments on Monday about a plan committing NorthWestern Energy customers to paying the utility $75 million as it looks to buy the Colstrip Power Plant.
- The Missoulian carries an editorial in which the author argues that attempts to save Colstrip should be abandoned as “coal power has been eclipsed in every way by solar, wind, hydro and cheap natural gas.”
- The Biloxi Sun Herald reports Rep. John Yarmouth is reviving a study previously scrapped by the Trump administration and attempting to halt all new mountaintop coal removal mining permits until the potential health effects can be assessed.
Carbon Capture:
- McClatchy reports the White House will begin promoting carbon capture and storage technology.
- E&E Daily reports Rep. Kathy Castor, chairwoman of the House Select Committee on the Climate Crisis, hasn’t ruled out nuclear power or carbon capture technology as potential climate solutions, calling for a “balance”.
Mining:
- E&E Daily reports lawmakers have introduced a string of new legislation, including measures to streamline permitting and introduce funds to research ways of extracting rare earth metals from coal and coal byproducts.
- WVNews reports the opening of Mine 9, a movie about a coal mine entrapment, opening Friday in select states. It will open nationwide starting next week.
- The State Journal reports on the 2019 West Virginia Mine Drainage Task Force Symposium, which was attended by hundreds of mining specialists and included a presentation on the extraction of rare earth elements.
- WDIO reports Michigan Technological University will be bringing back a mining engineering program, a department whose roots go back to the 1800s.
World News:
- E&E Climatewire reports young German activists have staged weekly “school strikes” to demand more ambitious plans for curbing greenhouse gas emissions, including moving forward the timeline for Germany to phase out coal-fired power plants.