In the news today:
- Utility Dive reports that Cooperative utility leaders urge Congress, federal agencies to bolster grid reliability. “Demand is going up and supply is going down, and that’s not a good trend if you want to maintain system reliability,” said Jim Matheson, CEO, National Rural Electric Cooperative Association.
- Utility Dive reports that Federal regulators reject Southwest Power Pool’s proposal that would clear a path for transmission developers to profit off grid upgrades, saying it could increase generators’ costs.
Permitting:
- Argus reports US senator Joe Manchin (D-West Virginia), in a renewed push to expedite the approval process for energy infrastructure, plans to reintroduce a permitting bill that received bipartisan support last year but failed to pass.
- Roll Call reports Republicans in Congress may not like the Biden administration’s recent proposal to squeeze greenhouse gas emissions standards in the name of advancing electric vehicle adoption, but it does provide them with leverage on one of their top priorities: an overhaul of the federal permitting process.
- The Hill carries an op-ed arguing permitting reform is long overdue.
- E&E Daily reports Senate negotiators offered glimpses Tuesday into how talks on permitting overhaul will likely play out over the coming weeks as they race to find compromise on reforms.
Minerals:
- E&E Greenwire reports the Biden administration’s electric vehicle plan bets the U.S. will be able to secure enough critical minerals to electrify up to two-thirds of the nation’s new cars within less than a decade.
- Mother Jones carries a blog which argues we need to build more for the green transition.
EPA:
- E&E News PM reports Sen. Joe Manchin is promising to work to undermine the Biden administration’s historic proposal to limit tailpipe emissions in a presidential election year.
WOTUS:
- The Hill reports that the House failed to reach a two-thirds majority needed to override President Joe Biden’s veto of a measure aimed at overturning protections for the waters of the United States (WOTUS) rule finalized by the administration last December. The regulation is still not in effect in 26 states following a pair of court decisions that have blocked its implementation temporarily.