In the news today and from the weekend…
Coal:
- The Farmington Daily Times reports a community advisory group will develop a plan for investing funds to help the transition from coal to other energy sources that were made available through the Energy Transition Act.
- E&E Energywire reports county commissioners in northwestern New Mexico and a water utility that serves the state’s largest metro area want to intervene in a regulatory case over the upcoming closure of the San Juan Generating Station.
- The Washington Examiner reports coal plants are continuing to retire at a rapid pace, according to the Energy Information Administration.
- EIA reports more U.S. coal-fired power plants are decommissioning as retirements continue.
- E&E Energywire reports the new Ohio law which subsidizes nuclear and power plants had backing from Republicans tied to the White House and the coal industry, despite being advertised as a bill to support zero-carbon energy.
- E&E Energywire reports environmental advocates are rallying behind an Obama-era rule for calculating oil, gas and coal royalty payments as the measure faces renewed legal challenges.
- GOOD Magazine reports coal miners criticize Sen. Mitch McConnell over his two minute meeting with miners who traveled to the Capitol to discuss black lung issues.
Emissions:
- E&E Energywire reports New Jersey power company Public Service Enterprise Group Inc. declared a “vision” of net-zero carbon emissions by 2050, if public policy and technology advance.
- CNN Business reports PSEG is pledging to slash carbon emissions by 80% by 2046, compared with 2005 levels, and plans to get to net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.
Minerals:
- Greentech Media reports investments in mining to support key materials for batteries could come too late to meet rising demand.
- The Wall Street Journal reports former Idaho Governor C.L. Butch Otter is challenging Jervois’s acquisition of an Idaho cobalt mine as he wants an investigation into possible hidden Chinese links.
- E&E Greenwire reports Pebble mine investors received a heads-up on an EPA memo scrapping the Bristol Bay veto.
Energy:
- The Navajo Times reports the Navajo Nation still has no plan for the transition to renewable energy for when the Navajo Generating Station and Kayenta mine close this November.
- The Washington Examiner reports Rep. Rooney and Rep. Lipinski introduced and co-sponsored two carbon tax bills, and other lawmakers are putting forward carbon taxes of their own.
- E&E Daily reports three Senate Democrats introduced a proposal to set a nationwide energy efficiency standard that could save consumers billions of dollars while reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
Election 2020:
- E&E Energywire reports coal magnate Bob Murray is raising money for President Trump’s reelection in hopes the efforts can revive the coal industry and fix FERC.
- The New York Times carries an op-ed by Lee Wasserman, director of the Rockefeller Family Fund, who argues that candidates need to be judged on whether they will decrease fossil fuel extraction.