Happy Friday!
In the news today…
Grid:
- E&E News reports that in a unanimous decision, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission approved new reliability standards requiring generation owners to protect power plants from freezing and to draft cold weather preparedness plans. The decision comes two years after the deadly Winter Storm Uri in Texas left millions without power following a system failure.
Mining:
- Duluth News Tribune (Minn.) carries an op-ed which argues the United States is falling way behind in the global minerals race, and the big loser could be the green-energy sector, which is heavily reliant on minerals to power energy sources like wind and solar.
- Mining.com reports Teck Resources Ltd. is planning to separate its multibillion-dollar steelmaking coal business to focus more on industrial metals, according to people familiar with the matter.
- Washington Post carries a letter to the editor which argues mining for the energy transition is also harming the planet.
WOTUS:
- Reuters reports that a group of 24 Republican-led states sued the Environmental Protection Agency in an effort to stop a rule finalized in December under the landmark Clean Water Act from taking effect next month, as the suit alleges that the Biden administration’s rule to protect seasonal streams and wetlands violates the Constitution. The rule, which defines the so-called Waters of the United States, is too broad, according to ranchers, developers and industry groups, and will result in problematic permitting and regulatory hurdles.
- E&E News PM reports the Republican attorney general who led a successful Supreme Court assault against the Obama administration’s signature climate regulation is now using the same tactic against the biggest water rule of the Biden era.
Energy:
- E&E Climatewire reports lawmakers and U.S. officials are grappling with how Russia’s invasion of Ukraine scrambled the global energy landscape.