In the news today…
Grid:
- Prairie Public Radio reports a planned 385-mile transmission line between North Dakota and Minnesota would be the nation’s first transmission connection between three regional power grids.
- Utility Dive reports that the Texas wind energy freeze-out shows need for better resource adequacy. The underperformance of wind energy during a Feb. 1 winter storm in Texas compared to its effectiveness during winter storm Elliott in December demonstrates the need for energy systems to be resource adequate in all scenarios and create a market for reliability, says an industry official.
Hydrogen:
- Energy News Network reports an Illinois coalition seeks to leverage hundreds of millions of federal dollars to develop a Midwest hydrogen hub based on the state’s plentiful nuclear and renewable energy.
Minerals:
- Washington Post carries an op-ed from Bloomberg arguing we’re not even close to running out of green minerals.
- CNBC reports the U.S. has some rapid catching up to do if it is to secure the reliability of its supply chain and its independence from competitors like China, a top White House advisor admitted this week.
Coal:
- E&E Energywire reports a federal appeals court ruled that a law making Kentucky coal artificially less expensive to the state’s utilities violated constitutional protections for interstate commerce.
- E&E Daily reports coal jobs, propane shortages and gasoline prices were the first order of business for the House Republicans charged with jurisdiction over taxes.
- The Hill reports coal power plants are a major contributor to climate disruption — but current policies give just a 1 in 20 chance of phasing them out by 2050.
World News:
- Mining.com reports German Economy Minister Robert Habeck on Monday said there was a chance that de facto free-trade status could be reached between Europe and the United States in the area of critical minerals under the US Inflation Reduction Act (IRA).