In the news today…
Congress:
- Houston Chronicle reports House Republicans pushed a series of bills Tuesday to reduce regulation of the oil and gas and mining industries in a bid to expand domestic energy production.
- E&E Daily reports President Joe Biden laid out a list of policy priorities Tuesday night in his State of the Union address, but one item missing was a central ambition for many energy-focused lawmakers: permitting reform.
Minerals:
- DC Journal reports 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. Katie Sweeney is quoted.
- E&E News PM reports European officials in Washington on Tuesday suggested the creation of a critical minerals “club” with the U.S. around securing supply chains tied to electric vehicle batteries and clean tech, a move touted as easing trade tensions and loosening China’s grip on the markets.
- E&E Greenwire reports a federal judge in Nevada on Monday upheld the federal government’s approval of the largest proposed lithium mine in the nation, dismissing arguments that the Thacker Pass project would degrade nearby aquifers, air quality, and habitat for the imperiled greater sage grouse.
- Reuters reports a U.S. judge ordered regulators to reconsider part of the permit approving Lithium Americas Corp’s Thacker Pass lithium mine project in Nevada, though the mixed ruling allows construction to begin and rejects claims that the project would cause unnecessary harm to the environment or wildlife.
- Wall Street Journal carries a letter which argues opening the area near the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness in northeast Minnesota to copper mining wouldn’t be a game changer.
Coal:
- Bloomberg reports worries about global warming have been overtaken by more prosaic ones about keeping the lights on.
- E&E Energywire reports European and Asian energy demand is expected to drive an uptick in U.S. coal exports this year and next, the U.S. Energy Information Administration said Tuesday.