In the news today…
Grid:
- Journal Review and KXNET reports that the USDA will award $91 million in Indiana and $50 million in North Dakota to modernize the rural electric grid and boost security.
Mining:
- Washington Post reports a contentious gold and copper mine project in Alaska may now be off the table after the Biden administration formally restricted mining in the area to protect one of the world’s biggest salmon spawning grounds.
- Washington Post reports the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Tuesday effectively vetoed a proposed open-pit copper and gold mine in a remote region of southwest Alaska that is a trove of minerals coveted by mining interests but that also supports the world’s largest sockeye salmon fishery.
- E&E Greenwire reports EPA will use a rare authority under the Clean Water Act to block the proposed Pebble mine and bar similar projects to dig up a massive gold and copper deposit in Alaska’s Bristol Bay watershed, home to one of the world’s premier salmon fisheries.
Coal:
- Politico Pro reports the EU’s use of coal-fueled power rose last year as countries faced a shortfall in energy supplies related to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, but the increase was not a high as many feared, according to a report out Tuesday.
Natural Gas:
- Robert Bryce reports on “The Billionaires Behind The Gas Bans.” The hypocrisy of the billionaires who are funding anti-hydrocarbon campaigns, including bans on gas stoves. Natural gas bans are more about class than climate change.
Podcasts:
- High Energy Prices vs. the Energy Transition , Redefining Energy