TGIF!
In the news today…
Media Alert:
- Thanks to the Midland Daily News (MI) for carrying my op-ed on how the EPA could break America’s power grid.
Grid:
- The Wall Street Journal reports that PG& E has applied for a roughly $7 billion federal loan to fund its ambitious plans to reduce California wildfire risk by burying power lines and upgrading the electric grid, company executives said.
- Reuters reports that three power grid operators announced support for a proposal from eight Northeast states to expedite the transition to clean energy and improve transmissions planning. ISO New England, New York Independent System Operator and PJM Interconnection will support the proposal from Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New Hampshire, New York, Rhode Island and Vermont.
Renewables:
- E&E News reports on how old coal plants could help fuel a renewable boom. Their links to the grid be repurposed to bring renewables online faster and aid nearby communities.
WOTUS:
- Inside EPA reports industry and Republican-state plaintiffs are urging a federal district court to vacate the Biden administration’s rule defining “waters of the United States” (WOTUS), a move aimed at forcing the agencies to write a new rule from scratch to account for the Supreme Court’s ruling in Sackett even as they work to revise the rule quickly and “surgically.”
Coal:
- Argus reports coal production in the US has edged higher so far this quarter despite less-supportive market fundamentals and some lingering supply constraints in smaller basins.
Minerals:
- Washington Examiner reports a top U.S. automotive trade group is taking aim at the Biden administration’s new vehicle emissions targets, saying in a new memo that the proposal is “neither reasonable nor achievable” and risks limiting consumer choice, disadvantaging the auto industry, and triggering “substantial” price hikes for all types of vehicles.