Happy first day of Spring!
In the news today and from the weekend…
Grid:
- Floodlight reports that electric utilities spent billions after 2014’s polar vortex to ensure power plants and the grid could handle extreme cold, but this winter it still wasn’t enough.
- Bloomberg reports that a Texas appeals court has reignited a fight over soaring power prices during the deadly 2021 winter storm that crippled the state’s electric grid.
Mining:
- E&E News PM reports the Biden administration is considering barring mining and geothermal leasing in a critical South Dakota watershed for two decades, a move that would block a controversial bid to explore for gold there.
- Indiana Capital Chronicle reports how quickly can — or should — Indiana transition away from coal? That’s a key question in the state legislature as lawmakers debate a bill that seeks to slow down the retirement of certain coal-fired power plants.
WOTUS:
- Politico Pro reports a federal judge in Texas has blocked the Biden administration’s new rule defining the scope of the Clean Water Act, but only within Texas and Idaho.