Good Monday morning!
In the news today and from the weekend…
Grid:
- Reuters reports that California’s electric grid operator has approved a plan expected to cost $7.3 billion for 45 new power transmission projects over the next decade and made it easier for new power plants in high-priority areas to connect to the grid.
- Michigan Advance reports that a new assessment from grid reliability regulators warns that much of the central U.S. faces an elevated risk of electricity shortages this summer in the event of severe and protracted heat waves.
- Utility Dive reports that grid operator MISO holds its first-ever seasonal capacity auction, with prices plunging across its central and northern regions but observers warning that there is still a longer-term need for more generation.
- Guardian reports that pushback to large-scale transmission projects across the country highlights the challenges of building the transmission lines needed to transport new clean energy from where it’s generated to population centers.
Permitting:
- The Hill reports that nearly 80 House Democrats wrote a letter expressing concern about tying pieces of a Republican-led permitting reform package to must-pass legislation amid efforts to get a permitting reform deal into a compromise debt limit bill.
Mining:
- E&E Greenwire reports the U.S. Geological Survey is investing nearly $6 million to map critical mineral deposits in Alaska using money from the bipartisan infrastructure law, an effort that’s accelerating as a shift to electric vehicles and renewables ramps up the need for materials used in those technologies.
- Reuters reports Ford has signed a flurry of lithium supply deals to take advantage of domestic tax credits.
- The Wall Street Journal reports Exxon has joined the hunt for lithium buying up significant acreage in Arkansas.
- The New York Times reports The United States is entering an array of agreements to secure the critical minerals necessary for the energy transition, but it’s not clear which of the arrangements can succeed.
Coal:
- Mining.com reports while many majors are walking away from the coal business to improve ESG metrics and appease investors, some savvy miners are looking at ways to advance clean energy projects on current and former coal mine sites.