IEA warns world falling short on critical mineral mining

MINING: The International Energy Agency says the world needs to invest $800 billion by 2040 into mining of lithium, cobalt and other minerals needed to meet clean energy demand and avert the worst impacts of climate change. (CNN)

COAL: The federal Bureau of Land Management proposes ending new coal leasing in the Powder River Basin in Wyoming and Montana following a court order requiring the agency to redo a Trump-era land use plan. (WyoFile)

CLEAN ENERGY:

• Midwest states have received nearly $30 billion in private investments to boost clean energy manufacturing since Congress passed the Inflation Reduction Act in late 2022. (Inside Climate News)
• A Wood Mackenzie analysis projects $1 trillion in clean energy investments would be at risk if Donald Trump is elected president and follows through with his pledge to repeal U.S. climate policies. (Reuters)

WIND: New York regulators give the developers of Empire Wind, an 810 MW facility off the Long Island coast, the last state-level certificate needed to begin construction this month. (Newsday, news release)

CARBON CAPTURE: A Government Accountability Office audit says the Department of Energy may be ​“overly optimistic” in assessing the financial and technical risks of carbon capture and storage projects. (E&E News, subscription)

NUCLEAR: On an earnings call, the owner of Three Mile Island calls the recommissioning of Michigan’s Palisades nuclear plant ​“brilliant” and does not rule out a similar move for the Pennsylvania plant. (PennLive)

OIL & GAS: U.S. Sen. Steve Daines, a Montana Republican, introduces legislation that would overturn new Biden administration rules increasing federal oil and gas royalties and reclamation bonds. (E&E News, subscription)

UTILITIES:

• Critics of an Ohio bill to reform utility ratemaking say it could make it harder for some groups to participate and wouldn’t stop companies from adding charges to bills. (Energy News Network)
• New York lawmakers are introducing a bill to facilitate a public takeover of a Hudson Valley utility that has been accused of overbilling customers. (New York Focus)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES: Auto workers at two Mercedes-Benz factories in Alabama conclude voting today to determine whether to unionize, with momentum in the United Auto Workers’ push to organize the Southeast at stake. (Associated Press)

COMMENTARY: An editorial board criticizes the Biden administration’s electric vehicle tariffs, saying the U.S. has only itself to blame for ​“dithering over tailpipe emissions standards while China was figuring out how to get rid of tailpipes altogether.” (Los Angeles Times)