The Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources held a hearing on infrastructure this week:
energy.senate.gov/hearings/2021/…
Lots of discussion about water use and wildfire management, but also commentary on nuclear power and critical minerals that may be of interest to investors.
In his opening remarks, Chairman @Sen_JoeManchin talked about supporting our “zero emission #nuclear fleet” and rebuilding our domestic supply chains by responsibly mining #criticalminerals
Ranking member @SenJohnBarrasso also opened with a mention of the “necessity of advanced nuclear”
It is notable that the two most senior members, Democrat and Republican, are both strongly supportive of #nuclear power.
On the panel was Kathleen Hogan, Acting Undersecretary for Science and Energy @ENERGY.
She gave a long list of DOE’s focus areas which includes #advancednuclear and critical minerals, as well as the existing nuclear fleet.
Also on the panel was Tanya Trujillo, Assistant Secretary of the Interior for Water and Science @Interior.
She points out the role the @USGS plays in understanding domestic resources such as #criticalminerals and what the DOI is doing to ensure sustainable production.
@Collin_OMara of @NWF spoke about the opportunity to clean up abandoned #uranium mines.
He referenced proposed reform of the General Mining Act of 1872, which still governs aspects of hardrock mining in the United States:
en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_M…
Mr. O’Mara also spoke on #criticalminerals and concerns about our supply chains being so reliant on places like China and the DRC.
He mentions #recycling and Senator King who introduced the Battery and Critical Mineral Recycling Act of 2021 last month:
king.senate.gov/newsroom/press…
@MarkPMills of @ManhattanInst gave several low carbon energy options, including advanced #nuclear, comparing the energy of #uranium to #oil, #coal and $TSLA batteries.
He mentions the potential of small reactors, such as those envisioned by Project Pele:
world-nuclear-news.org/Articles/US-De…
Mr. Mills points out that increasing use of #wind #solar and #batteries for #cleanenergy means using more #criticalminerals.
If we want to reduce our dependence on foreign imports, we have to increase domestic #mining.
Great exchange between Senator Manchin and the DOE panelist on maintaining the existing #nuclear fleet.
He asks if meeting our #climate goals will be possible without nuclear, and has sent a letter to @POTUS asking for a moratorium on further reactor closures.
@djheakin of @AAF was asked by Sen Manchin how we can satisfy the mineral needs of #cleanenergy technologies without relying on foreign supply chains.
Mr. O’Mara added that recycling rates for critical minerals such as #rareearth and #lithium are extremely low and increasing them could help meet domestic needs.
Permitting reform was another topic that came up frequently.
Even with the willingness and ability to develop our domestic resources, excessive lead times to navigate the regulatory process may prevent us from achieving our #climate goals.
Senator @MartinHeinrich spoke about #criticalminerals, antiquated regulations and the opportunities for abandoned mine cleanup.
In response to a question from @SenatorLankford, Mr. Mills emphasized that foreign #criticalminerals dependency will increase as domestic demand grows much faster than supply.
“If we recycled 100% of the #copper and #nickel and #manganese and #cobalt that we now use, it wouldn’t come close to supplying the needs for the growth paths that are being put in place”
How long does it take to permit a #nuclear power plant?
Great ideas on how to solve the #climatecrisis won’t work unless we can implement them in a reasonable time frame.
@SenAngusKing points out that the #energytransition away from #fossilfuels is really just a change in the things that we are #mining.
#Wind and #solar technologies rely on many different minerals and we have think hard about where they come from.
Senator @SteveDaines echoed the call for permitting reform to support domestic #criticalmineral production.
It doesn’t make sense to rely so heavily on foreign sources when these minerals can be found in the United States.
@SenCortezMasto talked about the importance of supply chains for #criticalminerals like #lithium and #cobalt.
In order to bring those supply chains back we have to focus on #mining as well.
In summary, another #energy hearing with strong bipartisan support for domestic #mining.
Reducing our reliance on #oil and #gas means increasing our reliance on #criticalminerals.
We are very interested in the companies that will produce these valuable #commodities.
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