E&E News (Jan. 5, 2022) – One year after President Biden took office, federal agencies are facing pressure to carry out his administration’s energy and climate policies while navigating political calculations ahead of critical midterm elections.

The Department of Energy, the Department of the Interior and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission are expected to implement new programs and policies included in the $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill signed into law last year as well as respond to executive orders aimed at accelerating the energy transition. With another major clean energy bill, the “Build Back Better Act,” facing an uncertain fate, the three agencies could play an outsize role this year when it comes to advancing the administration’s agenda.

“It’s no secret that the federal government has been unable to act on climate issues, or hardly at all, because of the makeup of Congress, so it’s really been left to the agencies to get work done,” said Christine Powell, deputy managing attorney of the Clean Energy Program at Earthjustice.

Even so, environmental groups and others have been frustrated by what they see as a slow pace of change at the agencies, due in part to vacant positions or legal setbacks to some of the White House’s more controversial plans. Still, observers expect a flurry of activity in 2022 across energy agencies that could be pivotal in determining whether Biden’s energy agenda — and planned emissions cuts — comes to fruition.

DOE, for example, has control over tens of billions in infrastructure funds, but it will have to fill critical leadership vacancies, create major new offices and lay out plans to incorporate environmental justice into its spending.

Interior, meanwhile, is planning to reform its oil and gas program and deploying renewable energy on public lands, efforts that could reset drilling practices — and kick up controversy.

Biden Set To Jam Through Oil & Gas Reforms in 2022

The Verge (Dec. 29, 2021) – This year, the clean energy sector finally started grappling in earnest with one of its biggest challenges: how to get enough minerals to build solar panels, wind turbines, and big batteries for electric vehicles and energy storage. Figuring that out will be critical for escaping fossil-fueled ecological disaster. It’ll also be crucial for policymakers and industry to move forward without throwing certain communities under the bus in the transition to clean energy.

Instead of cutting through landscapes with oil and gas wells and pipelines, clean energy industries and their suppliers will open up the Earth to hunt for critical minerals like lithium, cobalt, and copper. Compared to a gas-fired power plant, an onshore wind turbine requires nine times more mineral resources, according to the International Energy Agency. Building an EV requires six times more minerals than a gas-powered car.

It’s about time to scrutinize what that hunger for minerals might cause, given the recent boom in pledges from countries and companies alike to reach net zero greenhouse gas emissions. Digging up the necessary minerals is already proving to be a minefield. Protests are popping up at proposed mines that no one really wants in their backyard. The conflicts that cropped up in 2021 are just the beginning of a challenging road ahead.

Clean Energy Creating Its Own Environmental Disaster