This Week in Energy
May Discussion
New Discussion
By Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK)
Chairman, U.S. Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources
Since our November 2019 critical minerals discussion , COVID-19 has decimated global supply chains . Factory shutdowns in China, which accounts for 40–50% of the global wind power supply chain, have caused supply shortages of wind turbine components and massive financial losses , threatening current U.S. projects. China’s outsized market share is also affecting the solar market , alt hough some analysts say a U.S. tariff on imported solar panels may have blunted the impact.
" The coronavirus pandemic has made clear that robust supply chains are essential to our economy and public health . I have been working for years to bring attention to one of America’s most significant supply chain vulnerabilities —a lack of domestic production of the minerals and materials needed to produce everything from medical equipment to defense systems—and I believe that action to address it is now timeli er than ever....
Energy is no exception : we need a wide array of strategic minerals to build the solar panels, batteries, electric vehicles, pipelines, and other infrastructure needed to power our society. "
Please respond to the discussion questions by adding your comment to one of the linked comment threads below:
  • Question 1: What impacts from COVID are you seeing on energy supply chains in your role at your company or organization? Has this brought new insights or caused you to view energy supply chains differently?
  • Question 2: What actions can the United States take to develop domestic critical mineral supplies and supply chains? Is there anything you would add to the Senator’s American Mineral Security Act?
  • Question 3: Which domestic clean energy supply chains are set up for success, and which need additional support, especially for resilience amid a pandemic or other supply chain challenge?
Energy Headlines
Axios
Washington Examiner
POWER Magazine
Source: Energy Information Administration (EIA), "Today in Energy," May 11, 2020. Data from EIA's Monthly Energy Review .
Past OurEnergyPolicy Events
Last week, General Clark —with Mark F. Sundback, Partner at Sheppard Mullin—discussed vulnerabilities in our energy infrastructure and how best to address critical threats.
La st December, OurEnergyPolicy and Keystone Policy Center hosted a panel d iscussion on challenges facing the United States’ nuclear fleet and policy solutions, including the Nuclear Energy Renewal Act.
New Publications in the OurEnergyLibrary
Nature
May 1, 2020
Columbia University Center on Global Energy Policy
May 8, 2020
Find these new publications and others in the OurEnergyLibrary.
Update from Congress

Fri, May 8

Tues, May 5 -

  • Sen. Lisa Murkowski, Sen. Dan Sullivan, and Rep. Don Young (all R-Alaska) wrote a letter urging the U.S. Department of the Interior to finalize the supplemental Environmental Impact Statement for ConocoPhillips’ Willow Master Development Plan in the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska.
Podcast Spotlight


In this Resources Radio podcast h ost Daniel Raimi talks with Julio Friedmann , a senior research scholar at Columbia University’s Center for Global Energy Policy and leading advocate for expanding carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS) technologies. Friedmann contends that prominent concerns about the viability, affordability, and safety of CCUS do not stand up to scrutiny.

Resources Radio is weekly podcast from Resources for the Future. Notable quotes and full transcript are also available for this podcast.
Featured Energy Events
Visit the Events Calendar to see more events from organizations across the country.
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