The power crisis in Texas has shone a spotlight on the electric grid, at a time when energy infrastructure faces growing demand from the auto industry's shift to electric vehicles.
Four months after an unexpected ice storm caused much of the Texas power grid to crash, state regulators warned this week that a June heat wave is causing a “high number of forced generation outages.”
“We need to jam on the accelerator here,” Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm said during a recent online seminar outlining the administration’s desire to promote battery electric vehicles — with an emphasis on designing, engineering and producing them domestically. In a new National Blueprint for Lithium Batteries, the Department of Energy has laid out a variety of steps to promote more U.S. production. That starts with greater access to raw materials. Internally, the administration has been debating whether to promote greater domestic mining or ally with friendly trade partners, such as Canada and Australia, to build up stocks of critical raw materials like lithium, cobalt and nickel.
Tesla’s Gigafactory in Reno, Nevada, is today one of the world’s largest sources of lithium-ion batteries and will add capacity alongside the assembly plant it is erecting in Texas, with CEO Elon Musk indicating other production operations will follow.
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Biden-Putin summit live updates: 'I did what I came to do,' Biden saysAsked whether he could trust Vladimir Putin, Pres. Biden says, 'This is not about trust—this is about self-interest and verification.'
Read more »
Biden Presses Cybernetic Biden Replica On Growing Threat Of AutomationWASHINGTON—Expressing concern that a lack of restraints on the burgeoning technological field may post significant consequences down the road, President Joe Biden reportedly pressed a cybernetic replica of himself Thursday on the growing threat of automation. “President Biden had a delicate but important conversation…
Read more »
Biden-Putin summit highlights: 'I did what I came to do,' Biden said'What are you so afraid of?' rachelvscott pressed Russian Pres. Vladimir Putin on the pattern of deaths and imprisonment of political opposition in the country, asking if it sends the message that he doesn't 'want a fair political fight.'
Read more »
Putin lavishes post-summit praise on Biden, says media have U.S. leader wrongRussian President Vladimir Putin lavished praise on his U.S. counterpart Joe Biden on Thursday, a day after the two leaders held a summit, saying Biden was incorrectly portrayed in the Russian and U.S. media as being unfocused and vague. Biden and Putin agreed to launch arms control and cyber-security talks at a Geneva summit on Wednesday, recording small gains and big differences at a meeting which they both described as pragmatic rather than friendly. Speaking to university graduates by video link later on Thursday, Putin, 68, had only warm words for Biden, 78, in contrast to Russian state media which has sometimes portrayed the U.S. president as struggling to do his job both physically and mentally.
Read more »
Biden Wants to Focus on China, but Putin and Russia Crises Remain a DistractionPresident Biden and Vladimir Putin discussed how to ease tension between the two countries to focus on the top U.S. threat: China. The question is whether Russia's president sees any reason to cooperate.
Read more »
Catholic Bishops Debate Communion for Biden, Politicians Who Support Abortion RightsThe question of whether to deny Communion to politicians who support abortion rights, including President Biden, has split the U.S. Catholic hierarchy and raised tensions between its leadership and Pope Francis.
Read more »