Based on comments made Wednesday by Sec. of Energy Chris Wright, Bloomberg reports that the Trump administration plans to continue using emergency authority to prevent the closure of well operating coal power plants. DOE has already issued two such emergency orders to date, and those orders helped keep the lights on during several summer heatwaves when electricity use surged.
How much does government investment in a project influence Wall Street? Well, shares in Lithium Americas almost doubled on Wednesday, based on the news that the US government may seek a stake in the project. The company confirmed it is in discussions with the Department of Energy and its partner in the Thacker Pass lithium project in Nevada, General Motors, about conditions that will help finance construction at its site. Reuters reported Tuesday that the Trump administration could be taking a 10% equity stake in the company.
The Group of Seven - or G7- and the EU are looking at how to implement a price floor for rare earths, to reduce reliance on China. If adopted, the measure would significantly incentivize rare earth producers within the G7 bloc. The discussion comes after G7 leaders drafted an "action plan" to diversify sources of critical minerals, reflecting growing concerns over supplies of rare earths, gallium, germanium, graphite, antimony and more.
