Welcome to Grid Brief! Here’s what we’re looking at today: NASA opposes a lithium mine project in Nevada, oil majors declare that the energy transition’s future lies with natural gas, US gas-fired capacity surges while solar looks set to boom, and more.

NASA Opposes Nevada Lithium Mine

Proposed lithium mines in Nevada have been under attack from tribal leaders and environmentalists for years. A surprising new opponent has entered the fray: NASA.

The site in question sits on an ancient lakebed. Miners look at the site and salivate—it’s packed with lithium. “But NASA says the same site — flat as a tabletop and undisturbed like none other in the Western Hemisphere — is indispensable for calibrating the razor-sharp measurements of hundreds of satellites orbiting overhead,” reports the AP. “At the space agency’s request, the U.S. Bureau of Land Management has agreed to withdraw 36 square miles (92 square kilometers) of the eastern Nevada terrain from its inventory of federal lands open to potential mineral exploration and mining.”

But the BLM’s decision has drawn criticism from both the mining industry and politicians. According to Kevin Moore, 3 Proton Lithium’s chairman, withdrawing the tract will keep his company from a third of its claims at the site, which hold around 60% of its value.

“It is supposedly a goal of the Biden Administration to boost the development of renewable energy technology and reduce carbon in our atmosphere,” Republican House Rep. Mark Amodei said. “Yet they support blocking a project to develop the lithium necessary for their clean energy objectives.”

Balancing the demands for a green economy with the other desires from major green groups has proven a durable challenge for Democratic lawmakers. But conflicting claims between science and industry is a new spanner in the works that adds yet more complication.

Oil Majors: Natural Gas Forever

The world's largest fossil fuel companies decree that the transition to a greener future will demand more natural gas.

Companies such as Shell and Chevron are planning to invest more in natural gas production, and Chinese and European importers are signing long-term deals to secure liquefied natural gas (LNG) supply well into the future. This shift marks a change in the public perception of natural gas, which was previously seen as a temporary solution before cleaner energy sources took over. Now, it looks here to stay.

“Liquefied natural gas will play an even bigger role in the energy system of the future than it plays today,” Shell’s Chief Executive Officer Wael Sawan said. “LNG can be easily transported to places where it is needed most. And what’s more, on average, natural gas emits about 50% less carbon emissions than coal when used to produce electricity.”

A major impetus for this change is the energy crisis caused by Russia's invasion of Ukraine, which has led to a surge in gas prices and a rush to find alternative natural gas suppliers. As a result, the world has made a major pivot to liquified natural gas.

Investing in natural gas also makes financial sense for companies. It has proven more reliably profitable in recent years compared to renewable energy investments, which have struggled to generate substantial returns. Gas has been a major source of earnings for companies such as Shell and BP.

“From 2015 through 2022, oil and gas majors — not just the five supermajors above but also companies like Repsol SA in Spain and Petronas in Malaysia — invested a combined $113 billion in low-carbon assets and technologies. Of that, more than half came in 2021 and 2022 alone,” reports Bloomberg.

And let’s not forget: natural gas plants pair well with renewable energy, as their turbines can ramp up to meet demand and supply reliability when wind and solar stop generating.

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Gas Plant Capacity Surges, Solar to Boom

Gas plant capacity is booming this year and solar is expected to surge, according to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s latest infrastructure report.

“Nearly 4,470 MW of natural gas-fired generation came online in the first four months this year, up from 551 MW in the same period in 2022, FERC said in the report released earlier this month. Utility-scale solar capacity increased by 3,409 MW through April this year, up from 3,064 MW in the year-ago period,” reports Utility Dive. “New wind capacity fell to 1,967 MW from 5,161 MW in the same periods.”

FERC anticipates solar will comprise 70% of “high probability” capacity additions from May 2023 through April 2026.

Conversation Starters

• Sweden ditched the renewables orthodoxy for its energy goals. “Sweden’s parliament on Tuesday (20 June) adopted a new energy target, giving the right-wing government the green light to push forward with plans to build new nuclear plants in a country that voted 40 years ago to phase out atomic power,” reports Euractiv. “Changing the target to ‘100% fossil-free’ electricity, from ‘100% renewable’ is key to the government’s plan to meet an expected doubling of electricity demand to around 300 TwH by 2040 and reach net zero emissions by 2045. ‘This creates the conditions for nuclear power,’ Finance Minister Elisabeth Svantesson said in parliament. ‘We need more electricity production, we need clean electricity and we need a stable energy system.’”

• Tata Steel needs different tech to his its emissions goals. “Tata Steel Ltd. says it won’t be able to achieve a goal to cut emissions by 2030 unless development of new technologies is accelerated,” reports Bloomberg. “India’s second-largest steel producer is seeking to trim emissions from the current 2.5 tons of carbon dioxide for every ton of the alloy produced to 1.8 tons in 2030, and achieve net zero by 2045. That’s even as it plans to double its Indian capacity to 40 million tons by the end of the decade.”

• An Indian solar giant has made landfall in America. “A venture group backed by India’s second-largest solar energy company, Vikram Solar, will invest up to $1.5 billion in the U.S. solar energy supply chain, with the first investments going to a factory in Colorado next year,” reports Oilprice.com. “The $250 million Colorado facility will be capable of producing 2 gigawatts (GW) of modules a year initially and double the capacity over time and will also create more than 900 jobs.”

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