Heather Reams is president of Citizens for Responsible Energy Solutions. China dominates the global critical mineral supply chain threatening the United States’ national security and goal of energy dominance. Last year, China mined 270,000 metric tons of rare earth elements, which comprises over two-thirds of global rare earth production. China also controls nearly 90% of global refining capacity. This is why President Trump’s Executive Order 14241 underscores a key challenge facing America’s economic and national security: the United States’ dependence on foreign critical minerals sourced largely from overseas, particularly from China.  To be specific, lithium, cobalt, graphite and rare earth elements — all crucial for batteries powering electric vehicles and renewable energy systems — flow largely through China’s processing facilities, creating a troubling strategic vulnerability. This makes the administration’s call for a robust domestic critical mineral supply chain not mere politics — it’s a strategic national and economic security imperative in the age of increasing geopolitical competition, surging energy demand and artificial intelligence.   However, an important question to ask ourselves is why America outsources almost all mineral needs to adversarial nations such as China. The answer lies in red tape, decades of underinvestment and regulatory delays amidst global market dynamics. These factors lead us to rely heavily on imports, often from geopolitically risky sources. Even when the United States does extract its own minerals, most are sent to China to be refined. That means America’s own vast and abundant mineral resources — cobalt in Missouri, antimony in Idaho, lithium in Nevada, Arkansas and Maine — are left untapped and unused.  There is some good news: the Advanced Manufacturing Production Tax Credit, known as 45X, is a powerful policy lever created to strengthen our domestic critical minerals industry. 45X accelerates American refining and processing of critical minerals. Crucially, these tax credits are

President Trump on Friday signed four Congressional Review Act resolutions that will roll back energy efficiency standards and rules passed in the waning days of the Biden administration. The CRA allows Congress to rescind rules passed by federal agencies. The act, enacted as part of the Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act in 1996, applies to interim and final rules. The rules Trump rescinded Friday covered tankless natural gas water heaters, commercial refrigerators and freezers and walk-in coolers. A fourth resolution did away with certification requirements for a range of products subject to energy efficiency standards, but it did not alter the efficiency requirements themselves, according to the Appliance Standards Awareness Project. The water heater standard was expected to reduce total costs for consumers by an average of $112 over the life of the appliance, according to a fact sheet from the group. The rule for commercial refrigerators and freezers was expected to save businesses $4.6 billion and walk in cooler standards would have saved businesses up to $6.5 billion, both over 30 years of those products’ sales, the group said. “President Trump just signed a series of bills that will raise costs for families and businesses,” ASAP Executive Director Andrew deLaski said in an email. Trump has opposed energy efficiency requirements and has taken other steps to reduce regulation and oversight. The Environmental Protection Agency plans to end its popular Energy Star program, which helps consumers identify energy-efficient home appliances.  “It’s all about common sense,” Trump said at the signing ceremony Friday, arguing that the efficiency rules cost businesses money and leave consumers with less product choice. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, had proposed the resolution rescinding regulations for natural gas water heaters. “The Biden-Harris administration knew they were increasing costs on American consumers and limiting consumers’ ability to choose the heater that works

Dive Brief: Dominion Energy’s Virginia subsidiary has until December to propose a virtual power plant pilot program with up to 450 MW of capacity under a state law signed May 2 by Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin. Residential, commercial and industrial customers are eligible for participation in the pilot, which must include incentives for at least 15 MW of residential battery additions. By December 2027, Dominion must also propose an electric school bus program that would allow it to tap energy stored in idled buses’ batteries.  The Virginia law incorporates elements of model virtual power plant enabling legislation developed by distributed energy advocacy group Solar United Neighbors. Similar bills have been introduced in a handful of other states. Dive Insight: The Virginia law, which was introduced as HB 2346/SB 1100, only applies to Dominion Energy Virginia.  The law requires Dominion to petition the State Corporation Commission, which regulates utilities, for the pilot by December 1 this year and propose a program tariff for residential, commercial and industrial customers by November 15, 2026. Participants may enroll directly with the utility or through a third-party aggregator. Following the pilot’s conclusion on July 1, 2028, the commission must “evaluate the effectiveness of the pilot programs in providing grid services during times of peak demand” and begin developing a permanent program with set procurement targets and performance metrics. The Virginia law is a “major bipartisan win,” said Shannon Anderson, virtual power plant policy director for Solar United Neighbors. Anderson’s title reflects SUN’s preferred terminology: “distributed power plant,” or DPP. SUN’s model legislation and utility tariff incorporate elements of the ConnectedSolutions Massachusetts battery program, one of the few utility VPP programs to reach significant scale in the United States, Anderson said. Like ConnectedSolutions, the model tariff is open-access with no enrollment caps or expiration dates, allows

The UK is unlikely to implement zonal pricing before the end of the decade, according to a report from energy analysis firm Cornwall Insight. Zonal pricing might not be rolled out until the mid 2030s, according to its research. Kate Mulvany, principal consultant at Cornwall Insight, said: “Zonal pricing would represent the most fundamental redesign of the GB electricity market in decades. “It is an incredibly divisive topic in the industry, and regardless of the purported benefits, its implementation is going to take significant time and resource. Political backing and industry support may help, but a go-live before 2030 remains incredibly unlikely.” Implementation of a regional pricing scheme, known as ‘zonal pricing’, could take up to five to six years after any decision is made, the analysis firm predicts. Mulvany warned that keeping a credible delivery timeline will be essential to “keep renewables investment and avoid unintended consequences”. Energy secretary Ed Miliband is expected to make a decision on wholesale electricity market reform measures and implementation by mid-year. Zonal pricing forms part of these discussions. The government’s discussions around zonal pricing remain ongoing, with results expected this summer, a spokesperson for the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero confirmed. Miliband has previously said his “bottom line” is that any reform has to cut bills across the country, and that he would not enforce a system that led to a “postcode lottery”. A spokesperson for DESNZ said: “We are considering reforms to Britain’s electricity market arrangements, ensuring that these focus on protecting billpayers and encouraging investment. We will provide an update in due course.” The government’s commitment to making a decision on zonal pricing by mid-year “is the start of a long road, not the finish line”, Mulvany warned in a statement. Electricity prices Cornwall Insight anticipates that if zonal

The Port of Cromarty Firth has kicked-off work on its £111-million expansion with the award of a £1.5m pre-construction contract to civil engineers RJ McLeod. The phase 5 project aims to expand the port’s current 9ha Quay West facility and meet the needs of new North Sea fixed bottom and floating offshore windfarms. A spokesperson for Port of Cromarty Firth told Energy Voice: “This pre-construction contract awarded to a Scottish company and major employer in the local area is the first of many which will be coming over the next few months. “It’s important to stress that this is the pre-construction phase. As we look to start construction in November, more contracts will follow, as we work to a schedule which will see our expansion completed in the first half of 2027.” Glasgow-headquartered RJ McLeod will undertake detailed design work and produce a construction programme and plan, as well as planning the procurement of critical materials. The pre-construction stage is due to be finalised in the summer. Pre-construction work RJ McLeod was founded in 1951, and has grown to employ over 400 staff across its offices, which includes Dingwall along with its Glasgow headquarters. The company has previously worked with SSE on several projects, including the 103-turbine Viking Wind Farm in Shetland, and has helped develop battery storage and hydro-electric projects as well as grid and substation construction. It was acquired by Manchester-based private-equity backed OCU Group last year. Port of Cromarty Firth chief executive Alex Campbell said: “The award recognises the company’s long and successful track record in delivering projects of huge significance to the area in which they are built.” The Port of Cromarty Firth received £55.7m of UK government funding in March via the £160m Floating Offshore Wind Manufacturing Investment Scheme (FLOWMIS) scheme. The award was aimed

The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) has reduced its Henry Hub natural gas spot price forecast for 2025 in its latest short term energy outlook (STEO), which was released on May 6. In this STEO, the EIA projected that the Henry Hub spot price will average $4.12 per million British thermal units (MMBtu) this year. In its previous STEO, which was released in April, the EIA forecast that the Henry Hub natural gas spot price would average $4.27 per MMBtu in 2025. The EIA increased its Henry Hub natural gas spot price forecast for 2026 in its May STEO. This outlook sees the commodity averaging $4.80 per MMBtu next year. The EIA’s April STEO projected that the Henry Hub natural gas spot price would come in at $4.60 per MMBtu. In its latest STEO, the EIA forecast that the Henry Hub natural gas spot price will average $3.46 per MMBtu in the second quarter of 2025, $4.19 per MMBtu in the third quarter, $4.68 per MMBtu in the fourth quarter, $5.10 per MMBtu in the first quarter of next year, $4.35 per MMBtu in the second quarter, $4.84 per MMBtu in the third quarter, and $4.89 per MMBtu in the fourth quarter. The EIA’s April STEO saw the commodity coming in at $3.93 per MMBtu in the second quarter of 2025, $4.34 per MMBtu in the third quarter, $4.68 per MMBtu in the fourth quarter, $4.93 per MMBtu in the first quarter of next year, $4.18 per MMBtu in the second quarter, $4.61 per MMBtu in the third quarter, and $4.66 per MMBtu in the fourth quarter of 2026. “The Henry Hub spot price fell to $3.44 per MMBtu in April, down 68 cents per MMBtu from the March average,” the EIA noted in its May STEO. “The price decrease