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Coal tailings could solve United States’ need for rare earth elements

New research out of Northeastern University published in Environmental Science & Technology has discovered a new way to extract rare earth elements out of coal tailings. Using a chemical treatment and a specially designed microwave reactor to control the temperature, the researchers have doubled the extraction levels previously possible. …

Europe’s Electricity Prices Are Far Higher than Prices in the United States

In Europe, electricity prices are two to four times higher than in the United States, with the U.K.’s industrial electricity price 4.2 times higher and Germany’s residential electricity price 2.6 times higher. Business executives and some economists say much of the increase is due to the shift to intermittent renewables like wind and solar, which …

DOE Secretary Wright: Coal is Critical to Meeting Energy Demand

President Trump and his Energy Secretary, Chris Wright, want U.S. utilities to continue operating coal plants to help meet growing electricity demand, avoid blackouts, and keep the United States from deindustrializing as Germany has done with its energy transition to wind and solar power. …

Britain’s Disastrous Path to Net Zero Is a Warning to the U.S.

At last year’s U.N. climate conference in Dubai, the Biden administration agreed to triple the world’s renewable-energy capacity by 2030. It also joined the Powering Past Coal Alliance, pledging to eliminate coal-powered generation. This is all part of President Biden’s goal to completely decarbonize the U.S. electrical grid by 2035 and achieve net-zero greenhouse gas …