While this may not be the last trump or the final whistle of the match, something changed on Capitol Hill. On June 17, 2019 PV Magazine says the administration “acknowledged global demand for clean energy and energy storage”. Apparently Director Mike Pompeo’s State Department has launched a “new initiative” to challenge China’s clean energy dominance.
It Had to Happen, Even in the U.S. State Department
Promising to bring back coal is one thing and there may be some short-term merits. However allowing China to capture the markets for cobalt and lithium is another matter completely.
Mike Pompeo will be aware how many U.S. government departments back up their systems with lithium-ion battery banks. Therefore letting China hold their data storage centers to ransom – if it wanted to – makes bad strategic sense. The first of the three State Department pledges is to “engage resource-rich countries on responsible energy minerals governance”.
One Country Controls 80% of Rare Earth Elements
Moreover, the State Department expressed a “serious concern” according to Christian Roselund writing in PV magazine. “Over 80% of the global supply chain of rare earth elements is controlled by one country” the statement says. These are important minerals for electric vehicles and wind turbine components.
Therefore, the State Department’s second pledge to “support resilient supply chains” makes good sense. The third one is to ”promote responsible and sustainable mining practices” although this is a strange bedfellow for coal.
The Department begins its statement with the words “Increasing demand for renewable energy, electric vehicles, and battery storage technologies will create unprecedented demand for energy resource minerals”. However, it remains to be seen how China will counter this, if at all.
Or whether powerful Senate forces will allow Director Mike Pompeo to challenge the power of coal. In hindsight we hence remain intrigued, but not convinced the administration genuinely saw the light of dawn.
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