Top Stories

  • After much back-and-forth on the fate of the Dakota Access oil pipeline in recent weeks, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit reversed a lower court judge’s earlier order to shut it down pending a more complete environmental review, saying the judge “did not make the findings necessary for injunctive relief.” But the decision was mixed for pipeline operator Energy Transfer LP, as the appellate court declined to grant the company’s motion to block the environmental review and expressed the expectation that all parties clarify their positions in a lower court. (The Associated Press)
  • U.S. coal giant Peabody Energy Corp. reported a net loss of $1.54 billion during the second quarter of 2020 after writing down more than half the value of its North Antelope Rochelle mine to the tune of $1.42 billion. According to Bloomberg Intelligence mining analyst Andrew Cosgrove, this could be a sign of the company’s recognition that coal supply will outlive demand: “They might have cut the mine life in half,” he said in an interview. (Bloomberg)
  • According to census data, the United States sent a shipment of 550,000 barrels — or 18,300 barrels per day — of crude oil to Saudi Arabia in June, in what seems to be its first delivery to the kingdom since the U.S. ban on crude exports lifted in 2015. However, neither the U.S. Energy Information Administration nor Refinitiv Eikon vessel tracking data has any record of the shipment. (Reuters)

Chart Review

Events Calendar (All Times Local)

08/06/2020
Enhancing Federal Clean Energy Innovation
IEEE Power & Energy Society General Meeting 2020
USAID online event: Scaling up Financing for Clean Energy, Sustainable Landscapes, and Climate Adaptation 9:00 am
08/07/2020
Enhancing Federal Clean Energy Innovation
Atlantic Council’s EnergySource Innovation Stream: Hydrogen fuel cell technology and infrastructure in the commercial transportation industry 10:30 am
08/11/2020
Deloitte webinar: Women in infrastructure: Energy panel 3:30 pm
View full calendar

Watch On-Demand – Most Loved Brands: What Drives Brand Love In A Year Like No Other

Recently, Morning Consult held a webinar breaking down the results in this year’s edition of Most Loved Brands.

Watch the webinar on-demand to learn which brands topped the list, what factors tend to drive brand love and how brands can excel in the COVID-19 era.

General

Colorado State forecasters predict five major hurricanes, 24 named storms in 2020
Erwin Seba, Reuters

Colorado State University Tropical Meteorology Project forecasters said on Wednesday they expect five major hurricanes from the 24 named storms in the remainder of the 2020 hurricane season.

Oil Eases From Five-Month High, Fluctuating With the Dollar
Saket Sundria and Alex Longley, Bloomberg

Oil fell from a five-month high in New York, fluctuating with other risk assets, even as investors look for clear signs about a sustained recovery in demand.

Oil and Natural Gas

Keystone XL Union Agreements Put Pressure on Pipeline Foe Biden
Jennifer A. Dlouhy, Bloomberg

TC Energy Corp. has reached agreements with four labor unions to build the controversial Keystone XL oil pipeline — a move that could amplify political pressure on Joe Biden, who has threatened to rip up permits for the project even as he courts blue-collar workers.

FERC plans to decide on Marathon Alaska LNG import project by year end
Scott DiSavino, Reuters

U.S. energy regulators said on Wednesday they plan to make a decision on Marathon Petroleum Corp’s plan to convert the Kenai liquefied natural gas export plant in Alaska into an import terminal by the end of the year.

U.S. oil production saw biggest decline since 1980 in May
Ben Geman, Axios

U.S. oil production’s nearly 2 million barrel per day decline in May was the steepest monthly drop since at least 1980, the federal Energy Information Administration said in a short report.

Exxon Says 20% of Oil, Gas Reserves Threatened by Low Prices
Kevin Crowley and Joe Carroll, Bloomberg

Exxon Mobil Corp. warned that low energy prices may wipe as much as one-fifth of its oil and natural gas reserves off the books. If depressed prices persist for the rest of the year, “certain quantities of crude oil, bitumen and natural gas will not qualify as proved reserves at year-end 2020,” the company said in a regulatory filing on Wednesday. A 20% hit would impact the equivalent of almost 4.5 billion barrels of crude, or enough to supply every refinery on the U.S. Gulf Coast for 18 months.

U.S. glass maker seeks to seize Venezuela-owned oil tanker to collect award, court papers show
Luc Cohen and Marianna Parraga, Reuters

U.S. glass manufacturer O-I Glass Inc is seeking to seize an oil tanker owned by Venezuela to collect part of a $500 million arbitration award it won after the 2010 expropriation of two manufacturing plants, according to a summons filed with a Singapore court seen by Reuters.

Coronavirus hastens Big Oil’s Atlantic divide on climate change
Amy Harder, Axios

The pandemic is accelerating a divide between European and American oil companies over climate change and clean energy.

Devon Rushes to Get Fracking Permits Ahead of Possible Biden Win
Rachel Adams-Heard, Bloomberg Law

Devon Energy Corp. is rushing to get permits for wells on federal lands in New Mexico ahead of the U.S. presidential election, which could bring a moratorium on new leases if Democratic candidate Joe Biden wins.

Marathon Oil posts quarterly loss on oil crash
Reuters

U.S. oil and gas producer Marathon Oil Corp on Wednesday posted a quarterly loss compared with a year-ago profit, as the coronavirus-induced lockdowns crushed crude prices and sapped demand for fuel.

Utilities and Infrastructure

Officials warn of increasing cyber threats to critical infrastructure during pandemic
Maggie Miller, The Hill

Senators and other energy sector officials warned Wednesday that foreign adversaries are continuing to target the U.S. electric grid, noting that the COVID-19 pandemic has only underscored the dangers.

Giant American Cars Don’t Belong on the Streets of the Future
Nathaniel Bullard, Bloomberg

Buyers keep choosing SUVs, which are increasingly out of place on roads filled with bikers and pedestrians.

Renewables

Electric vehicle startup Nikola claims progress but stock plunges
Ben Geman, Axios

Nikola Corp., a company planning to build electric and hydrogen fuel-cell trucks, posted a $86.6 million quarterly net loss Tuesday in what was its first earnings report after going public in June.

Europe is going all in on hydrogen power. Why isn’t the US?
Shannon Osaka, Grist

In 1845, English scientist Sir William Grove (aka “the father of the fuel cell”) demonstrated that, given the right conditions and the addition of oxygen, hydrogen gas — also called H2 — can undergo a chemical reaction and produce a potent, and non-polluting, electrical punch. The possibilities for hydrogen power seemed endless: It could fuel our cars, heat our homes, and even power our airplanes. But today, 175 years after the creation of that first “gas battery,” the technology has yet to reach its full potential.

Offshore wind report forecasts $1.7B of revenue from new federal lease auctions by 2022
Iulia Gheorghiu, Utility Dive

The Department of the Interior could authorize the potential for 28 GW of new offshore wind through a new set of leasing auctions, leading to $17 billion of capital investment by 2025 and $108 billion by 2030, according to a Wood Mackenzie study released Tuesday.

Coal/Nuclear

Nuclear Fusion Will Not Save Us
Yessenia Funes, Earther

Last week, construction kicked off on the world’s largest experimental nuclear fusion reactor. It marked the start of a new era in the energy sector: The fossil fuel industry has historically dominated this arena, but renewable energy is quickly taking over. Now, nuclear scientists are hoping that the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor, or ITER, the experimental power plant under construction in southern France, can play a role alongside already-established technologies like solar and wind.

Contractor at nuclear regulatory office tests positive for coronavirus
Rachel Frazin, The Hill

A contractor in a Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) office in Pennsylvania tested positive for the coronavirus, resulting in a brief closure of the office.

Climate

The Striking Parallels Between Covid-19 and Climate Change
Drew Costley, OneZero

This is a busy time for Ayana Elizabeth Johnson, PhD, a marine biologist, environmental policy expert, and CEO of conservation consulting firm Ocean Collectiv. Johnson spoke to OneZero about oceans, climate justice, parallels in the responses to the coronavirus and climate change, how Joe Biden and Donald Trump differ on climate, and her new book and podcast.

Ford-owned scooter company Spin makes “carbon negative” pledge
Ben Geman, Axios

Spin, the Ford-owned electric scooter company, said Wednesday that it will find a way to cut more carbon emissions than it creates by 2025.

Harris and Ocasio-Cortez Team up on a Climate ‘Equity’ Bill, Leaving Activists Hoping for Unity
Ilana Cohen, InsideClimate News

The legislation comes as the California senator is on Joe Biden’s shortlist for vice president. Will her climate bona fides satisfy progressives?

US could avoid 4.5M early deaths by fighting climate change, study finds
Rebecca Beitsch, The Hill 

The U.S. stands to avoid 4.5 million premature deaths if it works to keep global temperatures from rising by more than 2 degree Celsius, according to new research from Duke University.

Opinions, Editorials and Perspectives

Trump Tries to Make It Hard for Anyone Else to Behave Ethically, Either
Bill McKibben, The New Yorker

Given what you know of the Trump Administration, you may not be shocked to learn that—hidden away behind a wall of acronyms, and obscured in the recesses of the federal rule-making process—it is doing its best to stall the trend toward ethical investing.

Research Reports

Climate Change: A Climate Migration Pilot Program Could Enhance the Nation’s Resilience and Reduce Federal Fiscal Exposure
U.S. Government Accountability Office

Sea level rise due to climate change threatens areas where millions of Americans live. In all but the lowest projections, retreat or relocation of communities from coastal areas will be unavoidable, according to the U.S. Global Change Research Program. One way to prepare is to preemptively move away from vulnerable areas. But few communities have considered such climate migration. There is some related federal funding, but it’s hard to use for climate migration because the programs are designed to address other priorities. (We recommended Congress consider establishing a federally-led pilot program to help communities interested in relocation.

Performance Assessments of Demand Flexibility from Grid-Interactive Efficient Buildings: Issues and Considerations
Steven R. Schiller et al., Electricity Markets and Policy

This SEE Action Network report explains basic concepts and fundamental considerations for assessing the actual demand flexibility performance of buildings participating in demand flexibility programs and responding to time-varying retail rates. Demand flexibility is the capability of distributed energy resources (DERs) to adjust a building’s load profile across different timescales. Assessments determine the timing, location, quantity, and quality of grid services provided.

A National Investment Authority
Data For Progress

Revitalizing the U.S. economy post-coronavirus creates a crucial opportunity to address climate change through massive rebuilding and “greening” of America’s public infrastructure. Given the long-term structural and distributional implications of climate change, this economy-wide transformation must be implemented in a way that produces tangible public benefits, instead of exacerbating existing socio-economic and racial disparities and further concentrating economic power in private hands. Creation of a National Investment Authority (NIA) is a vital step toward ensuring environmentally sustainable and socially inclusive infrastructural growth and development.

Morning Consult