Top Stories

  • Today, the Environmental Protection Agency is expected to propose rollbacks of two 2015 regulations on the storage and release of coal ash at power plants and water contamination related to coal burning. The proposed changes would allow unlined coal ash waste ponds 40 acres or larger to operate until Oct. 15, 2028, as well as encourage the voluntary adoption of new filtration technology. (The Washington Post)
  • The Saudi Arabian Oil Co. formally kicked off its initial public offering on the kingdom’s domestic exchange, announcing its intent to release a prospectus Nov. 9, though two people briefed on the process said Aramco could still cancel the listing. Bankers said privately they peg the company’s valuation at $1.2 trillion to $1.5 trillion, shy of the $2 trillion the kingdom hopes to achieve. (Financial Times)
  • Energy Secretary Rick Perry will decline to testify in the House of Representatives’ impeachment inquiry but would consider a request to participate in an open hearing, according to Energy Department spokesperson Shaylyn Hynes. Perry, who intends to leave the department Dec. 1, said last week that he would not answer a congressional subpoena related to his discussions with Ukrainian government officials. (Politico)

Chart Review

Events Calendar (All Times Local)

11/04/2019
Peak Load Management Alliance Conference
Multiple Lawmakers Expected to Speak at the 2nd Houston Gas & LNG Forum 2019
Hill panel discussion of geopolitics of Middle East oil 9:00 am
Columbia University Event on How Nature Can Fast-Track the Recovery of Our Planet 9:30 am
Atlantic Council Panel on Democratic Presidential Candidates’ Climate and Energy Policies: Views from Across the Political Spectrum 12:00 pm
11/05/2019
Peak Load Management Alliance Conference
Energy Storage North America Conference and Exhibition
Multiple Lawmakers Expected to Speak at the 2nd Houston Gas & LNG Forum 2019
Senate Energy and Natural Resources Hearing on James Danly’s Nomination to FERC and Katharine MacGregor’s Nomination to be Deputy Interior Secretary 10:00 am
11/06/2019
Peak Load Management Alliance Conference
Energy Storage North America Conference and Exhibition
Senate Environment and Public Works Hearing on the Growing American Innovation Now Act 10:00 am
Senate Energy Subcommittee legislative hearing 10:00 am
EESI Event on Community-Centered Resilience: Lessons from Louisiana 2:00 pm
University of Chicago Discussion of Lessons from the Saudi Oil Attacks 6:00 pm
E2 Event on How California Can Achieve Its Transportation Electrification Goals 6:00 pm
11/07/2019
Resilience Week Conference
Fuel Cell Seminar and Energy Exposition
Energy Storage North America Conference and Exhibition
Environmental Business International Politics & Policy Summit IV
SEIA Solar Goes Corporate event 8:00 am
CSIS Conversation with Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) on U.S. Energy Resources in the Global Landscape 8:30 am
Columbia University Discussion of the Equinor Energy Perspectives 2019 Report 9:30 am
Senate Energy and Natural Resources Hearing on Issues and Legislation Related to Energy Development on Federal Land 10:00 am
U.S. Energy Association Briefing on Carbon Sequestration and the Application of Brine Fluids for CO2 Geologic Storage 10:00 am
Stanford University Conversation with Katharine Hayhoe 3:30 pm
11/08/2019
CSIS Event on Electrification Pathways to 2050 9:00 am
View full calendar
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General

Trump Interior nominee fast-tracked a ‘deficient’ drilling permit
Lance Williams, Reveal

In the days that followed, political appointees at the highest levels of the U.S. Department of the Interior went to extraordinary lengths to fast-track Cimarex’s drilling permit, according to a trove of emails reviewed by Reveal from The Center for Investigative Reporting. 

Calif. governor hits back at Trump over wildfire criticism, threat to cut aid
Kim Bellware, The Washington Post

President Trump on Sunday criticized California’s Democratic governor for his handling of wildfires and made a vague threat to cut aid as blazes continue to burn in the northern and southern parts of the state.

Maui Case Puts Scope of Clean Water Act in Supreme Court’s Hands
Ellen M. Gilmer, Bloomberg Environment

The dispute focuses on Maui disposal wells that send treated wastewater underground toward the Pacific Ocean, where it drifts among the island’s prized coral reefs. 

Democrats say they’re waiting for nearly 50 requests for Trump info on science, environment
Miranda Green, The Hill

Nearly 50 different Democratic requests for documents have been unanswered by departments and agencies that oversee President Trump’s science and environment policies, lawmakers say, underscoring the brick wall the administration has put up against congressional oversight.

Pentagon pushed to use vast swath of desert wildlife refuge ‘primarily’ for military purposes, draft bill says
Dino Grandoni and Juliet Eilperin, The Washington Post

The draft legislation would instead carve out 1.1 million acres of Desert National Wildlife Refuge to be used “primarily for the military purposes” and only “secondarily” as a nature preserve.  

2020 Dems target inequality with green plans
Rebecca Beitsch, The Hill

2020 Democratic presidential contenders are giving new attention to the idea of “environmental injustice,” heartening green advocates who argue that polluting industries have gone unchecked.

Oil prices creep higher on tentative U.S.-China hopes
Shadia Nasralla, Reuters

Oil prices crept upwards on Monday, with Brent reaching its highest in more than a month after the previous day’s boost from growing expectations of a U.S.-China trade deal.

Oil and Natural Gas

UK bans fracking in blow to onshore gas production hopes
Andrew Critchlow, S&P Global Platts

The decision effectively kills off the UK’s nascent shale gas fracking industry, which has suffered a number of setbacks and widespread opposition from local communities in recent years. 

Confusion reigns over US plan to ‘secure the oil’ in Syria as commanders await orders
Barbara Starr and Nicole Gaouette, CNN

US military commanders overseeing Syria operations are still waiting for precise battlefield orders from the White House and Pentagon on their exact mission to protect oilfields in eastern Syria, according to a defense official directly familiar with the matter.

Exxon, Chevron Begin Pushing Back Against Warren’s Fracking Ban
Kevin Crowley, Bloomberg

Exxon Mobil Corp. and Chevron Corp. executives spoke out publicly against the proposals for the first time on Friday, saying they would shift profits from crude production from the U.S. to other countries, and may increase prices for consumers while doing nothing to reduce oil demand or greenhouse-gas emissions.

Cheniere Energy posts $318 million loss amid higher expenses
Sergio Chapa, Houston Chronicle

In an early Friday morning filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Cheniere reported posting a $318 million loss on nearly $2.2 billion of revenue during the third quarter.

Flood of Oil Is Coming, Complicating Efforts to Fight Global Warming
Clifford Krauss, The New York Times

The flood of crude will arrive even as concerns about climate change are growing and worldwide oil demand is slowing. And it is not coming from the usual producers, but from Brazil, Canada, Norway and Guyana — countries that are either not known for oil or whose production has been lackluster in recent years.

Trans Mountain Pipeline Sale an Open Question in Canada
James Munson, Bloomberg Environment

Canada still says it could sell the major Trans Mountain oil pipeline to indigenous communities and use the proceeds to fund C$500 million ($380 million) a year in clean energy projects, despite growing doubts on its ability to do both.

Utilities and Infrastructure

California Governor Threatens State Takeover of PG&E
Katherine Blunt and Alejandro Lazo, The Wall Street Journal

The governor on Friday said he has demanded that PG&E executives, investors and representatives for wildfire victims appear in Sacramento next week to discuss how to expedite the company’s emergence from chapter 11 by a state-imposed deadline of June 30.

Edison once again seeks to limit liability from California fires
Edvard Pettersson, Bloomberg

The hearing Tuesday in downtown Los Angeles comes a week after Edison’s Chief Executive Officer Pedro Pizarro disclosed on an earnings call with investors that county investigators have found that the Woolsey fire was caused by Southern California Edison’s equipment.

Renewables

The Next Frontier for Electric Vehicles: Deep Underground
Rhiannon Hoyle, The Wall Street Journal

From rural Canada to Australia’s dusty Outback, companies are swapping out diesel-fueled drills, loaders and utility vehicles for equipment powered by lithium-ion batteries. They are looking to reduce emissions and eliminate the exhaust fumes that foul the underground air and risk miners’ health.

L.A. suspends Uber for refusing to provide real-time data on its scooters and bikes
Laura J. Nelson, Los Angeles Times

Following months of conflict over a controversial data-sharing policy, Los Angeles has temporarily suspended Uber’s permit to rent electric scooters and bicycles on city streets and sidewalks.

The Key to Electric Cars Is Batteries. One Chinese Firm Dominates the Industry.
Trefor Moss, The Wall Street Journal

China is by far the biggest EV market, and to boost its standing in the fast-growing industry, China began pressuring foreign auto makers to use locally-made batteries in the country several years ago. One company—Contemporary Amperex Technology Ltd., known as CATL—was the only shop capable of producing them at scale.

An Energy Breakthrough Could Store Solar Power for Decades
Adam Popescu, Bloomberg Businessweek

Scientists at Chalmers University of Technology in Gothenburg have figured out how to harness the energy and keep it in reserve so it can be released on demand in the form of heat—even decades after it was captured. 

Developing Wind Farm in New York Is No Breeze
Jimmy Vielkind, The Wall Street Journal

Electrical-generating facilities are often controversial in the communities that host them, and projects along Lake Ontario and in the North Country have fizzled amid concerns about noise, view-sheds and impacts to migrating birds

Coal

Coal plant on tribal land to close after powering US West
Felicia Fonseca, The Associated Press

Before the year ends, the Navajo Generating Station near the Arizona-Utah border will close and others in the region are on track to shut down or reduce their output in the next few years.

Nuclear

Future of Arizona nuclear plant may see hydrogen production
The Associated Press

Managers of a three-reactor nuclear plant that went online in the 1980s are exploring whether production of hydrogen gas will be part of its future.

Climate

Blood Gold in the Brazilian Rain Forest
Jon Lee Anderson, The New Yorker

Brazil’s National Institute of Space Research, which tracks the damage, calculates that one-fifth of Brazil’s Amazonian rain forest—the world’s largest remaining “green lung,” which absorbs billions of tons of carbon dioxide—has been destroyed since the nineteen-seventies.

Opinions, Editorials and Perspectives

Don’t Be Fooled: the Paris Climate Accord Matters
Avi Garbow, Morning Consult

On Nov. 4, President Donald Trump is expected to initiate the formal withdrawal of the United States from the Paris Climate Accord. This withdrawal will make the U.S. the only nation on Earth not to be part of the agreement, and serves as Trump’s latest abandonment of any semblance of American leadership on the global stage.  

California fires, rising seas: Millions of climate refugees will dwarf Dust Bowl by 2100
U.S. Rep. Yvette D. Clarke, (D-N.Y.) and Michael Shank, USA Today

“Climate refugee” is likely a new term for most Americans. Also referred to as environmental migrants, climate refugees are people who are now forced to seek refuge from the life-threatening impacts of the climate crisis.

Global Warming Is Already Destroying New England’s Fisheries
Audrey Gray, The New Republic

But deep down, we know better. And if the national discussion hasn’t moved to climate change in the Northeast yet, it soon will. The effects are already profound—they just happen to be underwater.

Research Reports

Energy Efficiency 2019
International Energy Agency

Energy efficiency has tremendous potential to boost economic growth and avoid greenhouse gas emissions, but the global rate of progress is slowing – a trend that has major implications for consumers, businesses and the environment. 

Morning Consult