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Energy

Essential energy industry news & intel to start your day.
March 24, 2023
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Today’s Top News

  • LG Energy Solution Ltd. announced that it will invest nearly $5.6 billion to build a new battery-manufacturing plant in Queen Creek, Ariz., which the company said will mostly serve electric vehicle manufacturers in North America. LG Energy said the new complex will be the largest investment for a stand-alone battery-manufacturing plant in North America and meets eligibility requirements for the EV tax credits program under the Inflation Reduction Act. (The Wall Street Journal)
  • The Energy Department is finalizing efficiency standards for window air conditioners and portable air cleaners, which the agency told The Hill would save consumers about $1.5 billion annually on their electric bills. DOE also expects the new regulations to reduce carbon emissions by 106 million metric tons over three decades. (The Hill)
  • South Pole, which is the world’s top seller of carbon offsets, is facing allegations that it exaggerated climate claims for its forest-protection projects after outside experts and an internal analysis found that South Pole greatly overestimated the extent of preservation for a project in Zimbabwe called Kariba, which the firm claimed prevented the destruction of a forest almost the size of Puerto Rico. The review found that clients such as Gucci, Nestle SA and McKinsey & Co. are overstating their progress on climate change goals because the Kariba credits they purchased have failed to garner enough real atmospheric benefit, though South Pole says the credits are legitimate and will benefit the climate. (Bloomberg)
 

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What Else You Need to Know

Politics and Policy
 

Amendments could scramble House GOP energy bill

Kelsey Brugger et al., E&E News

House Republicans were hoping to iron out last-minute wrinkles in their massive energy package during their Florida retreat this week, but demands for amendments are complicating leadership’s plans.

 

Newsom gets big win: California Senate approves first-of-its-kind ‘price gouging’ bill

Sharon Udasin, The Hill

California lawmakers voted on Thursday to advance a bill that would penalize oil companies for “price gouging” — a first-of-its-kind legislation pushed forward in recent months by Gov. Gavin Newsom (D).

 

Unions Balk at Biden Plan for Mineral Trade Deals With EU, Japan

Ari Natter and Joe Deaux, Bloomberg

US labor unions are pushing back on White House efforts to allow European Union and Japanese firms mining and processing critical minerals to tap some of the lucrative subsidies available in the Biden administration’s massive climate law, fearing the move will sap American jobs.

 

Progressive Democrats Launch Group to Rebut GOP Energy Agenda

Kellie Lunney, Bloomberg Law

Progressive Democrats in the House are working to speed up clean-energy projects and meet the Biden administration’s emissions reduction targets through a new task force, offering an alternative to Republican energy proposals.

 
Climate and Enviroment
 

Carbon-Eating Cement Gets Spotlight at DOE’s Bleeding-Edge Expo

Ari Natter, Bloomberg

The Energy Department incubator ARPA-E, which funds experimental green technologies, holds its annual conference this week. “The problems we are working on require your imagination,” says Director Evelyn Wang.

 

Test shows hydrogen blending slightly reduces gas power plant emissions

Julian Spector, Canary Media

A gas plant in Michigan successfully burned a mix of hydrogen and methane to generate electricity in a recent field test. That’s an important proof point for efforts to turn hydrogen into a pillar of the clean energy transition — but mass adoption of the fuel is still far from certain.

 

Water contamination in Oregon could prompt EPA to step in

The Associated Press

The Environmental Protection Agency is urging Oregon to clean up water contamination from nitrates in the eastern part of the state, warning it could step in under the Safe Drinking Water Act in the absence of sufficient local action.

 

Minnesota officials plug fight against ‘forever chemicals’

Steve Karnowski, The Associated Press

Minnesota pollution and health officials made the case at the State Capitol on Thursday for legislation to restrict nonessential uses of “forever chemicals” known as PFAS, and for the $45.6 million that Gov. Tim Walz has requested in his budget to prevent, manage and clean up the ubiquitous compounds.

 

In Montana, It’s Youth vs. the State in a Landmark Climate Case

David Gelles, The New York Times

Sixteen young Montanans have sued their state, arguing that its support of fossil fuels violates the state Constitution.

 
Renewables and Nuclear
 

US Solar Capacity Gets Boost From $147 Million Hanwha Plant

Will Wade, Bloomberg

Hanwha Solutions Corp. plans to spend $147 million on a plant in Georgia that supplies material for panels, drawing cheers from President Joe Biden who credits his climate law for jumpstarting efforts to build a solar supply chain in the US. 

 

Wind Farms Need to Boom to Hit Climate Targets, But Growth Is Stalling

Will Mathis and Josh Saul, Bloomberg

Wind power industry growth dropped to the lowest in three years in 2022, hit by rising costs and shifting government policies.

 

BP weighs buying control of solar power JV Lightsource BP -sources

Ron Bousso, Reuters

BP is considering buying the remaining 50% stake in Lightsource BP, its solar power joint venture, as part of the British giant’s drive to build up its renewable energy capacity, three industry and company sources said.

 

Radioactive water leaks at Minn. nuclear plant for 2nd time

The Associated Press

Water containing a radioactive material has leaked for a second time from a nuclear plant near Minneapolis and the plant will be shut down, but there is no danger to the public, the plant’s owner said Thursday.

 
Fossil Fuels
 

U.S. energy secretary says it could take years to refill oil reserve

Timothy Gardner, Reuters

It could take years for the United States to refill the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, the energy secretary told lawmakers on Thursday, after sales directed by President Joe Biden last year pushed the stockpile to its lowest level since 1983.

 

8th Circuit delivers climate blow to Big Oil

Lesley Clark, E&E News

Oil and gas companies on Thursday lost what may have been their best shot at creating disagreement between federal appeals courts — a key consideration for Supreme Court review — on a jurisdictional issue that has the potential to quash a broad set of climate challenges launched by local governments that want industry to pay up for the impacts of a warming planet.

 

New York nears deal to ban gas stoves in new homes

Marie J. French, Politico

New York state lawmakers are poised to enact the nation’s first legislative ban on gas and fossil fuel appliances in most new buildings, including single-family homes.

 

Russia does not expect Nord Stream findings will be made public – Lavrov

Reuters

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Thursday that he did not expect that the findings of investigations into who was responsible for last year’s blasts on the Nord Stream gas pipelines would be made public.

 

Army Corps further delays decision on Great Lakes oil tunnel

John Flesher, The Associated Press

A federal review of plans for a Great Lakes oil pipeline tunnel will take more than a year longer than originally planned, officials said Thursday, likely delaying completion of the project — if approved — until 2030 or later.

 
Transportation and Alternative Fuels
 

Buttigieg: Transportation Department reviewing hazardous material definitions after East Palestine disaster

Zack Budryk, The Hill

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said Thursday that the agency is reviewing its definition of a high-hazard flammable train in the wake of the East Palestine, Ohio, derailment.

 

Hyundai, Kia warn 570,000 U.S. owners to park outside until recalls completed

David Shepardson, Reuters

Hyundai and Kia are recalling just over 570,000 U.S. vehicles over fire risks and urged owners to park outside and away until getting repairs.

 

Can EVs unplug from China? 3 things to watch from Treasury.

David Iaconangelo, E&E News

The Treasury Department plans to issue guidance next week that could have lasting implications for U.S.-China collaborations on electric vehicles — as well as the Biden administration’s goals on climate and human rights. At issue: the Inflation Reduction Act, which allows buyers of new EVs to claim up to $7,500 in tax credits.

 

How Decades of Lax Rules Enable Train Disasters

Kendra Pierre-Louis, The Atlantic

Not much is stopping a catastrophe like the one in East Palestine from happening again.

 
Electricity/Utilities/Infrastructure
 

Nevada approves $333 million natural gas plant as historic drought pressures state’s power grid

Emma Newburger, CNBC

Nevada’s largest electricity provider has been approved for a $333 million project to develop a natural gas plant north of Las Vegas, as extreme drought conditions put mounting pressure on the region’s power grid.

 

Rural utilities turn ‘disruptive’ as they embrace renewables

Jason Plautz, E&E News

The Inflation Reduction Act, signed into law last year, created a $9.7 billion fund for co-ops to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. While the Department of Agriculture — which oversees co-ops — is still creating the rules for the program, the terms so far are broad and will allow co-ops to apply for grants and loans to build clean energy or phase out fossil fuel infrastructure.

 
Land and Resources
 

Four hunters, a ladder and a fight over federal land

Alex Hargrave, E&E News

The case, set for jury trial June 26 in the U.S. District Court for the District of Wyoming, involves an October 2021 criminal trespass citation against Bradley Cape, Zachary Smith, Phillip Yeomans and John Slowensky, who had set out to hunt elk on public land in the southwestern quadrant of the Cowboy State.

 

Scientists say mine plan claiming no swamp harm has errors

Russ Bynum, The Associated Press

Scientists for the federal government say documents that Georgia state regulators relied upon to conclude a proposed mine won’t harm the nearby Okefenokee Swamp and its vast wildlife refuge contain technical errors and “critical shortcomings” that render them unreliable.

 
General
 

House fails to override Biden’s first veto

Rachel Frazin and Mychael Schnell, The Hill

The Republican-led House on Thursday failed to override President Biden’s first veto, falling short of the two-thirds majority needed to revive the resolution targeting an administration rule related to ESG investing, which takes environmental and social factors into account.

 

EPA’s Risk of Financial Abuse Liable to Grow, Watchdog Says

Stephen Lee, Bloomberg Law

The EPA is leaving more than $73 million in potential benefits on the table because it hasn’t implemented a series of recommendations earlier issued by the agency’s internal watchdog, according to a report on Thursday.

 

Musk’s New Texas Neighbors Alarmed by His Huge Development Plans

Julie Bykowicz and Ted Mann, The Wall Street Journal

Elon Musk’s companies are opening facilities across the country that come with promises of skilled jobs and economic growth. But some residents of this mostly rural area near Austin are watching with alarm as farmland turns into industrial development.

 
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