Top Stories

  • The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration revised its 2020 hurricane forecast to between 19 and 25 named storms (with sustained winds above 38 miles per hour), up from the agency’s May estimate of 12 to 19. Of these, NOAA said between seven and 11 could be hurricanes (with sustained winds above 74 mph) in what National Weather Service Director Louis Uccellini said is “shaping up to be one of the most active seasons on record.” (The New York Times
  • The Environmental Protection Agency signed an agreement with the American Federation of Government Employees, a union representing 7,500 EPA employees, after several years of occasionally rocky negotiations. The contract, which has been praised by those on both sides, includes allowances for telework as well as personal protective equipment and indoor air quality tests. (The Hill)
  • U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has plans to visit Austria, the Czech Republic, Poland and Slovenia next week to discuss nuclear energy and weapons, among other issues, and is set to make a stop in Vienna to meet with International Atomic Energy Agency Director Rafael Grossi. (The Wall Street Journal)

Chart Review

Events Calendar (All Times Local)

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
08/12/2020
USEA webinar: Innovations in LNG Contracting 6:00 am
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

Coronavirus Shutdowns Shift Energy Costs to Individuals
Jo Craven McGinty, The Wall Street Journal

As work moved from offices to home, so did electricity use. But overall consumption fell.

Trump pledges to look at ‘both sides’ on Pebble Mine
Rachel Frazin, The Hill

President Trump on Wednesday pledged to hear out both supporters and opponents of the proposed Pebble Mine in Alaska after his son tweeted opposition to it following the completion of an administration environmental impact assessment.

EPA Finalizing ‘Second Term’ Trump Agenda Plans, Wheeler Says
Amena H. Saiyid, Bloomberg Law

The EPA is wrapping up its agenda for a second Trump administration term, as it gears up to release key air and water regulations including the rewrite of methane standards and revisions to the lead rule, the agency’s top official said Thursday.

EPA fired Interior official’s son-in-law for ‘misconduct’
Kevin Bogardus, E&E News

A top Department of the Interior official’s family member was hired by EPA for then-Administrator Scott Pruitt’s personal security detail but fired for “misconduct” roughly five months later.

White House pushed to release documents on projects expedited due to coronavirus
Rebecca Beitsch, The Hill

More than 50 Democratic lawmakers are asking the Trump administration to turn over documents after the White House directed agencies to create a shortlist of construction projects that could be fast tracked to boost the economy amid the coronavirus pandemic.

After a year on job, public lands chief overdue for confirmation hearing, Democrats say
Benjamin J. Hulac, Roll Call

More than a year into the job that is officially still temporary, William Perry Pendley, the acting head of the Bureau of Land Management, is doing things that may be permanent, and Senate Democrats are seeking a chance to hold him to account.

California scientists want to know if air pollution makes COVID-19 worse
Mark Olalde, Palm Springs Desert Sun

California has emerged as one of the states hardest hit by the coronavirus nationwide. Now, scientists across the Golden State are launching research to better understand the reasons, including studying whether air pollution from Los Angeles to the Central Valley is to blame.

Oil Trades Below $42 With Tension Between U.S. and China Flaring
Low De Wei and Alex Longley, Bloomberg

Oil in New York fell as U.S. President Donald Trump’s latest attack on Chinese tech companies stoked tensions between the two countries, weighing on risky assets.

Oil and Natural Gas

How to drive fossil fuels out of the US economy, quickly
David Roberts, Vox

The US has everything it needs to decarbonize by 2035.

Global Gas Industry Set to Resume Growth Post-Pandemic, Adopt Low-Carbon Technologies for Long-Term Growth
BloombergNEF

Covid-19 will reduce gas use in 2020, but recovery will be underpinned by favourable economics, widening access and a longer-term drive towards emissions reductions, including a role for hydrogen and other green gas technologies.

Watchdog finds agencies using outdated standards for gas export facilities
Rachel Frazin, The Hill

Government agencies are using some outdated standards while evaluating permits for liquefied natural gas (LNG) export facilities, according to a new report from a congressional watchdog. 

U.S. Ethanol Giant No Longer Wants to Rely on Trump’s EPA
Elizabeth Rembert and Isis Almeida, Bloomberg Law

American ethanol makers have for years been reliant on a government policy that mandates biofuel use. But industry stalwart Green Plains Inc. wants to break away from that dependence and instead is investing in everything from high-quality proteins to fish feed and alcohol for disinfectants.

Fiat Chrysler to recall up to 1M vehicles spewing too much pollution
Justine Lofton, MLive

A Detroit auto manufacturer is preparing to recall up to 1 million vehicles that may be spewing too much pollution.

Utilities and Infrastructure

How electricity deepens the South’s racial divide
Kristi E. Swartz, E&E News

Nationwide protests over racial injustice in recent weeks are stirring a fight against a deep-rooted energy gap in U.S. households: People of color pay disproportionately high electricity bills.

Federally owned utility reverses on outsourcing after White House outcry
Rachel Frazin, The Hill

The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), a federally owned utility provider, is reversing course on outsourcing jobs after outcry from the White House.

Senate grills FERC, DOE on power sector cybersecurity
Guy Burdick, Utility Dive

The Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources on Wednesday held its first hearing in more than a year on the cybersecurity of the energy sector.

Massive Power Outage Briefly Knocks Out Northern Manhattan, Delaying Trains
CNBC

A massive power outage was reported Friday morning in the upper part of Manhattan, knocking out not only lights but also cellphone service.

Renewables

North Dakota Oil Workers Are Learning to Tend Wind Turbines—and That’s a Big Deal
Bill McKibben, The New Yorker

Renewables are now finding capital faster than fossil fuels, which means, for instance, that a single utility, Xcel, adds enough capacity annually across the Upper Midwest to power a million homes each year. 

Don’t Get Euphoric – Risks Yet For World Energy Transition
Angus McCrone, BloombergNEF 

The world economy is now trying to begin its recovery from the coronavirus slump, in which (we all hope) GDP hit its rock-bottom in the second quarter of 2020. This time, investors have stayed bullish about low-carbon technologies – or even become more so.

Coal/Nuclear

Problems plagued U.S. CO2 capture project before shutdown: DOE document
Nichola Groom, Reuters

A $1 billion project to harness carbon dioxide emissions from a Texas coal plant suffered chronic mechanical problems and routinely missed its targets before it was shut down this year, according to a U.S. Department of Energy report.

Top mine regulator dogged by legal questions
James Marshall, E&E News

As President Trump nears the end of his first term, the federal agency tasked with protecting the environment from the impacts of coal mining still does not have a confirmed director.

Climate

This Is Inequity at the Boiling Point
Somini Sengupta, The New York Times

It was a record 125 degrees Fahrenheit in Baghdad in July, and 100 degrees above the Arctic Circle this June. Australia shattered its summer heat records as wildfires, fueled by prolonged drought, turned the sky fever red.

The Trouble With Climate Scenarios Is Everyone Has Their Own
Kate Mackenzie, Bloomberg

Climate change scenarios are everywhere. These data-driven exercises in mapping out multiple visions of a warmer future appear in corporate sustainability reports, investment portfolio analyses, and consultancy offerings. Scenario analysis can be a great way of structuring one’s thinking about the future, which is essential to understanding climate change. It’s also time-consuming, sometimes misapplied, and perhaps even slowing down attempts at tackling the actual problem.

Arctic Sea Ice Shrank to Record Lows in July
Laura Millan Lombrana, Bloomberg

Ice covering the Arctic Ocean reached the lowest level since at least 1979 for July as temperatures spiked in the region, leaving large stretches of Russia’s Siberian coast mostly ice-free.

Opinions, Editorials and Perspectives

The United States Must Continue to Lead the World in Nuclear Energy Technology
Dan Brouillette and Adam Boehler, Morning Consult

When almost 1 billion people around the world lack access to electricity, achieving widespread poverty reduction and economic growth hinges on providing reliable power to the vast communities that live without this fixture of modern life.

Research Reports

Natural Gas Exports: Updated Guidance and Regulations Could Improve Facility Permitting Processes
U.S. Government Accountability Office

In 2019, about 39% of U.S. natural gas exports went through export facilities—in which the gas is liquefied and loaded onto ships for transport. Multiple federal agencies regulate export facility design. Federal guidance says that agencies should review regulations every 3-5 years and, if needed, adopt current technical standards for safety and environmental protection. But some regulations haven’t been updated. For example, one agency requires export facilities to comply with a 1994 fire extinguisher standard that includes some obsolete extinguisher types. We recommended that agencies establish a process to regularly update regulations.

Morning Consult