General
Committee votes to block Trump’s ‘secret science’ EPA rule Niv Elis, The Hill
The House Appropriations Committee on Friday voted to block a controversial Trump Administration transparency rule that the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) own independent board of science advisers criticized.
Biden features energy R&D in economic push Ben Geman, Axios
Joe Biden is making it increasingly clear that he’ll push for a large increase in energy research, development and demonstration funding if he wins the White House.
Oil Drops on Signs OPEC+ Preparing to Taper Production Cutbacks Low De Wei and Alex Longley, Bloomberg
Oil edged lower ahead of an OPEC+ meeting this week at which the group may announce plans to start tapering historic production cuts even as the coronavirus surges unabated in many parts of the world.
Oil and Natural Gas
Fracking Firms Fail, Rewarding Executives and Raising Climate Fears Hiroko Tabuchi, The New York Times
Oil and gas companies are hurtling toward bankruptcy, raising fears that wells will be left leaking planet-warming pollutants, with cleanup cost left to taxpayers.
Shale boss says US has passed peak oil Derek Brower, Financial Times
Parsley Energy CEO: ‘I don’t think I’ll see 13m barrels a day again in my lifetime.’
Libya to resume oil exports after 6-month blockade David Sheppard and Andrew England, Financial Times
Decision comes at a difficult time for a wider market that has been hard hit by pandemic.
Frac-Sand Supplier Hi-Crush Files for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy Jonathan Randles, The Wall Street Journal
Hi-Crush Inc., a supplier of sand used in fracking, is the latest company in the oil and gas sector to be pushed into bankruptcy by low crude prices and the disruption from the coronavirus pandemic that has roiled the energy industry.
Indigenous Protests Are Blazing a New Trail for How to Beat Big Oil Yessenia Funes, Earther
Joye Braun was among the first to camp in the plains of North Dakota in defiance of the Dakota Access pipeline back in 2016. She was there to stand in solidarity with the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe. Indigenous people from around the world eventually arrived to gather in ceremony. Four years later, their prayers have finally been heard.
Russian Miner Behind Arctic Fuel Spill Reports Pipeline Leak Anatoly Medetsky and Yuliya Fedorinova, Bloomberg
A Russian mining giant, which is already in a dispute with authorities over a fuel spill in the Arctic earlier this year, has suffered a leak in a pipeline.
Utilities and Infrastructure
Duke, AEP, FirstEnergy tell FERC future COVID-19 uncertainty presents ‘significant risk’ Catherine Morehouse, Utility Dive
Threats to utility credit and capital have yet to emerge, but investor-owned utilities and pipeline companies are still urging federal regulators to consider potential long-term capital risks from COVID-19.
Court upholds regulation boosting electric grid storage Rachel Frazin, The Hill
A federal court on Friday upheld a regulation that removes barriers to electric grid-level batteries that store electricity. The regulation in question requires that grid operators treat storage similar to the way power plants are treated. It was promulgated in 2018 by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC).
Renewables
The Battery Billionaire Who’s Key to Tesla’s Future in China Bloomberg
CATL chairman Zeng Yuqun’s partnership with Elon Musk could boost the Chinese company’s global market share at a time of falling battery sales.
Using AI-Powered Thermal Tagging to Prevent Summer Overheating Outages Robert Henley, Power
Facing unprecedented conditions, including increasing and unpredictable demand, utilities are on high alert for overheating components. Using drones, helicopters, or ground inspection crews, companies are collecting and analyzing thermal imagery. Leading utilities are incorporating innovative technologies, including AI-powered thermographic tagging engines, to identify hot spots before they fail or cause outages.
Hottest New Fuel Proves Hard to Handle Jonathan Tirone, Bloomberg
European researchers are flocking to Austria’s second city to plug new hydrogen technologies into utility infrastructure.
Coal
Peabody Dragging Its Feet on Mine Cleanup, Navajos and Hopis Say Tripp Baltz, Bloomberg Law
The last trainload of coal rolled out of Peabody Western Coal Co.’s Kayenta Mine on the Navajo Nation in August 2019, on its way to the mine’s only customer—Navajo Generating Station, which shut down three months thereafter.
Coal Giants’ Antitrust Hearing Starts With High Stakes for FTC Victoria Graham, Bloomberg Law
The Federal Trade Commission’s antitrust enforcement strategy will be put to the test during a hearing in a federal district court in St. Louis as the agency looks to put the brakes on a coal mining joint venture between Peabody Energy Corp. and Arch Resources Inc.
Nuclear
Pandemic Allows for New Front in Fight Against Southwest Nuclear Waste Storage Contracts Lisa Martine Jenkins, Morning Consult
Two proposals to send high-level spent nuclear fuel to sites in Texas and New Mexico are seeing renewed opposition as environmental activists, the oil and gas industry and lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have formed an unlikely and informal alliance leveraging the pandemic as a reason to delay.
US senators urge agency not to allow funding of ‘risky’ nuclear projects Joniel Cha, S&P Global Platts
Senators Edward Markey, Democrat-Massachusetts, and Bernie Sanders, Independent-Vermont, in a July 10 letter jointly urged US Development Finance Corp., not to “waste American tax dollars on risky international nuclear projects.”
Climate
Seagrass is good at storing CO2, but it’s vanishing Alison Snyder, Axios
Meadows of seagrass on the ocean floor are among the planet’s most efficient ecosystems for absorbing and storing carbon. Climate change, industrial and agricultural run-off, and development along coastlines are threatening the world’s seagrass meadows.
For Effective Climate Change Activism, Focus on Supply Gernot Wagner, Bloomberg
To affect change, climate activists need to pursue both divestment and limiting demand for carbon emissions.
She’s an Authority on Earth’s Past. Now, Her Focus Is the Planet’s Future. John Schwartz, The New York Times
Columbia University is taking new steps to make climate change, which has been studied there for decades, an even more prominent part of the school’s mission. And Maureen Raymo is a big part of that.
Colorado Sued for Missing Climate Change Reduction Deadline Tripp Baltz, Bloomberg Law
Colorado missed a July 1 deadline to ensure the state meets required greenhouse gas reduction targets, an environmental group alleged in a lawsuit filed in state court. Gov. Jared Polis (D) and his administration failed to publish a notice of proposed rulemaking setting forth the measures necessary to meet greenhouse gas reduction goals, according to the complaint filed Thursday in Denver District Court. The plaintiff, WildEarth Guardians, is seeking to compel the state’s compliance with the deadline.
Meet Biden’s climate rainmakers Timothy Cama, E&E News
Climate change activists have emerged as some of presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden’s most important donors, having hosted some of his biggest fundraising events. Climate Leaders for Biden, an ad hoc group of deep-pocketed donors, has brought in more than $12 million for Biden’s campaign against President Trump and for the Biden Victory Fund, a joint fundraising committee that directs money to the former vice president’s campaign, the Democratic National Committee and state parties.
Opinions, Editorials and Perspectives
Black Americans Care About Climate Change. Why Is No One Talking to Them About It? Jared DeWese, Morning Consult
In climate discourse, Black voices are rarely amplified. But to make headway in addressing the climate crisis, policymakers must incorporate our views, perspectives and experiences to execute real and equitable climate solutions
Is the party finally over for US oil and gas? Derek Brower, Financial Times
Cancelled pipelines and green ambitions point to declining role in energy mix.
Research Reports
The hidden value of large-rotor, tall-tower wind turbines in the United States Ryan H. Wiser et al., Wind Engineering
The significant upscaling of wind turbine size (nameplate capacity, rotor diameter, and tower height) has, to date, been driven primarily by a goal of minimizing the levelized cost of energy. But with wind’s levelized cost of energy now comparable with that of other generating resources, other design considerations besides cost-minimization have grown in importance—particularly as wind’s increasing market penetration begins to impose challenges on the electric grid.
Benefits to the Economy through the Direct Use of Natural Gas American Gas Association
In addition to the 138 thousand individuals employed by natural gas utilities, companies that supply these utilities create associated natural gas jobs too, and the grand sum of all employed individuals encourages additional economic activity through the consumption of goods or services by individuals. These companies also provide a critical intermediate service for other businesses to operate.
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