Energy
|
|
Essential energy industry news & intel to start your day.
|
May 18, 2023
|
|
|
|
Today’s Top News
-
Sens. Tom Carper (D-Del.) and Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii) unveiled a permitting proposal that they say works in conjunction with the Inflation Reduction Act and focuses on renewable energy, community engagement and handing federal regulators more authority to plan transmission lines. The bill, which Carper called a “discussion draft,” includes a two-year environmental review timeline, similar to bills introduced by Republicans and Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), although the Democratic proposal aims to specifically speed up the process for projects that reduce emissions. (The Hill)
-
The Environmental Protection Agency announced a proposal that would for the first time require companies to safely manage toxic waste from coal-fired power plants – including contaminants like mercury, chromium and arsenic – that is dumped into older landfills, “legacy” ponds and other inactive sites that are not currently federally regulated. The agency estimates utilities would have to pay more than $300 million a year to comply with the new coal ash rule, which is expected to become final in 2024. (The Associated Press)
-
The Department of Justice will require a subsidiary of BP PLC to pay a record-setting $40 million penalty to settle civil charges related to the company’s 134-year-old Whiting, Ind., refinery, which violated federal emissions limits for cancer-causing benzene in wastewater. The settlement between the company, the DOJ and the EPA would also require investments of $197 million for new air pollution reduction technology and other improvements at the plant. (Reuters)
-
The Biden administration will distribute $251 million for carbon capture and storage projects across seven states with funding from the bipartisan infrastructure law, which had allocated $12 billion for carbon management projects. About $242 million will fund nine new or expanded large-scale carbon storage projects that have a capacity for at least 50 million metric tons of carbon dioxide. (The Associated Press)
Happening today
- Politico will host its first-ever Energy Summit featuring conversations with Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm, White House National Climate Adviser Ali Zaidi and Jigar Shah, director of the DOE’s Loan Programs Office.
|
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| A MESSAGE FROM MORNING CONSULT |
|
|
|
What Else You Need to Know
|
|
| |
It Will Cost Up to $21.5 Billion to Clean Up California’s Oil Sites. The Industry Won’t Make Enough Money to Pay for It.
Mark Olalde, ProPublica
An expert used California regulators’ methodology to estimate the cost of cleaning up the state’s onshore oil and gas industry. The study found that cleanup costs will be triple the industry’s projected profits.
Global heating has likely made El Niños and La Niñas more ‘frequent and extreme’, new study shows
Graham Readfearn, The Guardian
Scientists say greenhouse gases have already affected climate patterns in the Pacific that could lead to more severe weather, floods and heatwaves.
New Report Finds Methane Mitigation in Texas Could Create Thousands of Jobs
Martha Pskowski, Inside Climate News
Texas officials have vowed to oppose federal regulations aimed at reducing methane emissions from oil and gas operations. But the report says plugging leaks and upgrading wells is poised to be a big business in the Lone Star State.
Carbon Accounting Changes Could Lift Corporate Greenhouse-Gas Emissions
Dieter Holger, The Wall Street Journal
Some multinationals might be underestimating their emissions by close to 50% under current rules.
Pentagon’s ‘forever chemicals’ cleanup budget falls ‘dramatically’ short
Tom Perkins, The Guardian
Ballooning cost of cleaning up toxic PFAS contamination at military sites places service members and civilians at risk.
Arizona’s farms are running out of water, forcing farmers to confront climate change
Ximena Bustillo, NPR News
Farmers across southern Arizona are among those in the West facing the brunt of climate change. The drought, worsening fire seasons, temperature swings and monsoons all impact their businesses, food production, utility costs and livelihoods.
Newsom announces $60M plan to restore California’s Chinook salmon
Sharon Udasin, The Hill
California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) on Tuesday announced a $60 million agreement to welcome salmon and sturgeon back to the Yuba River for the first time in more than a century.
|
|
|
| |
Shell Demands Profits From Green Energy Unit, Not Just CO2 Cuts
Will Mathis, Bloomberg
Shell Plc executives are telling their renewable power business that it needs to become more profitable, not just deliver lower carbon emissions, and pull back from the less successful elements of its clean-energy strategy.
Green Energy Is Helping Drive U.S. Industrial Real-Estate Growth
Liz Young, The Wall Street Journal
Manufacturers of electric vehicles and parts are leasing more space as e-commerce pulls back from its rapid expansion during the pandemic.
How robots could dramatically speed up solar farm construction
Eric Wesoff, Canary Media
A number of companies are now using automation and AI to expedite utility-scale solar installations, ease labor shortages and protect workers from unsafe.
Colorado’s new clean hydrogen standards could push production out of the state, industry group says
Emma Penrod, Utility Dive
The Colorado legislature has passed a bill that, if signed by Gov. Jared Polis, D, would create state-level tax incentives for the use of clean hydrogen.
|
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
Transportation and Alternative Fuels
|
| |
Top Toyota Scientist Says World Lacks the Resources to Go All-EV
Nicholas Takahashi and Craig Trudell, Bloomberg
Toyota Motor Corp.’s top scientist warned that transitioning to electric vehicles too quickly could lead drivers to hold on to old gas guzzlers and called for hybrids to be given a longer leash ahead of a Group of Seven leaders summit in Japan.
Elon Musk’s embrace of advertising at Tesla grabs marketers’ attention
Akash Sriram and Hyunjoo Jin, Reuters
With Elon Musk outlining plans for Tesla Inc. to use traditional advertising for the first time, viewers might see the electric-vehicle maker’s Model Y crossover or upcoming Cybertruck pickup – maybe even the billionaire CEO himself – on TV or online.
|
|
|
| |
|
Electricity/Utilities/Infrastructure
|
| |
US power grids vulnerable to extreme heat conditions this summer, NERC says
Reuters
Large parts of the United States and some areas in Canada, home to around 165 million people, could face energy shortfalls during periods of extreme heat this summer, a group that sets reliability standards for North American electric grids warned.
Attorneys agree to pause federal litigation for water violations in Mississippi’s capital
Michael Goldberg, The Associated Press
Attorneys for the federal government, Mississippi and the state’s capital city have agreed to request to delay litigation from a complaint filed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency that said the city wasn’t meeting standards for providing reliable drinking water.
The U.S. ‘Fast-Tracked’ a Power Project. After 17 Years, It’s Nearing Approval.
Jennifer Hiller and Andrew Restuccia, The Wall Street Journal
Some in Washington say the project shows why permitting process should be overhauled.
In a Warming World, 10 Air Conditioners Are Sold Every Second
Olivia Rudgard, Bloomberg
A warming world is making the need to stay cool more pressing. Hot countries are getting hotter, tipping normal summer temperatures into dangerous territory more frequently. Temperate countries are experiencing heat waves that were once unthinkable.
Work on Maine hydropower transmission line can restart, state says
The Associated Press
The construction of a 145-mile transmission line in Maine will be able to resume now that the state has removed a suspension order on the project.
|
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
Boots on the Ground
Zoya Teirstein, Grist
As FEMA struggles to keep up with climate disasters, extremist groups see an opportunity.
|
|
|
| |
|
Opinions, Editorials and Perspectives
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
