Politico will host its first-ever Energy Summit on Thursday. The event features conversations with Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm, White House National Climate Adviser Ali Zaidi and Jigar Shah, director of the DOE’s Loan Programs Office.
There will undoubtedly be plenty of interesting commentary from the Biden administration on the rollout of the Inflation Reduction Act.
More recently, the Treasury Department released tax credit guidelines that would allow for solar energy developers to claim the 10% IRA subsidy for facilities built with domestic products, even if they use solar cells made in China. Some in the industry were disappointed by the administration’s move, which could lead to more reliance on China for solar energy supplies instead of a build-up of domestic solar manufacturing, while others had warned that developers would miss out on the tax credit if they relied only on domestic solar cells.
Things might also get a little awkward because Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham (D) is attending only a week after the Nuclear Regulatory Commission announced that it would allow Holtec International to build and operate a multibillion-dollar spent nuclear fuel facility in New Mexico, despite pushback from state lawmakers who passed legislation in March to stop the project amid concerns that the state would become a dumping ground for spent nuclear fuel without a permanent solution from the federal government.
Meanwhile, permitting reform negotiations seem to be moving along, so we’ll continue to keep an eye on any progress. Republican Rep. Garret Graves (La.) last week said chances are “better than 50/50” that a debt-ceiling deal could feature a permitting overhaul. According to those familiar with the talks, the White House has not bought into the GOP plan to reverse clean energy tax breaks in the Inflation Reduction Act, and Republicans are not completely on board with Sen. Joe Manchin’s (D-W.Va.) proposal.
The White House has, however, once again thrown its support behind Manchin’s measure, which includes two-year limits on environmental reviews of major federal energy projects and the completion of the $6.6 billion Mountain Valley Pipeline, and has signaled a willingness to discuss permitting as part of the debt-ceiling negotiations, although White House climate adviser John Podesta has called for separating the two issues.
