General
EPA sets toxins response plan amid criticism from lawmakers
Ellen Knickmeyer and John Flesher, The Associated Press
The Environmental Protection Agency is expected to announce a plan for dealing with a class of long-lasting chemical contaminants amid complaints from members of Congress and environmentalists that it’s not moved aggressively enough to regulate them.
EPA official Bill Wehrum stayed in close touch with his former law firm, new emails show
Juliet Eilperin, The Washington Post
The trove of emails between Wehrum and officials at Hunton & Williams — which changed its name to Hunton Andrews Kurth after a 2018 merger — shows the extent to which he communicated and socialized with his former associates even though many of them had clients with business before the EPA. The documents were released Monday as part of ongoing litigation by the Sierra Club, an advocacy group.
Acting EPA chief says Green New Deal was ‘not ready for primetime’
Devin Dwyer and Stephanie Ebbs, ABC News
Acting Environmental Protection Agency chief Andrew Wheeler said he was concerned the resolution dubbed a “Green New Deal” didn’t address whether a zero-carbon energy grid would be reliable in the wake of natural disasters or other emergencies.
Lisa Murkowski sees ‘Green New Deal’ as opportunity to push stalled energy bill
Josh Siegel, Washington Examiner
Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, said Wednesday the push for a “Green New Deal” could provide an opportunity for her to revive a comprehensive energy bill she co-authored that would be the first update to the country’s energy policies from Congress in a decade.
Dem lawmaker asks Trump to dump NOAA nominee amid sexual harassment settlement news
Miranda Green, The Hill
A top democratic House lawmaker is calling on a Trump nominee to be removed from consideration after reports that he was involved in a discrimination and sexual harassment settlement at his former company.
US gasoline prices rise as Venezuela oil sanctions tighten
John Siciliano, Washington Examiner
Gasoline prices began to rise this week, the federal government reported Wednesday, as U.S. Gulf of Mexico refineries continued to be disproportionately affected by crude oil supplies from Venezuela lagging in response to U.S. sanctions.
Oil rises for third day as U.S./China trade, OPEC cheer investors
Amanda Cooper, Reuters
Oil rose for a third day on Thursday to reach its highest so far this year as financial markets drew support from investor optimism that the United States and China could resolve their trade dispute.
Oil and Natural Gas
Republican senators pressure Trump’s EPA pick over biofuels
Humeyra Pamuk, Reuters
Five Republican senators are warning President Donald Trump’s new pick to run the Environmental Protection Agency, Andrew Wheeler, that their support for his nomination may hinge on his biofuels policy.
Marathon Oil reports $390M profit, keeps spending nearly flat
Jordan Blum, Houston Chronicle
Houston’s Marathon Oil reported a $390 million quarterly profit on Wednesday that bounced back from a loss the year prior and even improved on the third quarter of 2018.
Venezuela’s Guaido to appoint Luisa Palacios as his president of Citgo
Staff, Platts
Self-declared Venezuelan interim president Juan Guaido plans to appoint Luisa Palacios, an expert in emerging Latin American markets and international affairs, as president of state PDVSA’s US refining and marketing arm, Citgo, sources close to Guaido said Wednesday.
Pipeline fight drags on, tempting intervention from Trump
James Osborne, Houston Chronicle
Pipeline executives are urging President Donald Trump to assert federal authority over interstate pipelines and prevent states from blocking projects that run within their boundaries.
Texas Shale Forces Big Oil Cost Revolution, Chevron CEO Says
Kevin Crowley, Bloomberg
The low break-even costs to pump in the Permian are forcing Chevron to be more efficient everywhere, Wirth said, from the deepwater platforms in the Gulf of Mexico to its liquefied natural gas plants.
Utilities and Infrastructure
GE Power Has a $92 Billion Backlog. For New Boss, That’s a Problem.
Thomas Gryta, The Wall Street Journal
The turnaround of General Electric Co. depends on the revival of its core power business, a reversal that will require Chief Executive Larry Culp to churn through a $92 billion sales backlog marred by lousy projects.
Energy Companies Perform Better When CEO Pay Isn’t Tied to Production
Eric Roston, Bloomberg
As many parts of the world shift toward a low-carbon economy, energy companies may be at increasing risk “of over-investing, and wasting capital on projects that turn out to deliver poor returns and destroy value,” the report by the Carbon Tracker, a U.K. nonprofit focused on climate risks to fossil-fuel companies, finds.
The Struggle to Control PG&E
Peter Eavis and Ivan Penn, The New York Times
Pacific Gas & Electric, the California utility that faces billions of dollars in wildfire damages, hopes to use its bankruptcy to reduce its liabilities and emerge a more stable company. But the company’s management and board of directors might not have all that much control over the outcome.
Renewables
NHTSA’s Autopilot Claim That Tesla Touted Disputed in New Study
Ryan Beene, Bloomberg
An analysis of government data disputes a finding by safety regulators and promoted by Tesla Inc. that crash rates of its older vehicles declined after they were equipped with an automatic steering capability.
SunPower seeking partner for its solar panel making business
Nichola Groom, Reuters
A partnership could involve the sale of a minority stake in the manufacturing business or a customer investment that would allow preferential access to its products, among other options, Werner said.
What Happened When I Bought a House With Solar Panels
Esmé E. Deprez, Bloomberg Businessweek
I got ahold of a copy of Jug’s contract, and quickly saw how Sunrun could afford to extend such an offer. It lasted 20 years.
The World Still Doesn’t Have Enough Places to Plug In Cars
Brian Eckhouse et al., Bloomberg
Try your luck on California’s Pacific Coast Highway. The roughly 600-mile route between San Diego and San Francisco has dramatic sea cliffs, off-the-grid retreats, lush vineyards—and, in some long stretches, few places to recharge for anyone who isn’t behind the wheel of a Tesla Inc. car.
Coal
Trump’s coal pledge could be tested by TVA vote this week
Adam Beam, The Associated Press
President Donald Trump’s support for the coal industry — and for a particular power plant — will face a test this week when a utility board he appoints considers whether to close a coal-fired Kentucky plant whose suppliers include a mine owned by one of his campaign donors.
Nuclear
Here’s how much a Hanford contractor was paid to keep workers healthy
Annette Cary, Tri-City Herald
The Department of Energy released a scorecard Wednesday showing that HPM Corp. of Kennewick earned $315,350 out of the maximum $350,000 available.
Climate
Wall Street Is More Than Willing to Fund the Green New Deal
Katia Dmitrieva and Emily Chasan, Bloomberg Businessweek
Even before Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York and Senator Ed Markey of Massachusetts, both Democrats, introduced their Feb. 7 resolution outlining a “Green New Deal,” members of both parties were calling the idea unrealistic or worse.
Just How Green Are U.S. Airlines?
Scott McCartney, The Wall Street Journal
Airlines advertise green initiatives and grab headlines with special flights powered partly by oil produced from plants and other green sources. But biofuel use is but a drop in a very big bucket: United Airlines, ahead of most airlines in green initiatives, burned 1 million gallons of biofuel in 2017 out of 3.36 billion gallons of jet fuel, or 0.03%.
Opinions, Editorials and Perspectives
Cold Weather Reveals Electric Cars Are Still Toys for the Wealthy
Steven Titch, Morning Consult
You can add plug-in electric vehicles to the list of items that last week’s low temperatures left in the cold. Amid hype that these expensive, battery-operated cars are the vanguard of a fossil fuel-free age, their cold-weather shortcomings reinforce their image as a subsidized toy for wealthy suburbanites.
Republicans Have Better Solutions to Climate Change
U.S. Reps. Greg Walden (R-Ore.), Fred Upton (R-Mich.) and John Shimkus (R-Ill.), RealClear Policy
Climate change is real, and as Republican Leaders of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, we are focused on solutions. A serious, solutions-oriented discussion about how to address this challenge, while protecting the interests of the American people, our communities, and our country’s economic well-being is fundamental to getting this right.
The Guardian view on the mass death of insects: this threatens us all
The Editorial Board, The Guardian
The threatened extinction of insect populations around the world raises the prospect of a much more general catastrophe, which would implicate plants, birds, fish, small mammals, and everything else that depends on insects. That’s just the start.
Research Reports
Paying With Fire: How oil and gas executives are rewarded for chasing growth and why shareholders could get burned
Carbon Tracker Initiative
Some incentive metrics are obvious, for example targets relating to production or reserve replacement, which have been shown to have a poor or negative historic correlation with shareholder returns. We believe these metrics incentivise potentially value-destroying behaviour given uncertainty over future demand.
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