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PERRY TRIES TO SPARK SOLAR DOMINANCE AFTER TRUMP TARIFFS: Energy Secretary Rick Perry followed President Trump’s decision to impose solar tariffs with the start of a $3 million competition to spur more innovative solar manufacturing in the United States.
Trump’s tariff gamble: Trump said Tuesday that his imposition of new tariffs will spur manufacturing of solar products in the U.S. by making it more cost-competitive than relying on imports.
The administration appears to recognize the massive investment in solar development, although a big chunk of the solar industry didn’t agree with Trump’s decision to impose tariffs on solar panel imports.
The tariffs will increase the cost of building new solar power plants by utilities as well as residential rooftop devices for households, according to the Solar Energy Industries Association and others who oppose the decision.
Duke Energy vs. Moody’s: “We are planning a significant number of projects across our commercial and regulated businesses,” said Duke Energy, one of the nation’s largest power utilities that is transitioning from coal to more renewables. “The imposition of this tariff will increase customer costs and hurt our ability to deliver on that promise.”
But credit rating agency Moody’s had a different take on the tariffs: “While tariffs may delay investments in solar generation at first, we think the long-term impact will be limited since the tariffs expire in four years and the recent pricing of solar energy for 2023 reached record lows.”
Leveraging federal dollars: Meanwhile, the Energy Department said the $3 million prize will combine with other agency funding of up to $400 million for solar projects.
A new solar ‘network’: The solar prize will catalyze a new public-private “network” under the Energy Department to bring together universities, energy incubators, and the agency’s fleet of 17 national laboratories “to create a sweeping portfolio of innovations primed for private investment and commercial scale up,” the agency said.
Is solar the next step? Renewable energy could be the next step for Perry after his plan to give incentives to coal and nuclear power plants tanked at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission this month.
Coal continues to be a priority for the administration, but the major cost reductions in solar are hard to ignore.
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KOCH NETWORK URGES TRUMP TO NOT RAISE GAS TAX: Oil and gas investors Charles and David Koch urged the Trump administration on Tuesday to not raise the gasoline tax as part of its upcoming infrastructure package.
Countering the Chamber: The Koch approach contrasts with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, which recently proposed the Trump administration and Congress raise the federal gas tax by 25 cents per gallon to help pay for an infrastructure package.
The increase would raise more than $375 billion over a decade, the Chamber says.
Road to nowhere: The federal government has long been resistant to increasing user fees such as the gas tax to fill the Highway Trust Fund, used to pay for road and transit projects.
The gas tax has been 18.4 cents per gallon, and 24.4 cents per gallon for diesel, since 1993. It is not indexed to inflation.
MAYORS POKE AT TRUMP’S CLIMATE LEADERSHIP AS THEY DESCEND ON WASHINGTON: Democratic and Republican mayors critical of Trump’s climate change decisions will address the state of climate leadership this week in Washington while the president is away in Davos, Switzerland.
A panel will take up the state of U.S. climate leadership Thursday. The group, which represents all mayors in the United States, has taken the lead to support the goals of the Paris climate accord after Trump decided to pull the U.S. out of the agreement.
Local leaders take lead on environment: “As Washington reels from latest partisan drama, bipartisan mayors craft future of city environmental policy,” says an updated agenda issued Wednesday morning. “Shutdown or no shutdown, Democratic and Republican mayors continue to lead, push national environmental protection and sustainability efforts.”
INDIA’S MODI CRITICIZES COUNTRIES FOR ‘NARROW’ APPROACH TO CLIMATE CHANGE: India Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday said the world must better collaborate to combat climate change, taking an indirect hit at the U.S for moving to withdraw from the Paris Agreement.
“We should all have come out of our limited narrow confines and we should have demonstrated solidarity,” he added. “Everyone talks about reducing carbon emissions but there are very few people or countries who back their words with their resources to help developing countries to adopt appropriate technology.”
Modi said India intends to produce 175 gigawatts of renewable energy by 2020. In the last three years, India has achieved about 60 gigawatts, about one-third of this target.
Compare and contrast: Trump has said he intends to leave the Paris climate deal in 2020 because he says large carbon-emitting countries such as India and China did not commit to sufficient emissions-reduction targets compared to the U.S.
America first: Energy Secretary Rick Perry will provide the U.S. perspective during a panel at Davos Wednesday afternoon, which also will include Saudi oil minister Khalid al-Falih.
CLIMATE ACTIVISTS RAISE HEAT ON SAN FRANCISCO PENSION BOARD: Climate activists are upping the pressure on the San Francisco Retirement Board to divest from fossil fuels when the board votes on the issue Wednesday.
Activist groups such as Bill McKibben’s 350.org have be attempting to reignite the divestment movement, which reached its height during the 2016 presidential election campaign.
McKibben and more than a dozen groups sent the board a letter saying it should follow New York City’s decision to divest itself from fossil fuel investments.
“By divesting their more than $20 billion pension fund from fossil fuels, the City by the Bay will show Big Oil billionaires and communities around the globe that they’re serious about real climate action,” said 350.org Executive Director May Boeve.
TRUMP VOWS ‘THERE WON’T BE TRADE WAR’ AFTER SIGNING OFF ON TARIFFS: President Trump said Tuesday he is not concerned about starting a trade war with other countries after he signed proclamations imposing tariffs on imports of solar panels and washing machines.
“There won’t be a trade war,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office, after signing the proclamations. “Our action today helps to create jobs in America, for Americans.”
In the solar case, Trump agreed to tariffs to be levied over four years, for 30 percent in the first year, 25 percent in the second, 20 percent in the third, and 15 percent in the fourth year. The first 2.5 gigawatts of imported solar cells will be exempt.
Tit-for-tat: South Korea’s government has already said it would “actively respond to U.S. trade protectionism,” including filing a complaint with the World Trade Organization.
China also suggested it also may fight back.
GREEN GROUPS SUE EPA FOR BANNING AGENCY-FUNDED SCIENTISTS FROM BOARDS: Two environmental groups sued the EPA Tuesday in federal court for Administrator Scott Pruitt’s policy banning scientists who receive agency funding from serving on advisory boards.
The legal argument: The groups say Pruitt’s directive is arbitrary and capricious and is not supported by law or EPA precedent.
The complaint also says the EPA’s policy violates the Federal Advisory Committee Act, which requires all advisory committees to be “fairly balanced” and not be “inappropriately influenced” by the appointing authority.
Pruitt’s logic: Pruitt has said his goal is to provide more “fulsome” representation on the boards, with more members who are state regulators and energy industry representatives.
PRUITT TO TESTIFY BEFORE SENATE COMMITTEE: Pruitt will testify next week before the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, the panel confirmed Tuesday.
The EPA administrator plans to appear before the committee on Jan. 30 at 10 a.m.
GRAND CANYON MANAGER SEXUALLY HARASSED INTERN, INSPECTOR GENERAL SAYS: A manager at Grand Canyon National Park sexually harassed an intern, the Interior Department’s inspector general reported Tuesday.
The manager resigned from the Park Service in October.
Pattern of behavior: This is not the first incident of sexual harassment among Grand Canyon employees.
A Interior Department inspector general report in January 2016 found that 35 women saw or experienced sexual misconduct or harassment in the Grand Canyon National Park’s River District.
LAW FIRM WITH TIES TO TRUMP BEEFS UP INFRASTRUCTURE AND ENERGY TEAM: The law firm Bracewell said a Capitol Hill veteran is joining its policy team, with the addition of Stoney Burke to its Washington office.
Being bipartisan is an asset: “Stoney has earned respect from both sides of the aisle on Capitol Hill for his hard work and ability to get things done,” said Bracewell’s Scott Segal, a lead for the firm’s policy group. “He brings a unique, bipartisan background to government affairs work, combined with significant experience in the private sector.”
RUNDOWN
Washington Post At Superfund sites, Scott Pruitt could flip his industry-friendly script
New York Times At a solar farm in North Carolina, workers brace for impact of Trump tariff
Reuters Mexico’s drug cartels, now hooked on fuel, cripple the country’s refineries
Boston Globe In Quebec, it’s power versus indigenous people on hydroelectricity
Houston Chronicle Texas wind power owes success, in part, to lack of federal regulation
Bloomberg Big Oil plans tenfold expansion of cost-cut collaboration
Reuters Plug wars: the battle for electric car supremacy
Bloomberg First Solar is using robots to better tap the sun
New York Times Bigger, faster avalanches triggered by climate change
Calendar
WEDNESDAY, JAN. 24
8 a.m., 2121 P St. NW. Energy Department holds the Wind Industry Partnership Summit to share innovative technologies that may be beneficial to your firm and engage industry leaders in a dialogue about the future of public research and development laboratory R&D investments, Jan. 24-25.
All day, 1001 16th St. NW. The U.S. Conference of Mayors convenes in Washington Jan. 24-26 to discuss local leadership. Bipartisan mayors will host a series of discussions on environmental issues including climate change, energy, sustainability, food policy, resilience, and disaster recovery.
9 a.m., 800 17th St. NW. The D.C. Sustainable Energy Utility holds a seminar on “Focus on Green Technology: Building Sustainable Cities of the Future,” including “emerging technologies that will help D.C. businesses, institutions and residents save energy.”
dcseu.com/about/events/focus-on-green-technology-building-sustainable-cities-of-the-future
All day, 1767 King St., Alexandria. The Institute for Nuclear Materials Management and the U.S. Nuclear Infrastructure Council holds the 33rd Spent Fuel Management Seminar through Jan. 25 at the Hilton.
inmm.org/Events/Spent-Fuel-Seminar.aspx
10 a.m., Walter E. Washington Convention Center, 801 Mt. Vernon Place NW. Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee holds a field hearing at the Washington Auto Show on “Driving Automotive Innovation and Federal Policies.”
Noon, Webinar. The American Council on Renewable Energy and Bloomberg New Energy Finance hold a webinar on “State of the Industry.”
THURSDAY, JAN. 25
10 a.m., 801 Mt. Vernon Place NW. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee holds a field hearing, called “The Road to Tomorrow: Energy Innovation in Automotive Technologies,” to examine the opportunities and challenges facing vehicle technologies, especially energy-relevant technologies.
TUESDAY, JAN. 30
10 a.m., 366 Dirksen. The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee holds votes on Trump Energy and Interior nominees, including: Melissa Burnison to be assistant secretary of Energy for Congressional and Intergovernmental Affairs; Susan Combs to be assistant secretary of the Interior for Policy, Management, and Budget; Ryan Nelson to be solicitor for the Department of the Interior; and Anne White to be assistant secretary of Energy for Environmental Management.
10 a.m., 2318 Rayburn. The House Science, Space, and Technology Committee will hold a hearing titled “Department of Energy: Management and Priorities.” science.house.gov/legislation/hearings/full-committee-hearing-department-energy-management-and-priorities
All day, Altoona, Iowa. Iowa Renewable Fuels Summit kicks off at the Meadows Conference Center.
2 p.m., 1324 Longworth. The House Natural Resources Committee’s subcommittee on federal lands holds a legislative hearing on a bill to create the first tribally managed national monument — the Shash Jáa National Monument and Indian Creek National Monument, formerly part of Bears Ears National Monument.
