“It’s perhaps not the most obvious fit,” but “I am sure DOE has a handle on that issue,” McIntyre said. Perry is considering using the 1950s Defense Production Act or another related law that were meant to keep power plants running during wartime.

• The Trump plan: The Trump administration’s controversial strategy on addressing nuclear and coal plant retirements has become a huge part of the president’s energy agenda and a major sticking point for many industry groups that are opposing it.  

McIntyre was speaking at a electric grid conference put on by the Washington Post Thursday. He was asked by the moderator about Perry’s potential use of various laws to bail out power plants after FERC rejected a plan Perry proposed in the fall.

• Democratic view: Sen. Martin Heinrich, D-N.M., who spoke on a panel before McIntyre, said the idea of “baseload has become a political term” when asked about Perry’s use of various laws to try and save baseload coal and nuclear.

“Baseload” refers to plants that can run 24-hours without interruption.

Heinrich said coal plants “go down,” but solar and wind are reliable if they are managed right. Perry’s proposal is “just not market based,” the senator said. It’s a measure meant to bail out a “few uneconomic” power plants.

• GOP view: Sen. John Hoeven, R,N.D., said one has “to be careful when you say market based.” He said his state is a microcosm for many of the problems affecting the grid, because it has both coal and renewables.

He said some policies undermine baseload resources based on tax burdens and conflicts over who has access to transmission lines.

• Skeptical: Hoeven appeared skeptical of Perry taking steps that would nationalize private power plants. “I don’t favor nationalizing anything,” he said. The panel’s moderator suggested the use of the Defense Production Act would be akin to nationalizing private power plants.

• Come together around transmission: Nevertheless, the lawmakers suggested that transmission line policy is one area where Republicans and Democrats can come together.

• Energy bill hope: Hoeven was hopeful that the Senate will pass a comprehensive energy bill. “I’ll think we’ll get there on the energy bill.”

The bill died last Congress in the final stages of a House-Senate conference during the presidential election. House members thought they could get a better deal under Trump and withdrew from the deliberations.

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TRUMP’S ‘HAIL MARY’ TO SAVE COAL AND NUCLEAR DRAWS SKEPTICISM: Perry’s statement Wednesday that the the Trump administration is looking “very closely” at using at using the Defense Production Act to save coal and nuclear plants sparked skepticism from energy experts and industry officials, who questioned how legislation designed to protect national security could apply.

• What the law does: The law allows the president to prioritize the federal government’s ability to obtain critical, scarce industrial materials in a time of war, ensuring the government can buy the goods before others.

The law also can be used to spur an industry to produce more of a scarce critical resource through a loan guarantee or direct subsidy, effectively nationalizing it.

The statute, as amended in 1980, classifies energy as a “strategic and critical material,” although it does not give the president the authority to set the price of fuels or electricity.

• Awkward fit: Sen. Joe Manchin, a Democrat from the coal state of West Virginia, has urged Perry to invoke the law to prevent planned closures of financially struggling nuclear and coal plants by Ohio utility FirstEnergy.

Energy experts say using the Defense Production Act for that reason would stretch the law beyond what it’s meant for because there is no imminent national security threat from the plants closing in several years.

Experts also note that electricity is not scarce as a result of lost coal and nuclear power.

TOXIC ‘VOG’ FROM KILAUEA THREATENING TO SPREAD IN HAWAII: A change in wind patterns could have dangerous consequences in Hawaii later this week as residents deal with Kilauea’s eruptions.

The volcano on Hawaii’s Big Island first erupted a week ago. Since then, lava has flowed from fissures, wrecking dozens of structures and forcing thousands of residents to evacuate.

• Dangerous gas: Also seeping from the fissures is poisonous gas known as “vog.” According to the Hawaii Interagency Vog Information Dashboard, vog is “hazy air pollution caused by the volcanic emissions from Kīlauea volcano, which are primarily water vapor (H2O), carbon dioxide (CO2), and sulfur dioxide (SO2) gas.”

• Wind patterns: The vog has only beset the southern and western side of the Big Island, but an expected shift later this week in the northeasterly trade winds could mean trouble for the state’s other islands, AccuWeather forecasters warn. The islands that could be affected include Maui, Oahu, Lanai, and Molokai.

• The threat: The sulfur dioxide in the vog can cause respiratory problems, including irritation and difficulty breathing, and concentrated levels of it can be deadly. Meanwhile, the small amount of sulfuric acid in vog can slowly damage painted surfaces and metals.

FERC GETS MANY VIEWS ON GRID RESILIENCE: FERC received many different views on grid resilience, as its comment period ended at midnight, an issue that has become a controversial part of the Trump administration’s policy agenda.

Here’s a rundown of some of the industry groups responding to how the FERC-overseen grid operators are defining resilience:

• Power lines: The transmission industry group WIRES says resilience is less about power plants and more about the wires that connect those plants to the sources of demand – homes and businesses.  

“Because grid resilience will only increase in importance as the economy continues to become more dependent on electricity, consumers have a large stake in development of a modern and robust transmission system that delivers power for tasks as varied as texting and emailing to life-saving medical procedures and transportation,” the group said.

• Utilities: The Electric Power Supply Association, representing utilities, made the point that FERC’s process is the right way to assess resilience, while making clear that Perry’s proposed rule that FERC rejected was not.

“Certainly, any hasty short term ‘fixes’ invoked based on speculative concerns cannot and should not be supported or approved by the commission, particularly calls to subsidize specific types of resources at the expense of well-functioning competitive markets and all other market participants,” the group wrote.

Perry proposed giving coal and nuclear plants market-based subsidies.

“Tipping the scales in this manner is not the way to ensure a reliable, resilient, secure system, and may in fact overturn the cup entirely,” EPSA said.

HOUSE PASSES BILL ADVANCING YUCCA MOUNTAIN AS NUCLEAR WASTE SITE: The House passed legislation Thursday that would move forward a long-stalled plan to store the nation’s nuclear waste in Nevada’s Yucca Mountain.

• What the bill does: The bill, sponsored by Rep. John Shimkus, R-Ill., would direct the Energy Department to authorize an interim storage program before the Nuclear Regulatory Commission completes the licensing process for Yucca. The temporary site would be used until Yucca is opened.

It would establish a time limit for the commission to approve the project and would make a necessary land transfer.

• ‘Screw Nevada’: The bill is expected to pass by bipartisan margins, but will face resistance in the Senate by powerful senators from Nevada. The Senate, which holds a one-seat GOP majority, may never vote on the bill.

“I’m here to send a message that we are going to continue fighting this tooth and nail here in Congress, in the Senate, here in the House, and also if need be, we will continue fighting this in the legal courts,” said Rep. Ruben Kihuen, D-Nev., in comments on the House floor Thursday.

Rep. Dina Titus, D-Nev., deemed the legislation“screw Nevada 2.0.”

PERRY VOWS TO ‘FOLLOW THE LAW’ ON YUCCA MOUNTAIN: Perry on Wednesday vowed to “follow the law” if Congress approves legislation spurring the use of Yucca Mountain to store nuclear waste.

He also said the licensing process will continue to move forward, regardless of what Congress does.

“The important aspect of this issue is that I have a requirement of law to take this licensing process forward,” Perry said in testimony before the House Science, Space and Technology Committee. “The debate about Yucca Mountain, whether it should be open or shouldn’t, has been ongoing for a long time. My responsibility here is not to tell you whether I am for Yucca or against Yucca. It’s too follow the law and the law says DOE will go forward with the licensing side.”

• Long history: Yucca Mountain is the nation’s only approved geologic repository for high-level nuclear waste. But opposition from Nevada lawmakers has stalled the 30-year effort to develop the Yucca site.

PERRY URGES SAUDI ARABIA TO SIGN NUCLEAR ENERGY DEAL WITH US: Perry prodded Saudi Arabia on Wednesday to sign a nuclear energy agreement with the U.S., warning the oil-rich kingdom that it risks missing out on an opportunity to show its commitment to using nuclear power responsibly.

“If they don’t, the message will be clear to the rest of the world that the kingdom is not as concerned about being leaders when it comes to nonproliferation in the Middle East,” Perry told the Science, Space and Technology Committee.

• Count to three: The Trump administration is considering allowing the Saudis to enrich and reprocess uranium as part of what’s known as a nuclear cooperation agreement, or a “123 agreement.”

In exchange, the U.S. would permit Westinghouse, a bankrupt nuclear reactor business, and other American companies to build nuclear reactors in Saudi Arabia.

ZINKE SAYS NATIONAL PARKS REPAIR PLAN ‘SOUND AND PRUDENT’: Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke on Thursday justified his plan to repair national parks with energy revenue as “sound and prudent policy,” as some Democrats questioned the plan.

“It is a sound and prudent policy,” Zinke said in testimony before a subcommittee of the Senate Appropriations Committee on his fiscal 2019 budget proposal. “My priority with this budget is infrastructure repair.”

Zinke’s plan: Zinke has proposed paying for billions of dollars of repairs and maintenance in national parks with money the government collects from the development of oil, natural gas, wind, and solar energy on public lands.

The plan would create the Public Lands Infrastructure Fund of up to $18 billion over 10 years for maintenance and improvements in national parks, wildlife refuges, and Bureau of Indian Education schools. It would use royalty payments and lease sales on federal onshore and offshore lands.

• Money matters: Bipartisan coalitions in both chambers of Congress have endorsed the proposal with matching legislation. But some Democrats questioned whether Interior can raise the money it aims to.

“None of this will get done unless there’s money in the accounts,” said Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont.

CALIFORNIA FIRST STATE MANDATING SOLAR PANELS ON HOMES: California on Wednesday became the first state to require solar panels on all new, single-family homes.

The California Energy Commission voted 5-0 to approve changes to the state’s building code to require single-family homes be equipped with solar panels starting in 2020.

The regulations also apply to new multi-family buildings of three stories or fewer. The new rules don’t need the approval of the legislature or the governor.

• Cost balance: Supporters say the proposal will save costs in the long-term, even as housing costs increase in the short-term, and is a key piece of California’s plan to goal to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 40 percent below 1990 levels by 2030.

• Storage key: A new rate structure the state is implementing next year charges California customers based on when during the day they use electricity. Those with solar power likely would pay less, especially if paired with batteries, which can store excess solar for use when the sun isn’t shining.

PRUITT INSISTS HE HAS CONFIDENCE FROM WHITE HOUSE: Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt was in comfortable terrain Wednesday, meeting with industry representatives as part of the agency’s revived “Smart Sectors” program to discuss the status of his deregulatory agenda.

Pruitt met at EPA headquarters with more than 80 people from groups including the National Mining Association, National Association of Home Builders, the American Chemistry Council, and the American Petroleum Institute.

• Inside the room: According to Bloomberg, Pruitt told the group they no longer had to choose between protecting the environment and industry, and he outlined plans to accelerate permitting of new factories and refineries.

He did not mention his ethics and spending scandals with the group, but was asked by a Bloomberg reporter if he believes he has the confidence of the White House. “I think they’ve spoken very clearly,” Pruitt said.

• ‘We like him’: Marc Short, the White House’s legislative director, told reporters Wednesday the administrator would remain in his position “for the foreseeable future.”

“We like him,” Short said. “He’s doing a good job.”

SLAP ON WRIST FOR HEWITT AFTER MEETING WITH PRUITT: MSNBC host Hugh Hewitt was given a proverbial slap on the wrist Wednesday after it was found out his law firm requested a meeting Pruitt.

Hewitt “was given a verbal warning as such activity is a violation of our standards,” said a network representative.

News about the conservative commentator’s law firm trying to arrange a meeting with Pruitt came earlier in the week with the release of internal emails from the EPA. The emails were the result of a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit by environmental group Sierra Club.

• Toxic waste and Hewitt: The email showed the MSNBC host asking Pruitt for a meeting with his law firm, which represented a water district seeking federal assistance to clean up a toxic waste site in California, near where Hewitt lives.

The site was placed on Pruitt’s list of areas designated for “immediate and intense” action soon after the meeting with Hewitt attorneys. Politico first reported the news on Tuesday.

MORE LNG, PLEASE: The Energy Department wrapped up the public comment period for a significant expansion of the Jordan Cove natural gas export in Coos Bay, Ore., at midnight.

• LNG is huge: The liquified natural gas export terminal wants to increase the volume it ships from the facility to the equivalent of 395 billion cubic feet per year, from it original intent of less than 300 Bcf per year.

The new rate of export would be the equivalent of shipping one billion cubic feet of natural gas per day.

• A lot of LNG: To give some sense of scale, natural gas power plants consumed just over 22 Bcf per day in 2013, and an average home consumes just 168 cubic feet of natural gas. One Bcf per day could supply close to 6 million homes.

• Any protests? The Energy Department held the comment period to hear “Protests, motions to intervene, notices of intervention, and written comments addressing the amendment.”

Facilities such as Jordan Cove are at the center of President Trump’s “energy dominance” agenda that supports increased domestic production while upping energy exports abroad.

LNG INDUSTRY GROUP GETS BIGGER: The Center for Liquefied Natural Gas announced Thursday that Baltimore-based Constellation is joining the trade group. Constellation, owned by utility giant Exelon, is now a major supplier of electricity, natural gas and energy products and services for homes and businesses.

• LNG goes electric: The trade groups wants to work with the big utility to raise awareness of LNG’s many uses.

“Constellation is a welcome addition to the Center for LNG, representing the importance and flexibility of LNG in the U.S. market and as an export,” said Charlie Riedl, executive director of the group.

• Defender of LNG exports: Constellation has been defending the shipment of LNG abroad as a benefit for consumers. “Detractors, meanwhile, argue that as more American natural gas begins to go abroad, domestic customers may be left with higher prices,” the company said in a blog late last year. “However, the growth of the natural gas market has served to undercut prices on other energy sources for domestic customers, so it is imperative that consumers stay vigilant and keep informed on the latest developments.

ALASKA’S ICE NURSERY IS FAILING: The iceberg nursery near Alaska is failing as warming temperatures have made it harder to churn out sea ice year after year, the federal government warned Wednesday.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration issued a new analysis with maps detailing how older Arctic sea ice is being lost north of Alaska and the likelihood that it will never be replaced.

“The Beaufort Gyre north of Alaska has traditionally acted as a nursery for growing sea ice, but warmer conditions have impeded the gyre’s ability to preserve older ice since the start of the 21st century,” according to the agency.

RUNDOWN

Bloomberg Trump’s Iran move may kick worst U.S. gas market while it’s down

Wall Street Journal Venezuela’s brewing oil shock may be bigger than Iran’s

Washington Post Pentagon revised Obama-era report to remove risks from climate change

Science Magazine Trump White House quietly cancels NASA research verifying greenhouse gas cuts

E&E News Emails: Perdue’s donors, agency coordinated on biomass

Reuters East Coast refiners look to Texas crude for discounted oil