Daily on Energy: Energy and environment provisions in the Biden budget proposal

We dug into the budget so you don’t have to. The budget allocates:  

• $8.5 billion across the Department of Energy to support researchers and entrepreneurs to develop clean energy technologies in the areas of offshore wind, industrial heat, sustainable aviation fuel, and grid infrastructure.
• $2.2 billion to procure high-assay, low-enriched uranium (HALEU) and low-enriched uranium (LEU) as the U.S. looks to ban imports of uranium from Russia.
• $455 million to strengthen the use of artificial intelligence within the energy sector. 
• $19.8 billion to strengthen the U.S. nuclear stockpile for defense purposes. 
• $4.1 billion for the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (otherwise known as LIHEAP), while allowing states the option of using these funds to provide water-bill assistance to low-income families.
• $24.5 billion toward the Cost of War Toxic Exposures Fund under the PACT Act – a law that expands healthcare access and funding for veterans exposed to harmful substances during their military experience. This would be $19.5 billion above the 2023 enacted levels. 
• $1.5 billion for the Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of Air and Radiation to further regulate air pollution and waste.
• $8.2 billion for the Department of Energy to address legacy waste and contamination in communities, as well as funding for the EPA to enforce the Toxic Substances Control Act. 
• $1.6 billion to the DOE to support clean energy jobs and infrastructure projects. 
• $23 billion in climate adaptation and resilience. Also includes funds to farmers, ranchers, and forestland owners to meet production goals in the face of climate change.
• Funds to support the expansion of the American Climate Corps over the next decade, with the aim of adding 50,000 more ACC members annually by 2031. 
• Commits $11 billion to international climate finance, with $3 billion allocated to finance the Green Climate Fund – a UN-created program that would help developing countries to create adaptation and mitigation practices to counter climate change. 
• Assumes enactment of the administration’s request for $300 million in supplemental funding for 2024 to safeguard the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. 
• $142 million to deploy clean energy on federal lands and waters, which would also support the leasing, planning, and permitting of solar, wind, and geothermal energy projects and transmission infrastructure. 
• $22 million for technical support, studies, and habitat restoration activities to restore fish species in the Columbia and Snake River basins. 
• $200 million for environmental planning, consultation, and migratory bird permitting under the Endangered Species Act – an increase of more than $40 million above the 2023 enacted level. 

But here’s the kicker: It’s unlikely that the president’s budget will pass muster with conservative House Republicans, who are adamant about clamping down on government spending. The chamber still has to pass six budget bills for the 2024 fiscal year; the other six were signed into law by Biden on Saturday. There are six left to go – and once that’s over, the cycle starts all over again with a new set of funding negotiations for the 2025 fiscal year. 

Welcome to Daily on Energy, written by Washington Examiner Energy and Environment writers Breanne Deppisch (@breannue_dep) and Nancy Vu (@NancyVu99). Email bdeppisch@washingtonexaminer dot com or nancy.vu@washingtonexaminer dot com for tips, suggestions, calendar items, and anything else. If a friend sent this to you and you’d like to sign up, click here. If signing up doesn’t work, shoot us an email, and we’ll add you to our list.

EQT TO BUY BACK EQUITRANS MIDSTREAM TO CREATE $35 BILLION NATURAL GAS FIRM: Natural gas production company EQT announced today it is buying back its former unit Equitrans Midstream in a $55 billion, all-stock deal that will form what EQT officials described as the nation’s first fully integrated natural gas provider. 

The deal will give EQT, the largest U.S. natural gas producer, access to Equitrans’s pipeline business, the Wall Street Journal reports. Equitrans owns projects such as the Mountain Valley Pipeline, the long-stalled 300-mile pipeline due to begin operations later this year.

It will also allow natural gas sourced by EQT to be shipped along roughly 2,000 miles of natural gas pipeline infrastructure.

EQT CEO Toby Rice praised the deal as crucial for U.S. natural gas production companies as they look to adjust their business models to compete with more integrated operations and lower their cost structures.

The merged company, he said, “is going to give us the scale to be able to continue to deliver cleaner energy into markets, whether that’s domestically, replacing coal, meeting growing energy demand domestically, or internationally and servicing the burgeoning LNG market that we have.” Read more on the effort here.

‘WINTER-PROOF’ ELECTRIC VEHICLE BATTERY DEBUTED IN SOUTH KOREA: South Korean battery manufacturer SK On unveiled two upgraded EV batteries in recent days that it says charge faster and perform better in cold weather—an effort to address two primary concerns drivers cite as preventing them from swapping out their gas-powered cars for EVs.

SK On, which supplies batteries for Ford, Volkswagen, and Hyundai, used an industry conference in Seoul to debut its upgraded batteries: a newer SF Battery and a so-called “Winter Pro” battery.

Bloomberg reports the Winter Pro is a lithium-iron-phosphate battery (LFP) that increases charging capacity by 16% and enhances energy density of batteries by 19%. That’s an important feat, as cold weather has been shown to reduce LFP battery range for EVs by as much as 70%, and increase the time needed to recharge—the internet is rife with first-hand accounts of drivers abruptly losing range in freezing conditions, at times leaving them stranded or forcing them to push the vehicles to the nearest charging station.

Meanwhile, the battery manufacturer also debuted its upgraded SF+ Battery, which can reach 80% charge in just 15 minutes.

SK On’s vice president of commercial planning,Youngmoon Riew, told Bloomberg that the company is already in talks to supply automakers with both new battery models.

“There are a lot of concerns among potential consumers over charging, especially about fast-charging,” Riew told the outlet. “At the same time, carmakers want to release cheaper EVs, calling for cheaper batteries too, like LFP cells, to increase the adoption of EVs.” Read more on the battery developments here. 

…AND SPEAKING OF SLASHING VEHICLE EMISSIONS: Uber launched a new “Emissions Saving” feature that allows riders to access data on the carbon dioxide emissions generated by their ride, and compares it to emissions that would have been saved by using Uber’s electric vehicle or hybrid vehicle offerings instead.

The push is an effort to create a so-called “climate friendly feedback loop” and encourage more riders to take advantage of its Uber Green and Uber Comfort Electric options, Axios reports.

Bigger picture: Uber is pursuing an ambitious goal of reaching net-zero emissions in the U.S. and Canada, which could be difficult as most of its fleet consists of privately owned vehicles. As an answer to this, Uber and other rideshare companies have sought to make EVs more widely available to their drivers—including launching a new flexible EV lease option last summer.

Uber said it plans to further build on the new Emissions Saving feature in the months ahead by including data on e-bikes and e-scooters that users can book through the app. Read more on that news here.

RUNDOWN

Bloomberg A living laboratory for climate takes shape on NYC’s Governors Island

Financial Times  US uranium miners resurrected by nuclear revival and Ukraine war

Reuters OPEC, IEA at most divided on oil demand since at least 2008