SIGN UP! If you’d like to continue receiving Washington Examiner’s Daily on Energy newsletter, SUBSCRIBE HERE: http://newsletters.washingtonexaminer.com/newsletter/daily-on-energy/

SENATE APPROVES FERC NOMINEE AMID CONTROVERSY OVER FOSSIL FUELS AND COAL ‘BAILOUT’ FEARS: The Senate confirmed Bernard McNamee in a party-line 50-49 vote Thursday to join the Federal Energy and Regulatory Commission despite controversy over his past support for fossil fuels and fears that he could open the door to a coal bailout pushed by President Trump.

“This is an impressive nominee who has the right qualifications for this important job,” said Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell.

All Democrats opposed McNamee, including pro-coal Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia, who had voted for him in committee.

“McNamee has been manifestly biased in favor of fossil fuels and against renewable energy, so much so that one can’t believe he would a be fair arbiter on these issues at FERC,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York said during a speech on the Senate floor Wednesday.

Republicans stand firm: McNamee succeeded because Republicans stood by him despite skepticism of his independence from the Trump administration. The nomination became particularly charged after the unearthing of a video from February that showed him criticizing renewable energy and favoring fossil fuels.

McNamee, who was working for the conservative Texas Public Policy Foundation at the time, delivered a speech to Texas lawmakers in which he said fossil fuels are “key to our way of life,” but renewable energy “screws up the whole physics of the grid.”

“Concerns about McNamee’s independence are largely unfounded,” said Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, in a speech on the Senate floor Wednesday. “I believe McNamee understands FERC is an independent agency and must continue to be. I also expect him to be fuel-neutral and not a champion of one resource over another.”

FERC is an independent agency that oversees wholesale power markets and reviews applications for interstate natural gas pipelines.

The ‘bailout’ question: Democrats fear McNamee would be biased in favor of Trump because he formerly worked as head of the Energy Department’s Office of Policy, which has spearheaded consideration of potential action to save coal and nuclear plants.

“If McNamee takes a seat on the commission, it means Christmas is coming early for executives who want big dirty energy bailouts,” Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., said Wednesday.

McNamee, in his confirmation hearing before the Energy and Natural Resources Committee, said he “will be a fair, objective, and impartial arbiter” and that his “decisions will be based on the law and the facts; not politics.”

He also rejected calls from Democrats to recuse himself on potential future coal and nuclear proposals.

Helping approve energy projects: McNamee will replace Republican FERC commissioner Robert Powelson, who vehemently opposed the coal and nuclear subsidy plan, saying it would disrupt competitive power markets that reward the lowest cost resource and would cause utility bills to increase.

He would fill a commission that has two Republicans, Chairman Neil Chatterjee and Kevin McIntyre, and two Democrats, Cheryl LaFleur and Richard Glick. McIntyre is suffering from health issues, forcing him to cede the chairmanship to Chatterjee, and he has not participated in recent votes.

Republicans were eager to fill the commission as it faces a backlog of applications for pipelines and liquified natural gas projects.

Welcome to Daily on Energy, compiled by Washington Examiner Energy and Environment Writers John Siciliano (@JohnDSiciliano) and Josh Siegel (@SiegelScribe). Email [email protected] 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.  

JOE MANCHIN FLIPS ON MCNAMEE AMID PRESSURE FROM GREEN GROUPS: Manchin flipped his vote on McNamee because the candidate downplayed climate change and supports fossil fuels.

Manchin, a vocal supporter of the coal industry, joined all other Senate Democrats in opposing McNamee, despite earlier voting for him in committee.

Why Manchin matters: The change of heart is notable because Manchin is facing pressure from environmentalists as he seeks to become the top Democrat of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee.

Manchin said he was disturbed after viewing the video that shows McNamee criticizing renewable energy and favoring fossil fuels.

“After viewing video footage, which I had not previously seen, where Bernard McNamee outright denies the impact that humans are having on our climate, I can no longer support his nomination to be a FERC commissioner,” Manchin said in a statement Wednesday. “I would hope that Mr. McNamee will be open to considering the impacts of climate change and incorporates these considerations into his decision-making at FERC.”

Manchin needs to bolster green his credentials: The Sunrise Movement, a young progressive activist group, rallied outside Schumer’s New York office on Monday, urging him to block Manchin from leading Democrats on the committee.

Manchin could lead Democrats on the key committee because the current ranking member, Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., is reportedly considering becoming the top minority senator on the Commerce Committee.

Other liberals with seniority over Manchin on the Energy and Natural Resources Committee have said they are not interested in taking over, including Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., the former presidential candidate who held a town hall on Monday to rally for legislation to mitigate climate change.

Manchin’s potential elevation has environmentalists worried because he is a devout supporter of the coal industry, a cornerstone of the economy in his state. He also has a working relationship with Trump. He has encouraged Trump to take action to save retiring coal and nuclear plants. Manchin met with Trump on Monday, where the two discussed coal miners’ pension reform, among other issues.

Manchin on Wednesday dismissed critics of his green credentials, telling reporters, “I don’t think they’re senators.”

EPA TO OFFICIALLY UNVEIL NEW COAL PLANT RULE: The Environmental Protection Agency on Thursday afternoon will formally unveil its proposal to weaken an Obama-era rule that would have required new coal plants to be built with expensive technology that captures carbon emissions from their smokestacks.

The coal industry had argued that the Obama administration’s New Source Performance Review Standard would be a de facto ban on new coal plants, because it effectively would have mandated carbon capture, which is technically feasible but cost-prohibitive in many cases.

Fans in high places: Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, from the coal state of Kentucky, cheered the EPA’s move.

“This runaway regulation needs to be rolled back and replaced with a more achievable set of standards,” McConnell said on the Senate floor Thursday morning. “Coal deserves a level playing field.”

The real impact is small: But utilities are not expected instead to remain committed to providing energy from cleaner and cheaper sources such as natural gas, wind, and solar.

“Utilities weren’t building new coal-fired power plants when Obama put the CCS rule in place, and I don’t see that changing if the Trump administration lifts the CCS requirement,” Brian Potts, a lawyer who represents utilities at Perkins Coie, told Josh. “As long as natural gas prices stay low and the federal renewable tax credits stay in place, utilities won’t have much of an appetite to build new coal-fired power plants.”

OPEC AGREES TO TENTATIVE OIL PRODUCTION CUT, WITHOUT DETAILS: OPEC agreed to a tentative oil production cut on Thursday, but is waiting on input from non-member Russia before committing to a specific amount, according to reports.

Saudi Arabia proposed a moderate oil cut of up to 1 million barrels per day, Bloomberg reported, as it tries to boost falling prices without angering Trump, who has prodded OPEC to continue pumping more oil.

“We in the kingdom are going to be advocating something adequate to balance the market,” Energy Minister Khalid Al-Falih told reporters at the opening session of OPEC’s two-day meeting in Vienna on Thursday. “[We] certainly we don’t want to shock the market.”

OPEC ministers postponed a planned press conference for Thursday to Friday, showing the uncertainty of the outcome.

Russia joins the negotiations on Friday, when the group will likely announce its final decision.

What’s prompting action: Oil prices have fallen more than 30 percent since October, when it breached $85 per barrel, after Saudi Arabia and Russia, the top two oil producers outside the U.S., began boosting output partially in response to complaints from Trump.

Trump worried about rising prices ahead of the midterm elections, and potential damage to supply from his renewed sanctions on Iran.

Before recently raising oil output, OPEC and Russia had implemented an agreement to cut production for 18 months.

Now, the market is in a oversupply situation because of the severe reaction by Russia and the Saudis to cover for Iran losses, which did not materialize as feared.

MOODY’S URGES COAL FIRMS NOT TO IGNORE PARIS CLIMATE DEAL: U.S. coal utilities would be smart to begin assessing their future financial risks based on the Paris climate agreement, the credit ratings agency Moody’s said Wednesday, even though Trump has withdrawn from the deal and cut back rules meant to enforce it.

Moody’s said that other factors, including state and local policies, “are keeping the U.S. power sector and regulated utilities on track or even ahead” of the Paris requirements for emissions reductions — and that, accordingly, coal utilities would be wise to plan as though the U.S. is still a part of the deal.

What’s in the report: Moody’s said that only two large utilities it evaluated used the Paris accord target in assessing their risk to future global warming regulations: North Carolina-based Duke Energy and Pennsylvania’s PPL.

Read more here on the Moody’s report.

GLOBAL CARBON EMISSIONS EXPECTED TO REACH RECORD IN 2018: Global carbon emissions are expected to reach a record in 2018, a new study shows, showing fossil fuel use is still rising even as recent scientific reports say the world must zero out greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 to avoid the worst consequences of climate change.

Researchers from the Global Carbon Project said Wednesday that global emissions rose 2.7 percent in 2018, bringing emissions to record high of 37.1 billion tons of carbon dioxide per year.

Global carbon emissions have now risen for the second straight year, after little-to-no growth from 2014 to 2016. While coal use has fallen in some markets, most prominently in the U.S., stronger demand for oil and natural gas has more than offset the reductions attributable to the use of renewable energy.

“Emissions need to peak and rapidly decrease to address climate change,” said Corinne Le Quéré, director of the Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research and professor of climate change science and policy at University of East Anglia. “With this year’s growth in emissions, it looks like the peak is not yet in sight.”

Blaming the big users: The world’s largest emitters all are to blame, but mostly China and India. China’s emissions are expected to grow nearly 5 percent this year, while India’s will increase by more than 6 percent, the report said.

Emissions from the U.S. rose 2.5 percent. China’s increase could possibly be explained, researchers say, by an economic downturn there, which may have prompted local officials to loosen pollution rules. India has experienced a rapid increase in energy demand. In the U.S., a cold winter and hot summer caused higher energy use for heating and cooling.

SAUDI ARABIA RENEWS NUCLEAR ENERGY TIES WITH ARGENTINA AS PRESSURE OVER KHASHOGGI RISES: Saudi Arabia held discussions with Argentina on nuclear energy development Wednesday, a sign the kingdom is moving closer to other countries on energy cooperation as ties with the U.S. grow strained over the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

The president of Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah City for Atomic and Renewable Energy, Dr. Khalid bin Saleh Al-Sultan, met in Saudi Arabia with Argentina’s ambassador, Marcelo Gilardoni, to review “joint cooperation between the two countries in the field of peaceful uses of atomic energy,” the government-run Saudi Press Agency reported on Wednesday. The meeting took place just days after Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman was in Buenos Aires for the G-20 meeting.

Argentina, which generates one-tenth of its energy from nuclear power, has a cooperation agreement with the oil-rich country and established a joint venture with Saudi Arabia in 2015 to leverage the South American country’s expertise.

The U.S. administration has been pressing hard for Saudi Arabia to choose U.S. firms to build the first nuclear power plant in the country, but experts in recent months have said those talks are likely on hold amid the controversy surrounding the murder of Khashoggi.

CIA Director Gina Haspel gave a closed briefing to senators on the killing on Tuesday, where it was conveyed to U.S. lawmakers that the crown prince was behind Khashoggi’s October murder in Turkey.

SOLAR COMPANIES LOBBY ON CAPITOL HILL: Nearly 70 solar companies are visiting the offices of more than 100 members of Congress during a coordinated lobbying effort on Capitol Hill Thursday, an event coordinated by the Solar Energy Industry Association (SEIA).

What’s on the agenda: The solar industry wants Congress to modify the tax code to include energy storage as an eligible technology for the investment tax credit.

“We will be talking about jobs, economic growth and what we are doing to accelerate solar deployment, enable healthy competition and provide Americans with the affordable, reliable, clean energy that they deserve,” said Abigail Ross Hopper, SEIA’s president and CEO.

Tariffs are top of mind: Solar companies are also lobbying against about tariffs applied to solar panels by the Trump administration. The CEOS say that the tariffs unfairly apply to utility-scale solar panels, not just residential ones, which are often installed in rural, Republican states and districts. The 30 percent tariffs have killed investments and jobs in states like North and South Carolina, Georgia, and Arizona, the solar leaders say.

CONSERVATIVE GROUPS SURVEY SHOWS MIDTERM VOTERS WANT ACTION ON CLEAN ENERGY: A post midterm-election survey conducted by conservative groups shows a majority of voters want to see action on legislation to promote clean energy.

The survey released Thursday by Citizens for Responsible Energy Solutions Forum and the Conservative Energy Network found that 68 percent of voters surveyed say that the issue of clean energy was important to their vote in 2018, and even bigger majorities say they would support candidates who support clean energy.

“These survey results represent what we have seen time and time again—that voters understand the benefits of clean energy policy and they want action,” said CRES Forum Managing Director Heather Reams.

The survey was completed November 8‐12, 2018, among 800 respondents who voted in the 2018 election.

RUNDOWN

Bloomberg Earthquakes in heart of Texas oil country spur water crackdown

New York Times Can we grow more food on less land? We’ll have to, a new study finds

Reuters East European energy firms charge into EV market

Politico Majority of voters worried about climate change after Trump admin. report

SPONSOR MESSAGE: In 2018 the United States continued to drill its way toward energy independence. With the country now producing record-setting amounts of oil and natural gas, the need for infrastructure to transport those resources – from the Bakken, Marcellus, and Permian shale formations all the way to New England – is more important than ever. Fortunately, midstream projects such as the now-complete Rover Pipeline and expanding Dakota Access Pipeline are setting the stage for safe and efficient energy transportation across the U.S. GAIN is hopeful that 2019 will be another momentous year for American energy. To learn more head to www.gainnow.org or follow us @GAINNowAmerica.