Daily on Energy: Under attack, Biden may have staked out new ground on fossil fuels

“Middle-ground solutions like the vice president has proposed or middling averaged sized things aren’t going to save us,” said Jay Inslee, the climate-focused candidate who led the attacks on Biden. “The science tells us we have to get off coal in 10 years. Your plan does not do that. We have to have off of fossil fuels in our electrical grid in 15. Your plan simply does not do that.”

Under pressure, Biden appeared to stake out new ground by suggesting he would phase out the use of coal, and stop the practice of fracking for natural gas.

Biden was asked by moderator Dana Bash, “Will there be any place for fossil fuels including coal and fracking in a Biden administration?”

Biden replied: “No. We would work it out. Make sure it’s eliminated and no more subsidies for either one of those, any fossil fuel.”

What Biden’s plan actually does: The reality of Biden’s actual climate change plan, released in June, is more nuanced.

His plan does not ban fossil fuels, despite his assertions in Wednesday night’s debate. It would allow for carbon capture technologies on coal and natural gas plants to contribute to his 100% clean energy goal.

Some environmentalists oppose carbon capture because they say it would extend the life of coal and gas plants, even though the United Nations climate panel says the technology is necessary to reaching net-zero emissions by 2050.

Biden’s plan would “double down” on investments and tax breaks on carbon capture to make it “a widely available, cost-effective, and rapidly scalable solution to reduce carbon emissions to meet mid-century climate goals.”

Noah Kaufman, an energy economist at Columbia University’s Center on Global Energy Policy, told me he doubted Biden was intending to make a new policy statement with his debate comments on coal and fracking.

“His campaign’s climate plan is solid: ambitious, comprehensive, and cost-effective,” Kaufman said. “But he still needs to prove that he personally understands the issue and will prioritize it in a Biden administration.”

Biden would spend $1.7 trillion in federal money over 10 years on clean energy, leveraging additional private sector and state and local investments to total to more than $5 trillion in funding.

His underlying goal is to have the U.S. obtain 100% of its energy from clean sources, and achieve net-zero emissions, no later than 2050.

Where the other candidates stand: Most presidential candidates have called for decarbonizing the economy and reaching net-zero emissions by 2050 or sooner, favoring a “technology-neutral” approach to get there.

Only Inslee has outlined an aggressive, detailed agenda to eliminate fossil fuels (fellow candidate Tulsi Gabbard highlighted her legislation Wednesday, called the “Off Fossil Fuels Act,” to transition off of fossil fuels and invest in renewable energy).

Inslee has called for the U.S. to get off coal by 2030, and to have fossil fuel-free electricity by 2035. He also says he would work with Congress to enact an “outright national ban” on fracking, and seeks to make it more difficult for federal agencies to approve pipelines and gas export terminals, require federal agencies to apply a “climate test” to infrastructure proposals.

“We can not ‘work it out.’ The time is up,” Inslee said to Biden, saying the vice president’s response on how he would treat coal and fracking was not forceful enough. “Our house is on fire.”

Activism against gas is growing: The debate over the role of fossil fuels comes as activists have increased their advocacy to eliminate oil and gas.

Last month, former New York City Mayor and climate activist Michael Bloomberg, announced he was expanding his “Beyond Coal” campaign with the Sierra Club to start killing oil and gas, calling the larger mission “Beyond Carbon.”

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ERNST MONIZ PROPOSES ‘GREEN REAL DEAL’ WITH ROLE FOR FOSSIL FUELS: Former Obama administration Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz released a “Green Real Deal” framework Wednesday that envisions a role for fossil fuels as part of decarbonizing the economy by midcentury.

Moniz released the framework through his Energy Futures Initiative, and discussed it before business leaders Wednesday at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Energy Innovates summit.

“No chance” without nuclear and carbon removal: Moniz said he foresees “no chance” of meeting the net-zero goal without breakthroughs in advanced nuclear energy, and “at-scale” carbon removal technologies, including carbon capture on gas plants and direct air capture.

“The transition to a deeply decarbonized economy may not necessarily require the elimination of fossil fuels,” the plan says.

Moniz calls for “flexibility” in the types of technologies used to decarbonize the economy.

He sees a continued role for natural gas as a fast-acting backup to renewable energy and in industrial applications to help process heat.

“What we think is critical is if we are going to achieve deep decarbonization by the mid-century time frame, it has to be a very pragmatic program, it has to be data driven, science-based, and analytically supported,” Moniz said at the Chamber event.

Moniz also calls for large increases in the Energy Department’s energy innovation programs, to help lead to breakthroughs in technologies such as long-duration energy storage.

He agrees with proponents of the Green New Deal that “social equity” is key to achieving political and public support for decarbonization goals, and expressed optimism about the prospect of “broad” coalition-building, crediting groups like the Chamber and the American Federal of Labor for showing new support for actions to reduce carbon emissions.

FIRE BREAKS OUT AT EXXON PLANT FOR SECOND TIME THIS YEAR: A fire broke out at an Exxon Mobil petrochemical plant on Wednesday in Baytown, Texas, injuring 37 people, none seriously.

It was the second fire this year at Exxon’s Baytown refining and petrochemical complex, according to the Houston Chronicle.

Exxon’s operations in Baytown, a city about 30 miles east of Houston, have been repeatedly cited for violating environmental regulations, the newspaper reported, and are among the biggest polluters in the area. Wood Mackenzie, a consulting group, says about 45% of Exxon’s installed chemical capacity in the U.S. is located in Baytown.

The cause of Wednesday’s fire was not immediately known.

But the incident provoked criticism from some Democrats and environmentalists, who said it shows the danger of producing and processing combustible fossil fuels.

“Awful news out of Houston,” Inslee wrote in a Twitter post. “Fossil fuels are dirty and dangerous. It’s clear we must leave them behind.”

NATURAL GAS LINE EXPLODES IN KENTUCKY: A natural gas pipeline ruptured and exploded in Kentucky early Thursday, killing one person and hospitalizing five others.

The rupture of 30-inch regional gas pipeline destroyed railroad tracks and forced the evacuation of a nearby mobile home park, according to the Louisville Courier Journal.

The line is part of the Texas Eastern Transmission pipeline, which is owned and operated by Enbridge. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, a Kentucky Republican, discussed the incident on the floor Thursday, calling it “terrible.”

SENATORS INTRODUCE BIPARTISAN BILL TO HELP EXISTING NUCLEAR PLANTS: Democratic Senator Chris Coons of Delaware and Republican Martha McSally of Arizona introduced legislation Wednesday to improve the economic viability of existing nuclear plants.

The Nuclear Energy Renewal Act directs the Energy Department to establish and enhance programs to help reduce the operation and maintenance costs of U.S. nuclear power plants. It aims to bolster research and development into fuel cycle technologies that can allow light water nuclear reactors to run longer and more efficiently.

It also aims to assist the “shrinking” nuclear energy workforce by creating an apprenticeship program to educate and recruit potential workers.

The senators note that nuclear power produces more emissions-free electricity than all renewable sources combined. However, seven reactors have been shut down since 2013 and another 12 could close by 2025, due to high costs and market competition from natural gas and renewables.

“I’m proud that this legislation will allow the Department of Energy to provide nuclear power plants with the requisite tools and research to increase their cost-competitiveness and develop the new technologies they require to operate efficiently,” Coons said.

REPUBLICAN SENATORS TO INTRODUCE BILL ENSHRINING EPA’S WOTUS ROLLBACK: Republican Senators Mike Braun of Indiana and Joni Ernst of Iowa are introducing legislation Thursday that would enshrine into law the Trump administration’s rollback of the Obama-era Waters of the U.S. rule.

Braun’s office confirmed to me the pending release of the bill, set for later Thursday, dubbed the “Define WOTUS Act.”

“President Trump and his Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) are working hard to fix this atrocious Obama-era rule. But as the Administration has repeatedly noted, it’s Congress’s job to write laws. The Define WOTUS Act will solidify and amplify the Administration’s work on WOTUS,” Braun said in a statement.

The Obama administration’s 2015 WOTUS rule expanded federal water protections to small rivers and streams to protect them from pollution. The Trump EPA’s proposed changes, announced in December, would narrow how “navigable waterways” are defined under the Clean Water Act, siding with farmers, ranchers, and developers who said the broader rule violated their property rights, forcing them to protect the streams and tributaries that flow through their land.

SENATE COMMITTEE APPROVES LEGISLATION SANCTIONING CONSTRUCTION OF RUSSIAN PIPELINE: The Senate Foreign Relations Committee advanced legislation Wednesday sanctioning construction companies that help build Russia’s controversial Nord Stream 2 pipeline that would deliver natural gas to Europe.

The bipartisan bill sailed through committee by a 20-2 vote, and heads to the Senate floor. It is sponsored by Senators Ted Cruz, Republican of Texas, and Jeanne Shaheen, Democrat of New Hampshire.

It specifically targets contracting companies operating vessels that lay pipes to build the pipeline, not investors in the project, which include oil and gas giant Shell.

Congress, and the Trump administration, want to wean the European Union off Russian gas because they worry a dependency would embolden President Vladimir Putin. The Trump administration has moved to sell European allies U.S. natural gas to help compensate.

“This bill is a specific, targeted, and timely way to counter Russian malign influence, and I am pleased that it garnered such broad support in our committee,” said Committee Chairman Jim Risch, an Idaho Republican.

The Rundown

Washington Post Alaska’s sweltering summer is ‘basically off the charts’

New York Times Homes are being built the fastest in many flood-prone areas, study finds

Miami Herald DeSantis to tap Florida’s first climate change czar. Her resume lacks climate credentials.

E&E News EV tax credit fight sparks lobbying frenzy

Reuters Alaska natives accuse White House of hiding Arctic oil impact information

Calendar

THURSDAY | Aug. 1

11 a.m. ET. The House Select Committee on the Climate Crisis holds its first field hearing in Boulder, Colo. focused on “Colorado’s Roadmap for Clean Energy Action: Lessons from State and Local Leaders.”