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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/ OIL, GAS GROUPS TELL TRUMP TO BACK OFF TARIFFS OR EXEMPT INDUSTRY: A coalition of oil and gas, and pipeline groups, urged President Trump on Wednesday morning to back off his plan to impose tariffs on steel imports. If Trump doesn’t change course, the coalition said, the president should allow exemptions for when the industry needs steel products from overseas for energy production, processing, refining, transportation, and distribution.
Energy exemption: “While we discourage you from imposing steel tariffs, we urge you at least to allow exemptions when steel products needed for energy production, processing, refining, transportation, and distribution are not sufficiently available in domestic markets,” the groups said in a letter to Trump.
Which groups? Groups signing the letter include the Interstate Natural Gas Association of America, Association of Oil Pipe Lines, GPA Midstream Association, Texas Pipeline Association, Natural Gas Supply Association, Center for LNG, Energy Equipment and Infrastructure Alliance, and American Exploration & Production Council. ‘Zero’ domestic steel: The groups said the type of steel used in pipelines is a niche market, so most domestic steel producers have left the pipeline market because of its high cost. “In fact, for certain pipeline steel products, there is zero domestic availability today,” they wrote. SOLAR INDUSTRY FEARS MORE TARIFFS: The solar industry also is advising Trump to not tax imported steel and aluminum, after the president already imposed tariffs on solar panels from overseas. “As President Trump prepares to issue an official decision on tariffs for steel and aluminum products, we want to remind him that the net loss of jobs and the cancellation of projects as a result of his solar tariffs are real and causing damage to America’s energy economy,” Abigail Ross Hopper, president and CEO of the Solar Energy Industries Association, said Wednesday morning.
Sunset: In January, Trump imposed a 30 percent tariff on imported solar panels as part of his trade agenda to target cheap products made by China and other Asian countries.
Hopper said Wednesday that the solar tariffs alone could cost the industry 23,000 in lost jobs, since most of America’s solar industry works in other parts of the supply chain, such as installing panels. Double whammy: Against that backdrop, Hopper says steel and aluminum tariffs could add costs to large solar projects. “The economy-damaging effects of tariffs are both regrettable and avoidable,” Hopper said. “If the president fails to reverse harmful tariffs, we urge Congress to take action to correct what will be a very bad deal for American workers.” 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. ZINKE DEFENDS TRUMP’S TARIFF PLAN: Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke, meanwhile, on Tuesday defended Trump’s tariff plan for tariffs. “Long-term tariffs generally disrupt free markets and raise costs, but it is also incumbent on the American steel companies themselves — they have to re-fit and rebuild, just like these guys did,” Zinke said during an appearance at CERAWeek. Zinke was referring to the oil and gas industry’s moves to lower their costs after prices declined. PERRY SAYS ‘CLEANER’ FOSSIL FUELS UNDERPIN TRUMP’S ‘NEW ENERGY REALISM’: Energy Secretary Rick Perry hailed the Trump administration’s efforts to make fossil fuels cleaner as a key stopgap as the U.S. transitions to an energy system more reliant on renewable sources.
‘Unleash innovation:’ “As we progress to a zero emission as goal, we can still reduce emissions without draining the growth of our developing nations,” Perry said during a speech at the CERAWeek energy conference in Houston. “Let us unleash innovation, let us invest in emission-free resources like nuclear and hydro [power] while at the same time making fossil fuels cleaner.”
Perry, as he often does, tried to straddle the line of supporting increasing fossil fuel development, allowed by the Trump administration’s relaxation of regulations on carbon emissions, and encouraging deployment of more wind and solar. Perry supports renewables: “We support those renewables,” Perry said. “Not only are they ultimate clean fuel, but they are inexhaustible by definition.” But Perry emphasized that the world is expected to depend on fossil fuels into 2040, especially developing countries looking to bring electricity to their citizens. “What are we supposed to do in the meantime?” Perry said. “What are the people without electricity supposed to do?” His answer: “We would welcome and help lead a global alliance of countries willing to make fossil fuels cleaner rather than abandoning them.” Innovative advances: To achieve that goal, Perry mentioned the administration’s efforts to invest in carbon capture and storage technology that allows coal and natural gas plants to collect carbon emissions and bury it underground. He also highlighted the Energy Department’s emphasis on exporting liquefied natural gas, which is cleaner than coal. And finally, he said the Energy Department’s national labs are making “great progress” researching ways to better deploy battery storage technology that can help renewables be available more frequently. “The lesson is we don’t need to choose between growing the economy and caring for our environment,” Perry said. “That is at the heart of the new energy realism.” WHITE HOUSE: ‘ENERGY DOMINANCE’ IS ALL ABOUT NUCLEAR ENERGY: The White House says Trump’s biggest achievements on energy dominance are all about nuclear energy. The White House Office of Science and Technology Policy underscored the president’s achievements Wednesday in a report that underscores a number of scientific advancements made under the president’s watch. Surprisingly, the biggest energy achievements were on nuclear power, not coal, oil or natural gas, which is typically promoted publicly under the energy dominance agenda.
The energy/weapons link: The report linked Trump’s recently released nuclear policy review, which has a lot to do with nuclear weapons, with moving the country closer to energy dominance, with a directive Trump issued ordering his administration to look for ways to expand nuclear power domestically.
“The White House is leading the nuclear policy review, which includes a focus on restoring U.S. nuclear [research and development] capabilities and enabling innovation in the development and deployment of new reactors,” the report read. Perry orders labs to unleash nuclear innovation: It also pointed out that on Nov. 13, Energy Secretary Rick Perry authorized national lab contractors to strike agreements for commercializing new reactor technologies. “The authorization adds a new and powerful technology transfer tool to help unleash American energy innovation by removing barriers for businesses and other entities interested in working with DOE’s National Laboratories,” the White House report said. The report also said Trump reopened a program for the first time in 23 years, which will boost nuclear power research and development. ETHANOL PRODUCERS MAKE URGENT PLEA TO TRUMP: The battle over ethanol credits intensified Wednesday with an urgent plea from 150 renewable fuel producers asking Trump not to believe the “fairy tales” the refinery industry has been floating. “The campaign against [ethanol credits] is based on fairy tales, designed to justify handouts for the same folks who raided corporate funds at the expense of local workers in Philadelphia,” said Emily Skor, CEO of the ethanol trade group Growth Energy, after sending the letter to the president Wednesday morning.
Battle plans: The battle between the ethanol industry and oil refiners has to do with the certificates, or RINs, the refiners have to buy to show they are abiding by the Environmental Protection Agency’s Renewable Fuel Standard.
But RIN prices have soared and placed increased burdens on independent refiners to meet the RFS, which requires them to blend billions of gallons of ethanol and other renewable fuels in the nation’s gasoline and diesel supplies. Pushback Wednesday: The ethanol industry letter was sent on day two of a lobbying campaign started by refinery workers and the national steelworkers union to urge Capitol Hill for legislation that would eliminate the need for refiners to buy the expensive credits. The campaign follows two days of meetings with Trump last week to see if a compromise could be reached. Wednesday’s letter said Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, who is pressing the White House to place a cap on the price of RINs, is confusing the issue. Cruzin’ for confusion: “We’ve seen Texas Sen. Ted Cruz attempt to confuse stakeholders about the RFS, claiming that his attack on [RINs] is not an attack on our jobs,” the letter said. “Nothing could be further from the truth. RINs are simply a flexible and efficient system – designed with help from refiners — for tracking our product, as each gallon of biofuel makes its way to consumers,” the letter read. “There is no way to cut, cap, or eliminate RINs without cutting, capping, or eliminating gallons of homegrown fuel.” SHELL CEO CALLS CLIMATE CHANGE BIGGEST QUESTION FACING ENERGY INDUSTRY: The CEO of Shell, one of the world’s largest oil and gas companies, warned about the global warming challenge. “There are plenty of questions facing our industry,” Ben van Beurden said Wednesday at CERAweek just after Perry spoke. “The ongoing impact of shale. OPEC. The debate on LNG supplies. Geopolitical shifts. Plenty of questions. But I believe the biggest of them is climate change.” BATTERY STORAGE GROWTH SET TO DOUBLE THIS YEAR, REPORT SAYS: Installations of energy storage grew 27 percent last year and are expected to more than double in 2018, according to a report released Tuesday. The new report from GTM Research and the Energy Storage Association finds that installations of energy storage, mostly in the form of lithium ion batteries, grew 27 percent to 431 megawatt hours in 2017. That growth is expected to rise to 1,233 megawatt hours in 2018, the report says. Looking further out, the report forecasts that from the end of 2017 through 2023, the amount of storage linked to the power grid will multiply by more than 25 times.
Saving solar and wind: Energy storage is an emerging technology that can solve renewable energy’s most persistent problem, lengthening the availability of wind or solar by allowing it to be used when the sun isn’t shining or the wind isn’t blowing.
Falling battery costs: The biggest reason for the projected growth is the falling costs of lithium-ion batteries. Battery packs that cost $1,000 per kilowatt-hour at the start of the decade now cost between $250 to $300 per kilowatt-hour, GTM says. FERC aims to value storage: The positive report’s release comes after the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission last month issued an order requiring regional grid operators to revise their pricing to recognize the benefits of energy storage and allow the technology to compete with generators in wholesale power markets. RUNDOWN Reuters Exxon CEO struggles to reverse Tillerson’s legacy of failed bets Bloomberg Planes, trains and trucks: Global trade boom fires up oil demand Wall Street Journal Iran’s oil potential remains untapped after nuclear deal removed sanctions E&E News Can we refreeze the Arctic? Scientists are beginning to ask New York Times College Republicans propose an unusual idea from the right: a carbon tax Politico How Trump’s climate skeptics are changing the country Bloomberg Congress poised to skip funding Yucca nuke dump again this year Wall Street Journal Beleaguered GE hopes energy storage is its next big business |
CalendarWEDNESDAY, MARCH 7 9 a.m., 1919 Connecticut Ave. NW. Nmble Inc. holds its 2018 Nuclear Power Full Life-Cycle Global Summit, March 7-8. 1:30 p.m., 555 Pennsylvania Ave. NW. The Institute for Electric Innovation holds the spring 2018 “Powering the People” event, focusing on “Energy Solutions for All Customers.” edisonfoundation.net/iei/Events/Pages/event.aspx?eid=122 2 p.m., 430 First St. SE. The Alliance to Save Energy holds a “Great Energy Efficiency Day” discussion on “Driving Disruption for Economic, Social and Environmental Gains: What’s the Role for Energy Efficiency?” 2:15 p.m., Houston. Energy Secretary Rick Perry has a CERAWeek dialogue with energy ministers of Canada and Mexico. 5:20 p.m., Houston. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission Chairman Kevin McIntyre addresses CERAWeek. THURSDAY, MARCH 8 10:35 a.m., Houston. Federal Energy Regulatory Commissioner Robert Powelson addresses CERAWeek. FRIDAY, MARCH 9 9 a.m., 3401 Massachusetts Ave. NW. The Atlantic Council holds a discussion on “Trends in the Norwegian Oil and Gas Sector.” 9:35 a.m., Houston. Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn, R-Texas, and Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, chairwoman of the Energy and Natural Resources Committee, discuss the road ahead in Washington at CERAWeek. 10 a.m., 1616 Rhode Island Ave. NW. The Center for Strategic and International Studies holds a book discussion on “The Logic of American Nuclear Strategy.” Noon, 14th and F streets NW. The CO2 Coalition holds a news conference on “Does the World Need Climate Insurance?” Noon, 2168 Rayburn House Office Building. The Environmental and Energy Study Institute holds a briefing on the “2018 Sustainable Energy in America Factbook.” eesi.org/briefings/view/030918bcse WEDNESDAY, MARCH 14 All day, Washington Marriott at Metro Center. American Council on Renewable Energy holds its annual Renewable Energy Policy Forum. |
