Subscribe today to the Washington Examiner magazine and get Washington Briefing: politics and policy stories that will keep you up to date with what’s going on in Washington. SUBSCRIBE NOW: Just $1.00 an issue!
EXXON CARBON TAX PLUG: In an exclusive interview with me for a story published today, Erik Oswald, who leads Exxon Mobil’s new Low Carbon Solutions business, acknowledged the well-documented comments by lobbyist Keith McCoy “frustrated” his company’s attempts at lobbying for a carbon tax.
Oswald said Exxon quickly reached out to the 11 senators the lobbyist outed as “crucial” to Exxon’s lobbying on Capitol Hill, in order to “restate what our views actually are and how we’ve had this very long-held opinion” about carbon pricing.
Still, Oswald claimed the lobbyist’s comments had done more to “hurt” Exxon’s advocacy efforts with “people we didn’t have a relationship with or had a very negative view of the company or the industry” rather than with allies.
How Exxon’s lobbying is being received: Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, a Rhode Island Democrat and a carbon tax supporter not named in the video, said Exxon has more to prove.
“If Exxon is serious, the company should start by using its considerable lobbying power to advocate for a price on carbon pollution,” Whitehouse told me. “It could also commit to full transparency moving forward.”
Former GOP Rep. Carlos Curbelo of Florida, who introduced a carbon tax bill in 2018, advised Exxon needs to “over-communicate their beliefs, strategy, and investments” in order to “repair and build new alliances with stakeholders in the climate space.”
Other policy focuses: Oswald said Exxon is focusing much of its near-term lobbying on selling the Biden administration and lawmakers in Congress on its so-called carbon capture hub in Houston, which will need significant policy support to get off the ground.
Under the plan, Houston’s plentiful industrial facilities, such as gas-fired power plants, refineries, and chemical manufacturing operations, would install equipment to capture its carbon emissions.
Exxon is calling on Congress to beef up federal tax incentives for carbon capture and storage through the the 45Q tax credit, which enjoys broad bipartisan support. Those expanded subsidies could be included in the forthcoming Democratic reconciliation package, along with a host of other clean energy tax credits.
“Carbon capture is a really well-established part of the climate solution, but that [extra funding source] would get these projects going, and we would start moving to really material amounts of carbon sequestration going on,” Oswald said.
What about net-zero pledge? The Wall Street Journal reported Exxon is considering pledging to reduce its net carbon emissions to zero by 2050, following BP and Shell.
But Exxon isn’t ready to make that commitment — yet.
“We routinely evaluate our work and commitments and will update our shareholders and the public as those plans evolve,” said Todd Spitler, an Exxon spokesman.
Welcome to Daily on Energy, written by Washington Examiner Energy and Environment Writer 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.
BONUS…EXXON’S OSWALD ON DIRECT AIR CAPTURE: Oswald said Exxon constantly analyzes the potential of pursuing direct air capture projects — sucking carbon directly from the air — but he said the company is keeping its focus on traditional CCUS for now.
Experts say the world won’t be able to keep warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius without large-scale use of carbon removal technologies.
But direct air capture, at least in its present form, is expensive. Oswald pegged the costs per metric ton of carbon removal at between $400 and $600, compared to $85 to $100 per ton he projects for Exxon’s hub projects.
“It’s a big part of our program, paying attention to it,” Oswald said, adding the technology is “not ready yet for prime time” from the perspective of delivering for shareholders. “It’s a much higher cost way of dealing with the problem.”
JOHN KERRY TO PRESS CHINA ON COAL: Climate envoy John Kerry is planning to visit China next week to press for Beijing to declare a moratorium on financing new coal projects abroad, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Axios reported that’s among several items on the agenda for talks between the two largest greenhouse gas-emitting nations.
Signs China is pulling back? China did not provide funding for coal projects through its Belt and Road Initiative in the first half of 2021, the first time that’s happened since the program launched in 2013, the International Institute of Green Finance said in a recent report.
China’s lack of investment in overseas coal comes after the G-7 banned new government financing by the end of this year for coal plants abroad without carbon capture and storage.
That left China isolated as the only backer of coal globally, applying new pressure on Beijing to curb coal financing as part of its Belt and Road initiative that supports infrastructure in developing countries.
But Kerry is looking for China to declare a formal halt to financing overseas coal projects, the Journal said.
TESLA’S BIG PLAY INTO TEXAS POWER MARKET: Tesla has filed to become a power retailer in Texas.
CEO Elon Musk has established a new subsidiary of Tesla, called Tesla Energy Ventures, that filed in mid-August with the Public Utility Commission of Texas to sell electricity on the retail market, Texas Monthly reported yesterday.
If the filing is approved this November, Tesla’s entrance could shake up Texas’s deregulated power market.
Tesla could look to sell electricity pulled from the company’s home batteries when the grid fails, as it did during February’s historic cold freeze that left millions of Texans in the dark for several days.
Tesla could also let individual Texans with solar panels earn money by sharing their excess power with the grid, Texas Monthly said. In its filing, Tesla also confirms plans for two massive battery systems to be deployed in the state, which could stabilize the grid during outages.
Many experts blamed Texas’s deregulated electricity market, intended to produce low prices and encourage consumer choice, for the grid’s failure in February.
ANOTHER HURRICANE THREAT: A hurricane is expected to hit the southeast United States this weekend as Ida, which strengthened into a tropical storm yesterday, moves over the Caribbean, the Washington Examiner’s Misty Severi reports.
Forecasters say it could make landfall as a “major” hurricane somewhere between Texas, Louisiana, and Mississippi by Sunday — although the storm’s effects will be more far-reaching across the region. The track could shift over the next few days.
Heavy rainfall, strong winds, storm surge, and life-threatening surf and rip current conditions are expected across the Gulf Coast region.
Peak hurricane season is in full swing: Earlier this week, Tropical Storm Henrik hit the Northeast, leaving damage in its wake. Two other disturbances over the Atlantic Ocean are being watched, and if they become strong enough, they will be named Julian and Kate.
The Rundown
New York Times How government decisions left Tennessee exposed to deadly flooding
Wall Street Journal Dow CEO warns of price tag on clean energy plans
Wall Street Journal A fledgling natural gas exporter has become a meme stock
Reuters EPA recommends lowering 2020 biofuel mandates retroactively
Calendar
MONDAY | AUG. 30
12 p.m. The US-Qatar Business Council will host a webinar event featuring energy experts titled, “How Will LNG Drive a Sustainable Energy World?”
3:30 p.m. Resources for the Future will host a webinar conversation with EPA Administrator Michael Regan to discuss the role of economic analysis in informing environmental rulemaking and policy, regulations for greenhouse gas emissions under the Clean Air Act, environmental justice considerations, and more.
WEDNESDAY | SEP. 1
12:30 p.m. The Nuclear Innovation Alliance will hold a webinar event for the release of the new NIA resource, “Advanced Nuclear Reactor Technology: A Primer.”
