Daily on Energy: Chemical group CEO dishes on the Green New Deal, carbon pricing, and more

“Having served in Congress for seven terms, I look at this, it’s a political document … not a policy prescription,” Cal Dooley, CEO of the American Chemistry Council, said of the Green New Deal in an interview with John.

“It’ll never receive congressional action,” he added.

Dooley, 65, has been in the role for just over a decade and also served 14 years in the House as a California Democrat.

The industry sector he represents includes such petrochemical heavyweights as Dow Chemical, which have been reinvesting in the U.S. because of the shale boom, which has kept natural gas prices low. The chemical industry relies on natural gas as its primary feedstock.

But at the same time, it is adopting policy directives that demonstrate the industry’s commitment to lowering greenhouse gas emissions, said Dooley.

The concept of the Green New Deal is to try and gain support for actions that address climate change and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, he said. “Our industry is generally committed” to that goal, Dooley explained.

At the Council’s last board meeting, its members adopted ways of measuring the industry’s emission cuts. He explained that the industry is looking to reduce greenhouse gases across both the production of petrochemicals and the sector’s use of energy.

The industry backs energy efficiency measures and technologies, looking to recycle its own waste gases to produce electricity to both power both its facilities and the broader grid.

Globally, the chemical industry wants to position itself as integral to countries meeting their greenhouse gas reduction targets, Dooley said. Without the polymers and plastics his sector produces, advanced batteries for energy storage, silicon-based solar panels, wind turbine blades, and other pieces of the clean energy economy aren’t possible.

“Most don’t realize, every wind turbine, on average, has about 10 tons of polymers,” Dooley explained.

“We are uniquely positioned as an industry to be, perhaps, the most important and integral to any country’s ability to achieve significant reduction in their greenhouse gas emissions,” Dooley said.

What policy levers are available: Dooley thinks the Congress can find broad support for placing a “price on carbon,” and his industry “general supports” that idea.

It’s only when “you try to translate that into a policy, that’s where it all falls apart,” he said.

The idea of a carbon tax is probably the most contentious policy tool being discussed, because of the potential for government waste, fraud, and abuse in misusing the tax revenue.

“A lot of my Democratic friends in Congress would say, ‘we ought to use a carbon tax, not only to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, but to generate additional revenues that we can spend on a whole host of projects,” he said. “Republicans, certainly, aren’t going to accept that.”

The Council believes if Congress is going to go down that path of placing a price on carbon, it ought to be “rebated” in some way to the general public, he explained.

The industry would have significant worries if a carbon tax were passed to fund something like the Green New Deal, which Dooley said could undermine private sector investment decisions.

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SUPREME COURT UPHOLDS VIRGINIA BAN ON URANIUM MINING: The Supreme Court issued a ruling Monday that said the Commonwealth of Virginia has the explicit right to ban the mining of uranium in the state.

Industry, backed by the Trump administration, had tried to argue that the 1954 Atomic Energy Act preempted the states from preventing mining. A company wishing to mine in the state argued that states should not be able to block permits once issued by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission in Washington.

The justices voted 6-3 that the state’s ban be upheld. The justices agreed that the state’s ban is supported by federal law. However, the majority stood divided in its reasoning.

Justice Neil Gorsuch wrote the opinion, which was adopted by Justices Brett Kavanaugh and Clarence Thomas. Liberal Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg concurred, along with Justices Elena Kagan and Sonia Sotomayor.

Chief Justice John Roberts dissented against the majority opinion, along with Justices Samuel Alito and Stephen Breyer.

ZERO-CARBON SOURCES COMBINE TO GENERATE MOST ELECTRICITY: Zero-carbon resources combined to generate the most electricity in 2017 — a marker that’s never happened before — according to new data of the nation’s largest 100 utilities released by Ceres, a sustainability nonprofit organization.

In 2017, renewables, counted as wind, solar and geothermal, and other zero-carbon sources (nuclear and hydro) generated more than 35% of U.S. electricity. Natural gas was the leading source of electricity on its own at 32.1%, followed by coal with 29.8%.

Out of the zero-carbon sources, nuclear generated the highest share of electricity at 19% total. Eighty-three of the largest utilities generated power from zero-carbon sources in 2017.

The report, however, found that carbon emissions in the electricity sector increased slightly from 2017 to 2018 after falling 20% since their peak in 2005.

“It’s encouraging to see so many of the largest power producers in the U.S. pivot toward lower-carbon and zero-carbon solutions,” said Dan Bakal, senior director of electric power at Ceres. “Yet, as the benchmark analysis continues to make clear, we must increase corporate ambition and find solutions to transform the power sector at a scope and scale that matches the climate crisis.”

INVESTORS CONFIDENT IN CONTINUED GROWTH OF RENEWABLES: U.S. financial institutions are confident about the prospects for continued growth of the renewable energy industry, according to a report released Monday.

The American Council on Renewable Energy’s (ACORE) survey of investors found that one-third of respondents plan to increase their investments in renewables by more than 10% in 2019 compared to last year.

No respondents said they would decrease their companies’ investments by more than 5%. Most respondents — 77% — said they are confident U.S. renewable energy growth will remain high over the next three years compared to other asset classes.

The U.S. attracted $56.7 billion of investments in renewable energy and accommodating grid technologies in 2018, an amount of capital ranking second to China.

ACORE has set a goal of attracting $1 trillion in U.S. private sector investment in renewables by 2030.

Greg Wetstone, ACORE’s president and CEO, said the renewable industry will need additional federal policy help to meet the $1 trillion goal, such as tax credits for carbon-free electricity generation and energy storage, a clean electricity standard, or a carbon tax.

PROGRESSIVES ARE DIVIDED ON SPECIFICS OF CLIMATE POLICY, SURVEY FINDS: A survey conducted by the progressive voter mobilization group Climate Hawks Vote found progressives are divided about the specifics of policy to combat climate change.

RL Miller, founder of Climate Hawks, told Josh she distributed the survey to members of the group’s email list as a way to show the need for a climate change debate in the Democratic primary of the presidential race. The DNC has rejected the call, led by candidate Jay Inslee, for a climate-only debate.

“I ran the survey because I wanted to demonstrate to the DNC and debate moderators that there are myriad questions to be asked on climate policy beyond ‘should the US return to the Paris agreement?’ There are plenty of areas of disagreement,” she said.

For example, most of the 1,238 respondents to Miller’s survey said they support some form of a carbon tax (about 88%). However, respondents differed over what to do with the revenue, with 71% favoring using the money to upgrade infrastructure, and 17% preferring to provide a dividend to U.S. households.

Respondents were more divided over nuclear power. About 41% support nuclear power, but that percentage is split almost evenly between those who support keeping existing reactors while not building new ones and those who favor maintaining the current fleet and also building new advanced reactors. Fifty-nine percent want to get rid of nuclear altogether.

EPA’S WHEELER EMPHASIZES CLEAN WATER GOALS AT G-20 MEETING: EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler emphasized combating marine litter and improving water quality in his appearance at the G-20 Energy and Environmental Ministers meeting this weekend.

The EPA said Wheeler met in Japan with environmental ministers or deputy minister of seven countries, including the host country, South Korea, Brazil, Thailand, China, Saudi Arabia, and Vietnam. EPA said Wheeler wants to work with the six Asian nations that are the largest contributors to marine litter to combat the problem.

The EPA said Wheeler also referenced U.S.’ success in reducing carbon emissions — despite emissions rising in 2018. EPA did not mention climate change in its recap of the G-20 gathering.

The Rundown

New York Times US escalates attacks on Russia’s power grid

Bloomberg G-20 energy ministers highlight security after tanker attacks

Axios Oil companies double down on plastics as public outcry grows

Wall Street Journal Oil’s slide highlights global growth fears

Calendar

TUESDAY | June 18

9:30 a.m., 366 Dirksen. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee holds a hearing to examine deferred maintenance needs and potential solutions on federal lands administered by the Department of the Interior and the USDA Forest Service.

WEDNESDAY | June 19

10:00 a.m., 366 Dirksen. The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee holds a hearing on a number of National Parks bills.

10:30 a.m., 2322 Rayburn. The Energy Subcommittee of the Committee on Energy and Commerce will hold a legislative hearing on pipeline safety proposals. The hearing is entitled, “Legislative Solutions to Make Our Nation’s Pipelines Safer.”

THURSDAY | June 20

10 a.m., 366 Dirksen. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee holds hearing to examine opportunities and challenges for advanced geothermal energy development in the United States.