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CAPITO DISCUSSES MANCHIN: Sen. Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia, the top Republican on the Environment and Public Works Committee, predicts Democrats can successfully persuade her home state colleague Joe Manchin to get to “yes” on their program to pay utilities to generate more clean electricity, and penalize those that don’t.
Capito, playing Manchinologist (yes, we made that word up) as the guest on the second episode of Josh’s “Plugged In” podcast out this afternoon, says Manchin could support the controversial CEPP program if it’s more lenient on natural gas.
“Yes, I see a way for him to be ‘yes,’” Capito told Josh and co-host Neil Chatterjee, noting Manchin would have the pen in designing the program as chairman of the Energy Committee. “I’ve heard he would try to rewrite it and include natural gas as something that can qualify because it’s cleaner than other alternatives. So that is the way you would get to a ‘yes’ for him.”
Manchin, for his part, is continuing to question the need to reward utilities that deploy more clean energy and punish those that do not. His spokesman reminded Josh that Manchin has “been vocal about his concerns with CEPP.”
Capito, for her part, told us she opposes CEPP in any form, tying it back to the effect it might have on West Virginia.
She said any version of the CEPP program would accelerate the clean energy transition too fast, and eliminate coal in West Virginia, which she said still provides 93% of the state’s electricity.
“I don’t know how anybody from West Virginia could support this,” Capito said. “Coal is going to be the first thing [to go]. So I think it’s a downward cycle for a lot of states such as mine.”
Capito is skeptical that Democrats can successfully craft a version that enables natural gas to stay on the power system in a meaningful way, other than a select few plants that capture their emissions.
“Even what may look on its face to be a moderating position, we all know the real meat of it is what’s written in the regulations,” Capito said. “Maybe one or two natural gas plants qualify, but everyone else is below the standard.”
Capito, however, has been at the forefront of the congressional GOP’s attempt to shift its messaging on climate change to acknowledge the issue as a problem best solved through private sector development of clean energy technologies.
She was frank in acknowledging that more coal plant retirements are inevitable in West Virginia, saying “everyone is realistic to know it’s never going to back like it was.”
But she warned Democrats against policies that transition away from coal and gas too fast before technologies such as CCUS and direct air capture are scaled up.
“I am sure some people listening are going to say, ‘hey get your head out of the sand, this is the direction the country is moving.’ I get that,” Capito said. “It’s just, let’s have transitions. Let’s try to figure out if we can have carbon capture from the air. Let’s find out if we can sequester it into other places besides using it for enhanced oil recovery. There are all types of questions that need to be answered and they can be answered over time.”
Check out the entire interview by streaming the Plugged In podcast on Ricochet, Apple podcasts, and Spotify.
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LESS IS MORE FOR DEMOCRATS, AND THAT’S GOOD FOR CLIMATE MEASURES: House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is looking for Democrats to do less for more money as part of their reconciliation package, and climate change is one of the policy priorities that stands to make the cut.
“Overwhelmingly, the guidance I am receiving from Members is to do fewer things well so that we can still have a transformative impact on families in the workplace and responsibly address the climate crisis,” Pelosi said in a letter to colleagues released last night.
That approach would seem to suggest core climate provisions could survive the slimmed down version of the legislation, led by the CEPP and green energy tax credits. It also suggests climate spending would last 10 years, instead of five, which would be key to keeping President Joe Biden’s 2030 emissions reduction pledge viable.
CHINA’S TRICKY ‘CONTRADICTION’: China’s leadership is dropping some hints on how responding to its current energy crisis may complicate its climate politics.
Chinese Premier Li Keqiang, speaking before a meeting of energy officials, said “it is necessary to take into account…the contradiction between the supply and demand of electricity and coal” as they assess their timeline for beginning to reduce the country’s world-leading emissions.
He also emphasized the importance of “energy security,” which is top of mind as China balances accelerating its climate plans with current power shortages.
China is under pressure to commit to begin lowering its emissions ahead of schedule ahead of the U.N climate summit in Glasgow.
Beijing has promised to reach carbon neutrality across its economy by 2060, along with curbing emissions before 2030, but the country has so far ignored pleas by Biden and other world leaders to commit to specific near-term actions that would enable an earlier peak in emissions.
CARBON CAPTURE QUEUE GROWING: The number of carbon capture and storage projects that are operational or being developed increased for the fourth year in a row, and rose almost one-third over the previous year, according to a new report today from the Global CCS Institute.
Of the 135 commercial CCS facilities currently in the project pipeline, 27 are fully operating, four are under construction, and 102 are under development. Of the total, 71 new CCS facilities were added to the project pipeline in 2021. North America continues to be the global leader in CCS deployment, with over 40 new CCS projects announced in 2021, largely because of the 45Q tax credits in the U.S., and anticipated rise in demand for low-carbon energy technologies.
But several new countries now have CCS facilities under development, including Belgium, Denmark, Hungary, Indonesia, Italy, Malaysia, and Sweden. The list of sectors it is used for is expanding to include power generation, LNG, cement, steel, hydrogen production, and more.
“The momentum we have seen over the last year towards CCS is considerable, however more is required if we are to reach climate goals”, said Guloren Turan, general manager of advocacy and communication at the Global CCS Institute.
FACEBOOK DECLARES SUPPORT FOR DEMOCRATS’ ENERGY GOALS: The social media giant’s vice president of global affairs, Nick Clegg, said in a blog post the company “appreciates the tireless effort by members of Congress” to enact energy and climate provisions in the Democratic-led budget reconciliation package, adding that private enterprises and government must work together to reduce emissions.
“Facebook recognizes the urgency of climate change and is committed to help tackle this global challenge,” Clegg said.
Clegg added that it is Facebook’s responsibility “to help influence policy and technology that will not only impact the carbon footprint of our business, but of the global community.”
PROTESTERS TAKE ON PIPELINES OUTSIDE WHITE HOUSE: A group marched to the White House yesterday, Columbus Day (Indigenous Peoples Day to them), to demand Biden end various fossil fuel projects, including the Line 3 pipeline that runs through tribal lands in Minnesota.
“Biden claimed to be a climate leader during his campaign, and he made promises to steer our nation into a just and renewable transition,” said Tasina Sapa Win, a Lakota anti-pipeline activist. “I want to go to D.C. and be like, ‘Hey, if you’re claiming to be a leader for our climate crisis, to come up with solutions to our issues here, then you need to start living up to your word.’ … It’s not a secret that Indigenous people have been against extractive industries since colonizers stepped foot here.”
A statue of former President Andrew Jackson outside of the White House was also vandalized with the words “expect us” during the demonstrations, the Washington Examiner’s Misty Severi reports, and more than 135 people were arrested.
Protesters are planning to continue demonstrations as part of “People vs. Fossil Fuels” week, demanding the Biden administration rein in oil and gas extraction.
FRANCE PLANS NEW SMALL REACTORS BY 2030: France is looking to expand its nuclear energy portfolio with the construction of a new small reactor by 2030, President Emmanuel Macron announced today.
Macron told a meeting of business leaders the goal is part of a $35 billion investment over the next decade, which was planned as an effort to “re-industrialize” France. The plan marries clean energy goals to bolstering the country’s economy, with Macron insisting the country “must wage the battle of innovation and industrialization at the same time.”
“We must rebuild a framework to ensure the productive independence of France and Europe,” Macron said.
PG&E TO RESTORE POWER AFTER PLANNED BLACKOUTS: California’s Pacific Gas and Electric Company said it expects to begin restoring power to affected customers as soon as this afternoon following a controlled blackout.
The utility shut off power early yesterday to nearly 25,000 customers across 23 counties due to high winds forecasted to gust up to 50 mph. The blackout hit some tribal communities and areas northwest of Sacramento, with parts of Yolo, Solano, Napa, and Lake counties, as well some areas in western Fresno and Kings counties, being among those affected.
Less than one-half of 1% of all PG&E customers were affected by the outages, the utility said.
SHALE PRODUCER STOPS FLARING: U.S. shale producer Apache announced yesterday it has ended routine gas flaring at its onshore operations, achieving a key ESG goal it set this year three months ahead of schedule.
The Environmental Defense Fund, an environmental group that helps companies address flaring and methane leaks, said Apache’s accomplishment demonstrates the feasibility of curbing routine flaring.
Flaring, the practice of intentionally burning natural gas, has become a significant contributor to greenhouse gas emissions.
The Rundown
Reuters China’s Xi launches $232 mln biodiversity protection fund for developing countries
Washington Post At least 85 percent of the world’s population has been affected by human-induced climate change, new study shows
Bloomberg Why some surprising countries are setting net-zero goals
Wall Street Journal China to let power prices rise in bid to fix electricity crunch
Calendar
WEDNESDAY | OCT. 13
10 a.m. The House Natural Resources Committee will hold a remote hearing to markup public lands bills.
TUESDAY | OCT. 19
10 a.m. 366 Dirksen. The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee will hold a hearing to consider the nominations of Willie Phillips to be a member of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, Brad Crabtree to be an Assistant Secretary of Energy for fossil energy and carbon management, and Charles Sams III to be director of the National Park Service.
