Daily on Energy: More on Whitmer’s plan for 100% clean energy in Michigan

What’s ahead: Currently, Democrats control both chambers of the state legislature, 20-18 in the Senate and 56-54 in the House. Senate Democrats, who have already released their own clean energy plan, are currently working with House Democrats as the lower chamber drafts its own bill.

“We know that the House is also working on clean energy bills, and we’ve been having a lot of conversations with them to make sure that we understand their concerns and that their input is also being taken into account,” said Democratic Sen. Sue Shink, one of two lawmakers who introduced the Senate’s “Clean Energy Future Plan.”

When Nancy asked what those “concerns” were, the senator did not further elaborate, and said that negotiations are currently ongoing. The state legislature is out this week, but is slated to return next week.

The Senate proposal: While we won’t be able to tell you what’s in the House bill, we can certainly draw breadcrumbs from recent proposals that have been introduced. Senate Democrats have introduced their own package that’s even more aggressive than the governor’s proposal. It would phase-out coal-fired electricity generating plants and require utilities to meet the state’s electricity needs using 60% renewable energy by 2030 and 100% clean energy by 2035. The bill would count “approved nuclear energy” as part of the proposal. 

Whitmer’s proposal: The Democratic governor released her own climate plan in April 2021 – and the Senate proposal, which was released two years after the governor’s, mirrors much of what Whitmer previously laid out. Her plan calls for generating 60% of the state’s electricity from renewable sources, phasing out remaining coal-fired power plants by 2030, and committing Michigan to economy-wide carbon neutrality no later than 2050. The governor’s proposal would explore the use of carbon capture and storage in situations where “eliminating the use of fossil fuels is impossible or cost-prohibitive,” and for entities attempting to go carbon negative in their operations. The plan also mentions Michigan benefiting from a “diverse” power sector that includes nuclear power plants.

State of play: When asked what the likelihood was for a bill passing, Shrink asserted that the chances were “very good.”

“Right now, I’m not aware of any active opposition to it,” she said.

The GOP pushback: Republicans, on the other hand, have pounced on the proposal as a Michigan “Green New Deal” that makes energy more expensive for voters – especially during a time where the state is facing reliability issues as storms and tornadoes fly though towns.

“People have been out of power for four or five days,” Senate Minority Leader Aric Nesbitt told Nancy. “Instead of talking about bearing electric lines or hardening the grid, they’re looking at going to a California-style energy plan that could lead to rolling blackouts here in Michigan.”

Nesbitt said that the party plans on using these proposals to campaign against Democrats as the Michigan state House is up for reelection in 2024 – which could potentially affect the political calculus for passage under the House’s slim majority, depending on when the package stands for a vote in the House.

“I think there’s an opportunity to find one moderate Democrat in the House chamber, but they’re gonna have to step up and show that,” said Nesbitt.

Welcome to Daily on Energy, written by Washington Examiner Energy and Environment Writers Breanne Deppisch (@breanne_dep) and Nancy Vu (@NancyVu99). Email [email protected] or [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.

BIDEN ADDS MORE DISASTER AID TO SUPPLEMENTAL: The Biden administration is adding $4 billion to the previously requested disaster supplemental, in response to a string of disasters that have ravaged the U.S. the last couple of weeks, with Hurricane Idalia hitting Florida and the southeast most recently.

The administration is now seeking $16 billion to replenish funds for the Federal Emergency Management Fund’s Disaster Relief Fund, which is expected to run out in mid-September. The administration previously sought $12 billion, coupled with $24 billion in aid to Ukraine to help defeat Russia.

“The President has been clear that we’re going to stand with communities across the Nation as they recover from disasters for as long as it takes, and the Administration is committed to working with Congress to ensure funding for the DRF is sufficient for recovery needs,” a spokesperson for the Office of Management and Budget said in a statement. “We urge Congress to take swift action on supplemental appropriations.”

The time crunch: The Senate is back in session next week, followed by the House the week after. Congress will have to hustle to pass anything before FEMA funds run dry – and before a government shutdown takes place after the Sept. 30 deadline.

OIL LEGISLATION INTRIGUE IN CALIFORNIA: A California state senator is hoping to illustrate the benefits of in-state oil drilling through new legislation that has received unanimous support from Republicans and Democrats as the state battles over a law banning the practice in some areas.

Republican state Sen. Shannon Grove‘s bill would require the state to report carbon emissions from oil imported from foreign countries. It also would direct the Energy Commission to monitor whether oil comes from countries with fewer environmental regulations than the United States and a record of human rights abuses.

The bill passed through the state Senate and the Assembly Natural Resources Committee without any Democrats opposing — something causing environmentalists concern that the bill’s intentions may be more about making a point rather than looking for emissions reports.

The background context: California’s Senate Bill 1137, a separate bill introduced by Democratic state Sens. Lena Gonzalez and Monique Limon, prohibits drilling within more than a half-mile of public places, such as homes and schools. Oil industry groups, which are opposed to the law, are pushing people to vote “no” on the California Oil and Gas Well Regulations Referendum, which will appear on the November 2024 ballot. SB 1137 is on hold until the referendum is voted on.

Environmental groups believe Grove’s measure is a ploy to get Democratic lawmakers to promote the campaign from the oil industry to overturn the state ban, with the GOP bill meant to highlight the fact that foreign oil is dirtier than domestic production. Read more from our Rachel Schilke here.

While on the subject of the Golden State… California regulators approved a proposal to inject more natural gas at Sempra Energy’s Aliso Canyon Natural Gas Storage Facility – the site of the wost methane leak in U.S. history.

As reported by Bloomberg, the move is designed to protect against a spike in natural gas prices, such as last winter when some residents saw monthly energy bills hit $1,000 or higher, the California Public Utilities Commission said in a statement. The temporary increase in storage capacity could lead to savings between $200 million to $450 million for Southern California customers, according to the CPUC.

The commission also said it will issue a proposal on alternatives to replace Aliso Canyon and reduce the state’s reliance on the site. The 2015 leak from a broken well at the facility emitted an equivalent of a year’s worth of GHGs from more than 500,000 cars and has cost the company nearly $2 billion to settle the claims.

CASAR’S GRID CONNECTION CALLS: Democratic Rep. Greg Casar says he’s drafting federal legislation to connect Texas to the national electric grids, as the state’s network continues to face rising supply issues as demand increases amid high temperatures.

While the bill is still being written, Casar said the bill would connect Texas to the national electric grids, arguing Congress has the legal authority to enforce this requirement to “protect consumers, improve electric reliability nationwide, and safely regulate commerce.”

“People shouldn’t lose power in a heat wave or a winter storm,” he tweeted Thursday. “When we need help, we’ll draw power from other states, and when other states need help, we can sell power to them. It’s that simple.”

If you’ll recall: In 2021, Winter Storm Uri had caused millions in Texas and Mexico to experience blackouts during a major power crisis when the region’s electricity sources struggled in frigid temperatures. With 90% of the state’s electricity running solely through the Texas grid, more than 10 million people were left without electricity or water, and at least 246 people died.

Energy experts said that the collapse was due in part to the state’s decision to not require equipment upgrades for a more resilient system.

GOP opposition: After the outages caused by Storm Uri, GOP Gov. Greg Abbott and other local conservative leaders blamed the outages on renewable energy, which made up 28% of the energy used at the time, and decried the idea of Texas’s grid being forced under federal regulation.

VINFAST’S WILD RIDE: The stock price of the Vietnamese electric vehicle maker VinFast was down nearly another nearly 20% this morning and down more than 66% on the week.

At one point this week, VinFast was the third largest automaker on the planet, by market capitalization. But that result was driven by extreme volatility and in a small market – following the company’s IPO via SPAC this year, only a tiny percent of its shares are available to trade, meaning that small purchases in absolute dollar terms can have a major effect on its market cap.

VinFast made news earlier this month by breaking ground on its North Carolina plant, which it said will produce up to 150,000 cars a year when it is running in 2025.

TESLA LOWERS PRICES: Tesla lowered the prices of its premium vehicles this morning, bringing the Model X to $79,990 – below the threshold for qualifying for the tax credit under the IRA.

It also dropped the price of the Model S and announced upgrades to the Model 3. Read more from Bloomberg here.

MASSIVE COPPER THEFT: Aurubis, Europe’s largest copper producer, reported today that it had suffered a major theft, in the range of low three-digit million euros in losses.

The company suspected a conspiracy between suppliers and employees and is investigating whether logs of scrap metal at its recycling facilities were manipulated, according to the Financial Times.

This adds to recent metals market scandals: Commodity giant Trafigura said earlier this year that it had been defrauded of nearly $600 million in nickel trades. Separately, Trafigura also said earlier this year that it purchased nickel on the London Metal Exchange but was delivered bags of stone instead.

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