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TRUMP SEEMS MORE CONFLICTED ON SCOTT PRUITT’S FUTURE: President Trump is making stronger comments that he is starting to have doubts about keeping Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt as a member of his Cabinet. At the same time, he thinks he’s doing a “fantastic job.”
‘Not happy’: “I’m not happy about certain things. I’ll be honest,” Trump told reporters in brief remarks Friday.
Conflicted: “I’m looking at Scott, and Scott’s done a fantastic job at EPA,” Trump added. He indicated that Pruitt’s “fantastic job” running the EPA “is very overriding,” but he is still “not happy” over Pruitt’s reported misconduct. The scandals grow day by day: Pruitt is facing a dozen investigations over everything from an expensive trip to Morocco last year to using his taxpayer-funded security to patrol his vacation at Disneyland, to using EPA staff to find his wife employment and fetching his favorite skin moisturizer from Ritz-Carlton hotels. Adding to the pile: On Friday, the U.S. Office of Government Ethics asked the EPA inspector general to add more scandals to his list, including asking top aides to buy a mattress from the Trump International Hotel and looking for employment and a Chick-fil-A franchise for his wife. Advising the president: The federal government’s top ethics official IG to wrap up its probes soon, so he can advise President Trump on appropriate disciplinary action. ‘Fire him’: Some environmental groups used the letter to begin clamoring for the president to fire Pruitt as the only solution to his infractions. “The only ‘corrective action’ worthy of Pruitt’s flagrant breaking of ethics laws and abuse of his office is for the president to fire him,” said Ken Cook, president of the Environment Working Group. “Anything short of that is tantamount to issuing a fine to a bank robber,” Cook said. 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. PRUITT CONTACTED FORMER TOP VA. LAWMAKER TO HELP DAUGHTER, BUT WHEN? Pruitt reportedly sought help from a former top Virginia state lawmaker for his daughter trying to attend the University of Virginia School of Law.
Fact change: The New York Times originally reported Friday that Pruitt approached William Howell, a Republican who previously served as the long-time speaker of the Virginia House of Delegates, not long after he became EPA administrator for assistance for his daughter, McKenna.
But Howell misspoke: But things changed over the weekend when the newspaper said Howell told reporters that he misspoke. Howell had confirmed to the New York Times that he was contacted by Pruitt and wrote a letter to the dean of the law school on McKenna Pruitt’s behalf. But the letter came while Pruitt was Oklahoma’s attorney general in November 2016. What the correction said: “After publication of the article, additional research by a legislative aide, Mr. Howell said, showed he had incorrectly stated the date of the letter, which he said was actually written on Nov. 1, 2016, more than three months before Mr. Pruitt was confirmed as EPA administrator, in February 2017.” Flack’s take: EPA spokesman Jahan Wilcox tweeted the story as a major correction to a “hit piece” targeting the administration. What does it mean? The main point of the story was that three EPA staff members were instructed to help McKenna obtain a summer internship at the White House, current and former staff members told the newspaper. The Howell information was a piece of the story. DUELING REPORTS OVER TRUMP’S COAL, NUCLEAR BAILOUT: Coal and nuclear plant closures over the next five years would have limited effect on the power grid, while keeping the plants open would financially harm power plant owners, the giant credit ratings firm Moody’s said in a report Friday.
What’s in a gigawatt? The new report focused on the impact of the closure of 35 gigawatts of coal-fired and nuclear power plants that are slated to go offline in the next five years, according to a summary of the report. A gigawatt is enough electricity to power 700,000 homes.
Trump ordered Energy Secretary Rick Perry to take steps to save the retiring coal and nuclear plants as a national security imperative. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission is working its own process to understand the effects of the closures and respond if necessary. “According to the report, the impact of these plant retirements on power capacity in the US will be limited,” Moody’s concluded. This is because approximately 32 gigawatts of new, mostly natural gas-fired power plants now under construction would fill in the gaps left by the closures. More renewables: On top of that, about 72 gigawatts of renewable generation “is either in advanced development or under construction, with the majority slated for activation by 2020,” Moody’s said. Too many power plants: If the coal and nuclear plants were to remain in the market for reliability reasons, as the president would like, the “excess capacity will continue to be a negative credit driver.” Nuclear industry has a different opinion: Another study says the increased amount of natural gas coming onto the grid poses a problem for reliability. And the nuclear industry wants everyone to know about it. The study was performed by the consulting firm ICF on behalf of the Nuclear Energy Institute, the industry’s top trade group. The study “details how a future gas pipeline disruption, combined with continued nuclear power plant retirements, could lead to prolonged electricity service disruption in the areas served by the PJM Interconnection, the group said. CHINA TARGETS U.S. ENERGY IN TARIFF COUNTERATTACK: China is targeting U.S. energy in response to President Trump’s decision Friday to place tariffs on $50 billion in goods from the Asian power.
Two-part counter attack: China announced that it would launch its $50 billion counter attack in two waves. The first will begin July 6 and will impose a 25 percent tariff on soybeans, agricultural products, automobiles, and even water originating in the U.S., according to the Chinese foreign ministry.
Energy tariffs coming soon: The second round of tariffs, of 25 percent, will include energy commodities from the U.S., including natural gas and crude oil. China didn’t announce a start date. OIL INDUSTRY’S TOP LOBBYIST PERTURBED BY TRUMP’S TARIFFS: The U.S. oil industry’s top lobbying group, the American Petroleum Institute, is criticizing the Trump administration for its trade moves. “Instead of utilizing a transparent decision-making process that provided room for input from key stakeholders, the administration continues to take serious missteps in the trade arena that could undermine American jobs and America’s role on the global energy stage,” said Jack Gerard, the group’s president and CEO. “Trade wars with key trading partners will be detrimental to the U.S. economy and consumers,” he said. U.S. WOULD STRUGGLE TO REPLACE CHINESE MARKET FOR CRUDE: The U.S. would struggle to replace the growing Chinese market for American crude oil if Beijing follows through with retaliatory tariffs, an energy analyst said Monday. Wood Mackenzie, the energy research agency, predicted the potential tariffs would add significant risk to energy trade between the U.S. and China. “While China could secure the crude from alternative sources such as West Africa which has similar quality as the U.S crude, U.S would find it hard to find an alternative market that is as big as China,” said Suresh Sivanandam, senior manager of Asia refining at Wood Mackenzie.
Hunger for more: Crude exports to China were about 380,000 barrels per day in March, accounting for about slightly above 20 percent of total crude exports.
Assuming no tariffs, Wood Mackenzie projects U.S. crude exports to China to double from current levels by 2023. FEDS: 300-MILLION-YEAR-OLD COLOSSUS THREATENS THE GRID: A giant slab of stone that stretches along the eastern seaboard would be calamitous to the electrical grid if a major solar flared smacked the Earth, a forthcoming government report is expected to say.
The sleeper awakens: The soon-to-be-released report by the U.S. Geological Survey found a 300-million-year-old rock beneath the surface of the eastern seaboard could serve to amplify the effects for the next big solar storm, Bloomberg is reporting.
Rock of ages: The rock extends beneath the surface of the Earth from Washington to Maine. Bounce back: The makeup of the rock would cause the solar energy from a storm to ricochet back to the surface instead of being absorb by the soil, doubling the impact in the region. Active problem: “It’s an active problem that a lot of people are trying to solve and understand,” Space Weather Prediction Center scientist Christopher Balch told Bloomberg. Blackouts: It is believed that the type of geomagnetic storm capable of obliterating the electricity grid happens once every century, but a worst-case scenario might result in widespread blackouts that could last for months, the Space Weather Prediction Center told Bloomberg. OPEC CONSIDERING COMPROMISE ON PRODUCTION INCREASE: OPEC is considering a compromise agreement ahead of its meeting Friday to increase oil production by between 300,000 and 600,000 barrels per day, Bloomberg reported Monday. The Trump administration has pressured OPEC to boost production after two years of cuts because higher global oil prices have led to rising gasoline prices for American drivers.
Less is more: Russia, the world’s second-largest oil exporting country and is part of the production-cut agreement, has proposed a 1.5-million per barrel increase, much more than the proposed compromise.
The compromise is meant to entice Iran and Venezuela, which want to maintain current policy. Both those countries would struggle to raise output, as Tehran is facing renewed oil sanctions after the U.S. departed the Iran nuclear deal, and Venezuela is suffering from a political and financial crisis that has dramatically limited production there. ‘Do not appease Trump’: Iran on Sunday threatened to block a potential production increase agreement, predicting that Venezuela and Iraq will join it in opposing the move when OPEC and its allies meet in Vienna Friday. “We call upon our brothers in OPEC and Russia that we do not need to appease Trump, who sanctions two OPEC founders and also Russia,” Iran’s representative to OPEC, Hossein Kazempour Ardebili told Bloomberg. “We are sovereign nations driven by our own responsibilities and values. The whole world has to stand against these arrogant attitudes — and will.” PERRY AGREES WITH G-20 COUNTRIES ON CLEAN ENERGY TRANSITION: Energy Secretary Rick Perry joined G-20 countries in pushing for the transition to cleaner fuel sources. Perry joined onto a three-page communique from the G-20 meeting Friday that pressed for “transitions” to cleaner and “more flexible” fuels.
All alone on Paris: The countries struggled to agree on how to address the goals of the Paris climate change agreement, however. The final wording indirectly referred to America’s rejection of the international accord to cut greenhouse gas emissions.
The statement described “the importance of energy transitions to achieve emissions reductions and for those countries that are determined to implement the Paris Agreement.” Fossil focus: Perry, in a press conference Friday, hyped “clean coal,” nuclear energy, and carbon, capture, and storage technology as key components to reaching a lower carbon future. ENERGY DEPARTMENT ANNOUNCES $64 MILLION IN FUNDING FOR ADVANCED NUCLEAR: The Department of Energy Monday morning announced it is providing $64 million in funding for advanced nuclear technology and research. The department selected 89 projects for funding, taking place at its national labs, in industry, and at 39 U.S. universities in 29 states. AUDI CEO DETAINED IN DIESEL EMISSIONS SCANDAL: German authorities on Monday detained the CEO of Volkswagen’s Audi division, Rupert Stadler, as part of a probe into cheating diesel emissions standards, according to the Associated Press. Munich prosecutors are investigating Stadler on accusations of fraud and indirect improprieties with documents. German news reporters said authorities detained Stadler because they feared he would flee.
The fallout: The emissions scandal has led to billions in fines against Volkswagen and the arrest of executives.
Last month, a federal grand jury charged former Volkswagen CEO Martin Winterkorn with wire fraud in connection with the diesel scandal. Winterkorn and other senior executives of the German carmaker conspired for about nine years to mislead investors and U.S. consumers about the ability of its “clean diesel” vehicles to comply with the country’s emissions rules. RUNDOWN Reuters China’s tariffs on U.S. oil would disrupt $1 billion monthly business Bloomberg Coal plants keep shutting down despite Trump’s order to rescue them Wall Street Journal U.S. automakers are putting smaller engines into big trucks so they use less gas New York Times An oil giant is taking big steps. Saudi Arabia can’t afford for it to slip. Washington Post For Pruitt, gaining Trump’s favor came through fierce allegiance Quartz India is forcing large power consumers to use more renewable energy |
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CalendarMONDAY, JUNE 18 1 p.m., 529 14th St. NW. The Interstate Natural Gas Association of America Foundation hosts an on-the-record briefing to release its Midstream Infrastructure Report, which estimates natural gas, oil and natural gas liquids infrastructure development through 2035, plus the economic impact of that development. WEDNESDAY, JUNE 20 10 a.m., 2123 Rayburn House Office Building. House Energy and Commerce Committee Energy Subcommittee hearing on “The Benefits of Tax Reform on the Energy Sector and Consumers.” 10 a.m., 406 Dirksen. Senate Environment and Public Works Committee hearing on William Charles McIntosh to be assistant EPA administrator for international and tribal affairs; and Peter C. Wright to be assistant EPA administrator for the Office of Land and Emergency Management. 10:15 a.m., 1324 Longworth. The Natural Resources Committee will hold a markup on to speed up permits and recover the cost of drilling on federal lands. naturalresources.house.gov/calendar/eventsingle.aspx?EventID=404981 THURSDAY, JUNE 21 10 a.m., 2167 Rayburn. House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Railroads, Pipelines and Hazardous Materials Subcommittee hearing on “PIPES (Protecting our Infrastructure of Pipelines and Enhancing Safety) Act of 2016 Implementation: Oversight of Pipeline Safety Programs.” |
