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TRUMP PLAYING UP KING COAL’S SURGE DURING DEEP FREEZE: The Trump administration is playing up the resurgence of King Coal during the two-week deep freeze as proof of the need for coal as part of the nation’s energy mix, while trying to put a positive spin on Monday’s defeat of Energy Secretary Rick Perry’s plan to subsidize coal and nuclear plants.
Even as temperatures warmed up Tuesday, coal use still hovered above 50 percent in some parts of the country, pushing out nuclear and natural gas in the region controlled by the Midcontinent Independent System Operator, the second largest energy market in the country. On Wednesday, the MISO fuel mix by the end of morning demand surge was just under 50 percent of the market for coal.
Further East, in the region overseen by PJM Interconnection, coal’s contribution was lower than it was last week by more than 10,000 megawatts an hour generated, but it was still beating the power output of nuclear and natural gas power plants.
FERC doesn’t care: The surge in coal use didn’t help the industry at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, which on Monday unanimously rejected Perry’s plan to reward coal and nuclear power plants for their ability to store fuel on-site. The commissioners did call on the grid operators it oversees to begin a discussion on the state of grid resilience.
On Tuesday, members of the administration were on Capitol Hill trying to play up that part as a win for the administration and its goals to keep coal and nuclear plants humming.
“FERC responded yesterday with the unanimous decision to direct regional transmission organizations and independent system operators to pro-actively evaluate the resilience of the bulk power system,” said Deputy Energy Secretary Dan Brouillette before a panel of the House Energy and Commerce Committee Tuesday.
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TRUMP OFFICIAL JETS OFF TO SAUDI ARABIA AS U.S. OIL PRODUCTION SET TO SURGE: Brouliette is jetting off to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates Wednesday as new projections say U.S. oil production could top the oil kingdom.
U.S. oil output will reach and average of 10.8 million barrels per day in a year’s time, according to the Energy Department’s analysis arm. That level of output would rival both the Mideast and Russian producers.
The U.S. has become an energy giant through the shale oil and natural gas boom, which has allowed the U.S. to become less dependent on energy imports. The rise of U.S. oil production means the world is awash in oil. And with so much supply available, prices have plummeted over the last three years, and with it the Saudi budget.
Meanwhile, reports suggest the Trump administration is looking to fill a growing need for alternative forms of energy in the Gulf countries, principally nuclear power. Brouliette did not divulge details of what he would discuss on his Mideast mission, but it would not be a surprise if the two issues came up.
NEW DIPLOMATIC STAFF JOINING ENERGY DEPARTMENT: Brouliette departed for the Gulf after telling House lawmakers that President Trump soon will announce an Energy Department assistant secretary for international affairs. He said the international component of the administration’s energy dominance agenda is a top priority.
RICK VS. REX: Another top energy official said a conflict exists between the energy missions at Rex Tillerson’s State Department and Perry’s Energy Department.
Energy coordinator: The State Department has an energy coordinator and bureaus that seek to include energy issues in all diplomatic discussions since the administration of George W. Bush.
A ‘break’ in past relations: “We are trying to enhance our cooperation” with the State Department so that “we can have much fuller communications between the two, because in the past there has really been a break, at least with the respect of the energy component at the State Department,” he said.
High hopes: “We hope that we can work together to achieve some efficiencies and really gain an understanding of what they do and what they hope to accomplish.”
State counters other agencies: Rep. Adam Kinzinger, R-Ill., raised the issue at the hearing, saying he has seen “sometimes State countering the message of other parts of government.”
Kinzinger added: “The more you guys can coordinate and work together, the more beneficial it is. Not for DOE or State, but for America.”
ZINKE WON’T ALLOW DRILLING OFF FLORIDA COAST: Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke said he won’t allow oil and natural gas drilling off the Florida coast, after meeting with Florida Gov. Rick Scott Tuesday night.
“I support the governor’s position that Florida is unique, and its coasts are heavily reliant on tourism as an economic driver,” Zinke said after meeting with Scott, a Republican expected to run for Senate this year. “As a result of a discussion with Gov. Scott and his leadership, I am removing Florida from consideration for any new oil and gas platforms.”
The energy industry had been excited about drilling opportunities in the eastern Gulf, more so than any other area proposed.
Off limits: The government has a moratorium on offshore drilling in the eastern Gulf until June 30, 2022, imposed partly because the Pentagon worries oil development would interfere with military testing and training in the area.
But the Trump administration announced last week it plans to open almost all federal waters to oil and gas drilling, including in the eastern Gulf.
OTHER STATES WANT THE SAME DEAL: With the eastern Gulf now off the table, politicians in states opposing Zinke’s plan pressed for their own exemptions.
“New York doesn’t want drilling off our coast either,” New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, a Democrat, said in a Twitter post Tuesday night. “Where do we sign up for a waiver?”
“California is also ‘unique’ & our ‘coasts are heavily reliant on tourism as an economic driver.’ Our ‘local and state voice’ is firmly opposed to any and all offshore drilling,” said Xavier Becerra, California’s Democratic attorney general, in a Twitter post Tuesday night. “If that’s your standard, we, too, should be removed from your list. Immediately.”
Delaware Gov. John Carney, a Democrat, on Wednesday morning said he would request a meeting with Zinke to discuss “the risks that offshore drilling pose to the state’s natural resources, and our tourism economy.”
Legal questions: A California lawmaker, Rep. Ted Lieu, argued Zinke’s decision to exempt Florida from drilling is illegal because it’s arbitrary.
“Taking Florida off the table for offshore drilling but not California violates the legal standard of arbitrary and capricious agency action,” Lieu, a Democrat, wrote on Twitter. I “I believe courts will strike this down.”
Working document: Zinke has emphasized his offshore drilling proposal is not final and is subject to a 60-day public comment period, during which he said he would consult with state leaders and other stakeholders.
TOP DEMOCRAT ASKS INTERIOR INSPECTOR GENERAL TO PROBE HALTING OF STUDIES: Rep. Raul Grijalva of Arizona, the top Democrat on the House Natural Resources Committee, on Wednesday asked Interior Deputy Inspector General Mary Kendall to investigate the Trump administration’s halting of two major studies conducted by the National Academies of Sciences.
Grijalva said $600,000 in taxpayer money had already been spent on the study before the Trump administration stopped it.
Congress has earmarked $1 million for the study, he said.
The second study, halted last month, would have updated the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement offshore oil and gas inspection program.
‘Political motives’: “The public rationales for the stop-work orders do not stand up to scrutiny and suggest political motives,” Grijalva wrote in a letter to Kendall.
WHITE HOUSE, SENATORS MEET TO DISCUSS INFRASTRUCTURE: Sen. John Barrasso, chairman of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, met with Trump administration officials Tuesday to discuss a major infrastructure bill, which the president wants to see move ahead after the successful passage of the tax reform law.
“The meeting gave senators the chance to have a direct back-and-forth with administration leadership on their priorities,” Barrasso said. “Today’s meeting was a great opportunity to discuss the Trump administration’s plans for upgrading America’s aging highways, bridges, ports, and dams.”
Crucial committee: Barrasso’s committee will be crucial to any major infrastructure push in the Senate. His committee has jurisdiction over all public works projects as well as the Environmental Protection Agency. Any bill is expected to include a way to streamline EPA and other agencies’ permitting requirement to speed up project approvals.
COAL STATE REPUBLICAN JOINS SENATE ENERGY COMMITTEE: West Virginia Republican Sen. Shelley Moore Capito is adding to her workload and joining the Energy and Natural Resources Committee, where she will push for the Trump administration’s goal of creating a natural gas storage hub in her state.
“This committee assignment guarantees West Virginians a seat at the table when it comes to shaping policy related to energy resources and development,” she said Tuesday. “I look forward to working with both Republican and Democrat committee members to develop smart energy policy and advance projects like the Appalachian ethane storage hub that I have championed.”
Capito says a regional storage hub for natural gas liquids among the Mountaineer State, Ohio, and Pennsylvania “would have a tremendous and positive economic impact on Appalachian states, and I will continue to advocate for it and other critical West Virginia priorities as a member of the ENR Committee.”
Capito will remain on the Senate Appropriations and Environment and Public Works committees. She also will continue to serve on Commerce, Science, and Transportation and Rules and Administration committees.
FOUR LAWMAKERS JOIN CLIMATE SOLUTIONS CAUCUS: Four lawmakers joined the House Climate Solutions Caucus on Tuesday, increasing the bipartisan representation of a panel that aims to address global warming through legislative action.
Reps. David Cicilline, D-R.I., Elizabeth Esty, D-Conn., Dan Donovan, R-N.Y., and Mark Sanford, R-S.C., joined the group, which now has 66 members split evenly between the parties, according to a news release.
API CHIEF BOASTS OF AMERICA’S ‘ENERGY ABUNDANCE’ WHILE PROMOTING CLIMATE CHANGE: The American Petroleum Institute boasted Tuesday of helping create “energy abundance” in the U.S. while contributing to reductions in greenhouse gas emissions.
“I think we’re at the point where we need to get over the conversation of who believes and who doesn’t, and move to a conversation about solutions,” Gerard added, referring to climate change.
Natural gas on the rise: Over the past decade, an influx of cheap natural gas and the rise of renewable energy have transformed the nation’s power grid, reducing wholesale electricity prices and forcing unprofitable coal and nuclear plants to retire.
The U.S. is now the world’s biggest natural gas producer, with an increase of more than 30 percent in production since 2008, thanks to drilling technologies such as fracking and horizontal drilling.
Allied administration: Gerard credited the Trump administration for pushing policies that API says will help natural gas, such as streamlining regulations for building infrastructure such as pipelines, expanding offshore oil and gas drilling, and signing major tax legislation that reduces costs for corporations.
He said the industry wants predictability in issues such as permitting, which would encourage private investment in energy infrastructure.
EPA ADDS FOUR SITES TO SUPERFUND LIST: The EPA has added four Superfund sites to the National Priorities List, which includes locations that most urgently need cleanup of toxic chemicals. EPA said Tuesday it also is proposing to add another 10 sites to the list.
The sites being added to the list are: Newark South Ground Water Plume in Newark, Del.; American Creosote DeRidder in DeRidder, La.; Mississippi Phosphates Corp. in Pascagoula, Miss.; and Eagle Industries in Oklahoma City.
Pruitt’s record: Speeding up cleanup of Superfund sites has been one of Pruitt’s main goals. He has said he is cleaning up hazardous sites faster than his predecessors, announcing last week the EPA had removed all or parts of seven Superfund sites from the National Priorities List, meaning no further cleanup is needed at them.
But the Associated Press recently reported that Pruitt’s removal of seven Superfund sites from the priorities list was less than the average pace set under both the administrations of Barack Obama and George W. Bush, even in their opening years.
RUNDOWN
Reuters Trump’s EPA aims to replace Obama-era climate, water regulations in 2018
Washington Post It’s the same story under Trump as under Obama: Coal is losing out to natural gas
New York Times As electric cars’ prospects brighten, Japan fears being left behind
Bloomberg In Colombia, a cease-fire saves lives — and oil
Associated Press NYC taking steps to divest pension funds of fossil fuels
New York Times Power is restored to most of U.S. Virgin Islands after hurricanes
Calendar
WEDNESDAY, JAN. 10
9 a.m., 10 G St. NE, James A. Harmon Conference Center. The World Resources Institute holds a discussion on “the big stories in the environment and international development in the coming year,” including global trends and emerging issues related to economics, climate change, energy markets, forests, water and security issues.
wri.org/events/2018/01/stories-watch-2018
10 a.m., 406 Dirksen. The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee will hold an oversight hearing on “America’s Water Infrastructure Needs and Challenges.”
All day, Walter E. Washington Convention Center. The Transportation Research Board holds its 97th Annual Meeting through Jan. 11, where the Massachusetts Institute of Technology is planning to issue a new report on how roads contribute to climate change. A number of sessions and workshops will focus on the spotlight theme for the 2018 meeting: “Transportation: Moving the Economy of the Future.”
