EXTRACTED: Daily News Clips 10/25/22
PIPELINE NEWS
E&E News: Pipelines Gain New Purpose And Profit Under Climate Law
Politico: FERC Rejects Challenge To Mountain Valley Pipeline Permit Extension
Charleston Gazette Mail: Mountain Valley Pipeline denies giving up on Southgate extension after eminent domain pullback cheered by opponents
Black Enterprise: TC Energy Is Using Black Leaders To Endorse Projects Harmful To Black Communities
CBC: Mohawk 'Land Back' leader among those to plead guilty to criminal contempt in B.C. pipeline conflict
Duluth News Tribune: Sen. Ron Johnson visits Enbridge in Superior
Law360: Feds Went Too Far With Pipeline Valve Rules, DC Circ. Told
Oil & Gas Journal: Transco get positive FERC draft EIS on Southside Reliability project
Associated Press: US military to begin draining Pearl Harbor pipelines
Bloomberg: Texas natural gas plunges toward zero as output swamps pipelines
WASHINGTON UPDATES
E&E News: Biden struggles to sell climate win in final midterm stretch
E&E News: Biden Admin Backs Contested Alaska LNG Project
InsideEPA: Groups Seek To Expand Precedent Requiring EJ Review In NEPA Analyses
STATE UPDATES
The Advocate: How a history of environmental disasters drives Livingston's fear of carbon capture
Minot Daily News: Congressman: Energy industry needs to fight right
EXTRACTION
Bloomberg: Big Oil’s Profits Just Keep Rolling in as World Economy Sputters
Natural Gas Intelligence: Kinder Morgan Touts ‘Enormous Opportunity’ for Natural Gas Exports to Mexico, World
Canary Media: Charts: Utilities sticking with fossil fuels despite climate pledges
Waste Dive: Landfill operators take a closer look at carbon sequestration projects in wake of Inflation Reduction Act
CLIMATE FINANCE
Philadelphia Inquirer: Penn students end nearly six-week encampment on College Green after their football game protest
OPINION
The American Independent: Opinion: Biden administration can bolster climate and energy security by cutting methane
The Hill: Alaska’s ‘Willow Project’ is essential to our Iñupiat sustainability
PIPELINE NEWS
E&E News: Pipelines Gain New Purpose And Profit Under Climate Law
Corbin Hiar, 10/24/22
“Industry analysts expect an unlikely group to profit from the new climate law: midstream oil and gas companies,” E&E News reports. ”That includes some longtime foes of the environmental community such as TC Energy Corp., the Canadian company that tried and failed to build the Keystone XL oil sands pipeline, and Enbridge Inc., which last year completed an oil sands pipeline project despite opposition from environmental activists and Native Americans. ‘We see midstream as an underappreciated beneficiary of clean energy support in the legislation, with broad-based opportunities to repurpose or build infrastructure in areas such as carbon capture/transport/storage, hydrogen and biofuels,’ Morgan Stanley analysts said Wednesday in research note, referring to the Inflation Reduction Act. ‘We see near-term project opportunities in carbon capture around gas-processing plants and repurposing of natural gas pipeline infrastructure for carbon aggregation and transportation from industrial emitters.’
Politico: FERC Rejects Challenge To Mountain Valley Pipeline Permit Extension
Catherine Morehouse, 10/24/22
“FERC on Monday rejected environmentalists’ challenge to its August decision to give the embattled Mountain Valley Pipeline more time to complete construction,” Politico reports. “The move opens up the project to another court challenge from environmental groups that oppose the pipeline and marks a small win for its proponents, including Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.). Details: FERC rejected the rehearing requests by default after letting them languish for 30 days. The Natural Resources Defense Council and a coalition of local environmental groups led by Appalachian Mountain Advocates last month had challenged the commission’s August order that found the pipeline company ‘made a good faith effort to meet its deadline,’ but was inhibited from doing so by lengthy delays in permitting and litigation. NRDC and Appalachian Mountain Advocates argued the commission in that order failed to address new information introduced by environmentalists that undermines the need for the project and disputes some of its environmental analyses. The environmental groups also argued that MVP ‘did not establish good cause’ for the extension.”
Charleston Gazette Mail: Mountain Valley Pipeline denies giving up on Southgate extension after eminent domain pullback cheered by opponents
Mike Tony, 10/24/22
“Less than a month after a plan by Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., to attach mandated completion of the Mountain Valley Pipeline to a stopgap federal funding bill failed, pipeline opponents have found another reason to cheer,” the Charleston Gazette Mail reports. “Mountain Valley Pipeline LLC, the joint venture behind the project, filed a motion Friday to dismiss condemnation proceedings in federal court to claim land via eminent domain in North Carolina it planned to use for its Southgate extension project… “Mountain Valley denied that its move to dismiss eminent domain action for 275 acres across nearly 70 parcels in North Carolina means it’s abandoning the Southgate project. The company filed the original complaint seeking to obtain rights-of-way through eminent domain on properties along the proposed route in North Carolina in January 2021. Shawn Day, spokesman for MVP Southgate, told the Mail that Mountain Valley “remains committed” to the project to extend the unfinished main Mountain Valley Pipeline from Southern Virginia to Central North Carolina. But like the mainline project slated to transport gas across 11 West Virginia counties, the extension has struggled to secure key permits due to environmental concerns… “Without outright declaring it, Mountain Valley Pipeline has said the extension project is all but dead, hammering in another nail into the coffin for MVP,” Patrick Grenter, director of Sierra Club’s Beyond Dirty Fuels campaign, told the Mail. “If there is no land to build on, there is not one way that a pipeline can be built on top of it.” “MVP can pretend it has not abandoned Southgate, to calm investors and make its balance sheet look better, but its actions demonstrate that MVP Southgate is a worthless asset,” Jonathan Sokolow, a Virginia attorney who has fought the pipeline project, told the Mail.
Black Enterprise: TC Energy Is Using Black Leaders To Endorse Projects Harmful To Black Communities
Derek Major, 10/24/22
“Fossil fuel companies such as TC Energy have long used Black leaders to endorse oil and gas projects that disproportionately affect people of color and low-income areas,” Black Enterprise reports. “The Guardian reported that one prime example is the Virginia Reliability Project (VRP), a proposal by TC Energy, the same company behind the controversial Keystone XL Pipeline. THE VRP aims to upgrade gas infrastructure on tribal lands, fragile waterways, and underserved neighborhoods in Southeast Virginia. Geoffrey Guns, the senior pastor at the Second Baptist Calvary Church in Norfolk, was asked to join the community advisory board for the pipeline, which TC Energy claimed would lead to thousands of local jobs, and that community engagement is core to TC Energy’s mission. Guns, believing it was his duty to fight for Black communities that would be affected by the pipeline, joined the board with several other Black community leaders, but soon realized they made a grave mistake. Guns added that he felt used by TC Energy, which features the endorsement of several Black leaders on its “Community Voices” page, including Virginia Senate Delegate Lamont Bagby, Sen. Louise Lucas and Delegate Clinton Jenkins. However, The Guardian reported that many of the firm’s “Community Voices” receive financial contributions from TC Energy, which is legal but not mentioned on the page. Additionally, the majority of the “Community Voices” are white… “In fact, it happened so much the NAACP created a Fossil Fueled Foolery primer, warning people of color and communities about companies that use the endorsement of local leaders to misrepresent their interests… “James Minor, the president of the Richmond NAACP chapter, lobbied on behalf of TC Energy and asked local politicians to sign ghostwritten letters supporting the pipeline. Minor is also one of eight voting members on the Virginia Marine Resources Commission, which is responsible for issuing water permits, which the VRP requires. Earlier this year, Minor voted in favor of a separate TC Energy permit request.”
CBC: Mohawk 'Land Back' leader among those to plead guilty to criminal contempt in B.C. pipeline conflict
Betsy Trumpener, 10/24/22
“Five people charged with criminal contempt after a Coastal GasLink pipeline blockade on Wets'uwet'en traditional territory in northern B.C. in 2021 will enter guilty pleas, said defence lawyer Stephanie Dickson in a virtual appearance Monday in B.C. Supreme Court,” CBC reports. “They include Skyler Williams, a Mohawk from the Six Nations near Hamilton, Ont., and a prominent Haudenosaunee spokesperson for the 1492 Land Back movement in Ontario. Williams was one of more than two dozen people arrested in an RCMP crackdown to dismantle blockades near a pipeline camp on Wet'suwet'en traditional territory in a wilderness area about a thousand kilometres north of Vancouver in November 2021… “More than a dozen others arrested at the blockades, including Wet'suwet'en leader Sleydo,' also known as Molly Wickham, have elected to stand trial on criminal contempt charges. Dickson told the court she is planning to file an application asserting an "abusive process" and cumulative breaches of the Canadian Charter in advance of the trial. Although Coastal GasLink signed benefit agreements with 20 elected band councils along the pipeline route in 2018, several Wet'suwet'en hereditary leaders say band councils do not have authority over traditional territories beyond reserve boundaries. Some hereditary chiefs and their allies, who call themselves land defenders and water protectors, want to stop Coastal GasLink's pipeline through their traditional territories.”
Duluth News Tribune: Sen. Ron Johnson visits Enbridge in Superior
Shelley Nelson, 10/24/22
“U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson visited the city Monday, Oct. 24, to learn more about the pipelines Enbridge Energy operates,” the Duluth News Tribune reports. “Following a private briefing with Enbridge Energy officials, the senator who is seeking his third term in office, met briefly with area reporters. Johnson, a Republican, said he learned the pipeline operation keeps thousands of tanker cars and trucks off the road, and he was impressed with how focused Enbridge is on safety… “Johnson's visit to Superior came one week after the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency and the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources ordered Enbridge to pay $11 million following a series of aquifer breaches during construction on the company's Line 3 pipeline last year… “During his briefing with reporters, Johnson took issue with policies that call for the elimination of fossil fuels. “We need to understand that our economy is powered about 80% by fossil fuels,” Johnson said. “When (President Joe) Biden said he’s going to get rid of fossil fuels, that is so divorced from reality. I’m sorry, but the Green New Deal is a fantasy. The world is going to be run and powered by fossil fuels for decades.” Even if America were to eliminate all carbon dioxide emissions, Johnson said it wouldn’t impact climate change by 1 degree. He said the impact of India and China burning fossil fuels would still be felt in the world… “We’ve got to be able to permit these pipelines, recognizing that is the safest, most cost-effective way of transporting oil and gas,” Johnson said. “That’s why companies like Enbridge are so crucial. In Wisconsin, we have no oil or gas; we have to truck it in to fuel our economy.” Johnson said it doesn’t make sense that his opponent, Democrat Mandela Barnes, is opposed to pipeline projects because they create hundreds of good-paying union jobs and fuel the economy.”
Law360: Feds Went Too Far With Pipeline Valve Rules, DC Circ. Told
Keith Goldberg, 10/24/22
“Federal pipeline safety regulators unlawfully extended the reach of a Congressional mandate in requiring companies to install rupture mitigation valves on certain gas gathering lines, pipeline industry groups told the D.C. Circuit on Friday,” Law360 reports.
Oil & Gas Journal: Transco get positive FERC draft EIS on Southside Reliability project
10/24/22
“Transcontinental Gas Pipe Line Co. LLC (Transco) received a draft environmental impact statement (EIS) for its 423-MMcfd Southside Reliability Enhancement Project from the US Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC),” Oil & Gas Journal reports. “Transco proposes to build and operate one new 33,000-hp compressor station and modify two existing compressor stations and three existing meter stations in North Carolina and Virginia. The project would provide expanded year-round firm transportation capacity from Transco’s Compressor Station 165 and the Pine Needle Storage site along the mainline pipeline system to delivery points in North Carolina. FERC staff concluded that construction and operation of the project would result in limited adverse environmental impacts, most of which would be temporary (during construction) or short-term (returning to background levels within 3 years following construction). Some permanent impacts, though not significant according to FERC, would occur from project operation. Project effects would be reduced to less than significant levels by proper mitigation, minimization, and avoidance measures and adherence to FERC recommendations, except for climate change impacts that were not characterized in this EIS as significant or insignificant… “FERC commissioners will take into consideration staff’s recommendations when they make a decision on the project. The draft EIS comment period closes Dec. 12, 2022.”
Associated Press: US military to begin draining Pearl Harbor pipelines
10/24/22
“The U.S. military says it’s ready to begin draining fuel from three pipelines as part of an initial step toward closing a World War II-era fuel storage facility that leaked petroleum into Pearl Harbor’s tap water last year,” the Associated Press reports. “The military will spend six days draining the pipelines one by one starting Tuesday… “The fuel has been sitting in the pipes since the military suspended use of the Red Hill Bulk Fuel Storage Facility last year after it leaked petroleum into a drinking water well serving 93,000 people in and around Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam.”
Bloomberg: Texas natural gas plunges toward zero as output swamps pipelines
Sergio Chapa, Gerson Freitas Jr. and Joe Carroll, 10/24/22
“Natural gas prices in the Permian Basin of West Texas are plunging toward zero as booming production overwhelms pipeline networks, creating a regional glut of the fuel,” Bloomberg reports. “Gas in an area of the vast Permian known as Waha was trading for as little as 20 cents to 70 cents per million British thermal units on Monday, traders told Bloomberg. That compares with the US benchmark futures contract that’s trading around $5 and European prices close to $28. If West Texas prices tumble into negative territory, energy producers will effectively be paying someone to take gas off their hands -- something that hasn’t happened in two years. The price collapse illustrates the sharp contrast between bountiful US supplies of the fuel and Europe’s worsening energy crisis as winter approaches. Tight gas markets in Europe and Asia threaten to have knock-on effects for diesel, coal and power as governments and utilities scramble for energy, according to Bloomberg Intelligence. The Texas price plunge stems from maintenance scheduled for Kinder Morgan Inc.’s Gulf Coast Express and El Paso Natural Gas pipeline systems. Insufficient pipeline capacity has actually been a long-term problem that has dogged Permian Basin gas producers for years. The choke points worsen when pipeline operators must perform repairs and preventative maintenance work that forces temporary reduction in pressure or halts to shipping. Permian pipeline constraints “have never been relieved,” making the region more susceptible to sudden gluts and price volatility, Campbell Faulkner, chief data analyst at OTC Global Holdings LP, told Bloomberg.
WASHINGTON UPDATES
E&E News: Biden struggles to sell climate win in final midterm stretch
Scott Waldman, 10/24/22
“Climate action is coming, and so are cheaper gasoline prices. President Joe Biden’s closing argument before the midterm elections presents contradictory promises of driving down carbon emissions while increasing the supply of fossil fuels,” E&E News reports. “It’s aimed at appeasing different types of voters whose support is vital to Democrats in a convulsing campaign season that could end 15 days from now by disrobing the party of its power in Congress. The clashing messages are directed both at climate activists and a broader public that’s startled by the rate of inflation, which is felt acutely at the gas pump. It comes just two months after Democrats passed the most ambitious climate policy in history, the Inflation Reduction Act, which includes $369 billion in climate and energy spending… “By contrast, former President Donald Trump has held multiple rallies in swing states where he connected Biden’s climate policies to high gas prices, even though Russia’s war on Ukraine is largely to blame. Voters trust Democrats to handle climate policy over Republicans by a 21-point margin, more than any other issue, according to a recent Washington Post-ABC News poll. Polls show that inflation, the economy and crime are dominating voters’ concerns right now. The Post poll also found that voters remained concerned about climate change, including 79 percent of Democrats, 46 percent of independents and 27 percent of Republicans. Biden hasn’t been invited to spread the message of his climate victory in swing states, even though people are already voting early or by mail. Instead he has sold the biggest climate bill in U.S. history in speeches from Washington or at events such as the one he attended in Pittsburgh on Thursday to mark the rapid rebuilding of a collapsed bridge.”
E&E News: Biden Admin Backs Contested Alaska LNG Project
Carlos Anchondo, 10/24/22
“The Biden administration signaled support Monday for a massive liquefied natural gas project in Alaska, touting the energy benefits of a proposal critics have called a terrible idea,” E&E News reports. “U.S. Ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel held a summit in Japan focused on the proposed Alaska LNG project, which would include about 800 miles of pipeline as well as a gas export facility in Nikiski, Alaska. U.S. and Japanese officials discussed how ‘Alaska LNG can provide stable, sustainable, and affordable energy sources to Japan,’ according to a statement Monday from Emanuel. He indirectly referenced Russia’s war in Ukraine, a conflict that has pushed numerous countries to seek new supplies of energy. ‘No need for Russian gas when #America stands ready to supply it,’ Emanuel said on Twitter. … The Department of Energy released an environmental review of the project earlier this year that said the Alaska LNG project wouldn’t raise greenhouse gas emissions, assuming LNG exports elsewhere would continue to meet demand even if the pipeline and terminal do not get built.”
InsideEPA: Groups Seek To Expand Precedent Requiring EJ Review In NEPA Analyses
10/24/22
“Civil rights groups are urging a federal district court in Pennsylvania to adopt a 2017 precedent requiring federal agencies to consider mitigating the environmental justice (EJ) implications of major federal projects under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) in an effort that would expand the precedent to another court,” InsideEPA reports. “In the suit, pending in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania, the NAACP Erie Unit 2262 and Citizens for Pennsylvania’s Future are arguing that the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) violated the law because it granted a road project a categorical exclusion (CE) from NEPA even though they say the project will disproportionately harm an overburdened area. But the Biden administration maintains in that the case, NAACP v. FWHA and Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT), that FHWA complied with the law and properly considered adverse EJ impacts. Both sides filed recent motions for summary judgment, with the Department of Justice (DOJ) on behalf of FHWA asking the court to dismiss the case and the NAACP asking the court to vacate FHWA’s June 15, 2020, approval of the CE for the Bayfront Parkway Project in Erie, and remand the NEPA review to FHWA and PennDOT. If the court finds in favor of NAACP, the group submitted an Oct. 15 proposed order that would require the defendants to ‘comply with NEPA’s requirements,’ including requiring Penn DOT to ‘prepare either an environmental assessment or an environmental impact statement [EIS] evaluating impacts to water, air, climate and the environmental justice community.’”
STATE UPDATES
The Advocate: How a history of environmental disasters drives Livingston's fear of carbon capture
JACQUELINE DEROBERTIS, 10/21/22
“Livingston Parish Council member Tracy Girlinghouse grew up about a mile away from what was once the site of Combustion Inc. in the Walker area,” The Advocate reports. “Operating largely as a used oil reclamation facility from the 1960s to ’80s, the company became infamous when a class-action lawsuit alleged it put residents' health at risk by improperly disposing of huge amounts of hazardous chemicals; it became a federally designated "Superfund site" for the cleanup of hazardous waste. Girlinghouse remembers a childhood spent swimming in West Colyell Creek nearby — where toxic chemicals may have drained. "I don’t know what that’s going to do to me, what it has done to me, what it’s going to do to me later on," he told the Advocate. “Everything doesn’t hurt you until it hurts you." Girlinghouse recalled those memories in a recent council meeting as members considered passing a moratorium on carbon capture injection wells. Residents of that parish, like several others in the region, are trying to stop an influx of carbon capture projects slated for the area, such as two planned sites in Holden and Lake Maurepas… “Opponents frequently invoke the legacy of disastrous hazardous waste disposal in the parish and worry that history will repeat itself. The next potential catastrophe might not happen immediately, they say, but the parish has been burned — both figuratively and literally — by industrial accidents in the past 40 years. Company leaders for the projects have said their carbon capture technology is proven, safe and effective, but so far, Livingston residents appear unconvinced. Council Chair Jeff Ard echoed his constituents' sentiments before the final vote that halted carbon capture for at least a year in the parish. “I, for one, am tired of Livingston Parish being everybody else’s dumping ground. I’m tired of it," he said. "We’ve got the dump. We’ve had Cecos. It’s time for us to stand up and say, 'We don’t want your trash anymore. And if you’re going to force it down our throats, you’re going to pay us to bring it here.' ”
Minot Daily News: Congressman: Energy industry needs to fight right
JILL SCHRAMM, 10/25/22
“When it comes to climate change, energy producers need to pick their fights, Congressman Kelly Armstrong, R-ND, said in Minot recently,” the Minot Daily News reports. “Speaking to the Minot Area Chamber EDC’s energy committee Oct. 13, Armstrong warned against making climate change a fight between different forms of energy or between agriculture and energy… “There needs to be conversations about pipelines in America, he told the News. One of his frustrations is hearing his Republican colleagues talk about flipping the switch on American energy and building the Keystone pipeline. The federal government does not build pipelines, and the company that planned to build Keystone has scrapped its plans, Armstrong told the News. “But there’s four other infrastructure projects that companies want to run through Canada and the United States, so the first bill I’ll introduce is a presidential permit bill, because how do you attract capital to a 10-year project when you know the president could stop it with the stroke of a pen in four years?” he told the News. Armstrong told the News the biggest fights over energy could occur in financial and other sectors in which socially conscious investors are driving discussions.”
EXTRACTION
Bloomberg: Big Oil’s Profits Just Keep Rolling in as World Economy Sputters
William Mathis and Kevin Crowley, 10/24/22
“Big Oil’s run of record profit will suffer only a minor dent for the third quarter, even as the global economy shows signs of cracking under the pressure of rising inflation and interest rates,” Bloomberg reports. “Indications of the slowdown will be evident across their sprawling businesses, from lower crude prices to slumping chemicals margins. Yet the five oil supermajors are still poised to report the second-highest earnings since their formation in the early 2000s, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. A modest decline in earnings after record profits earlier this year won’t be enough to take the industry out of the political cross-hairs. As governments around the world grapple with both the cost of energy today and the need to transition to cleaner alternatives in the future, the risk of state intervention remains. “It’s definitely awkward,” Abhi Rajendran, adjunct research scholar at Columbia University’s Center on Global Energy Policy, told Bloomberg. “These companies won’t want to be beating their chest over strong business results that are coming at the expense of consumers and a difficult economic environment.” Exxon Mobil Corp., Chevron Corp., Shell Plc, TotalEnergies SE and BP Plc -- will report combined earnings of $50.7 billion in the third quarter, down from the second quarter’s record of more than $62 billion, according to data compiled by Bloomberg… “This is good news for shareholders, but could add to political pressure on the companies. The UK already slapped a windfall tax on oil and gas producers earlier this year, and the European Union proposed its own levy in September… “In the US, President Joe Biden last week called on energy companies to plow their gains into fresh production rather than giving more cash to shareholders… “In the past, the oil majors have indeed invested in new production during boom times, but those decisions have too often came back to bite them when prices declined. Before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine triggered the current energy crisis, companies were also under pressure to curb spending on fossil fuels and focus on renewables.This means companies are showing restraint, preferring to pay down debt rather than spend their cash on new supplies.”
Natural Gas Intelligence: Kinder Morgan Touts ‘Enormous Opportunity’ for Natural Gas Exports to Mexico, World
ANDREW BAKER, 10/24/22
“Kinder Morgan Inc. is forecasting substantial growth in U.S. natural gas exports, including to Mexico via pipeline and the global market via LNG, over the coming years,” Natural Gas Intelligence reports. “KMI expects net U.S. natural gas exports to Mexico to reach 7 Bcf/d by 2030, up from around 6 Bcf/d in 2021, according to internal and Wood Mackenzie projections. KMI is currently contracted to export around 4 Bcf/d to Mexico, management said. KMI pipelines serving Mexico’s natural gas market include the 640 MMcf/d Mier-Monterrey system in Mexico, the 2.1 Bcf/d Permian Highway Pipeline connecting West Texas supply with the Agua Dulce hub, and the El Paso Natural Gas system serving six U.S. states along with northern Mexico. The company expects U.S. LNG export demand, meanwhile, to more than double to 28 Bcf/d by 2030, Executive Chairman Richard Kinder said. “Given the situation in Europe today, which will result in more long-term contracts and the continuing usage in Asia, this hyper-growth scenario actually seems pretty reasonable to me,” Kinder told analysts during a call to discuss third quarter earnings. “That’s a huge increase, and most of it will occur in Texas and Louisiana, where so much of our asset base is located.” He cited that KMI currently moves about 50% of the gas consumed by U.S. liquefied natural gas export terminals, and “we expect to maintain or expand that share in the future.” KMI is undertaking multiple projects to serve growing natural gas export demand, including an expansion of the Permian Highway Pipeline LLC (PHP) system and the Evangeline Pass project in Louisiana and Mississippi.
Canary Media: Charts: Utilities sticking with fossil fuels despite climate pledges
Maria Gallucci, Maria Virginia Olano, 10/21/22
“Electric utilities across the United States have pledged to slash their greenhouse gas emissions by shuttering fossil fuel power plants and investing in renewable energy. Yet by the end of this decade, many companies still plan to have large proportions of their existing coal generation online, and in the coming years, they’re planning to build significantly more gas-fired capacity,” Canary Media reports. “The Sierra Club surveyed the expected 2030 energy mixes of the 77 U.S. utilities whose 50 parent companies are the most heavily invested in fossil fuels. In a recent report, the environmental group then graded the utilities based on their plans to retire coal plants, build new gas plants, and invest in wind, solar and other renewable sources. Many companies earned D’s and F’s. These major utilities are slated to retire a total of about 173 million megawatt-hours of existing coal generation by 2030. But more than 2.5 times that amount — 456 million MWh of coal — is not scheduled to be retired in the next eight years… “The majority of parent utilities are not on track to meet the Biden administration’s goal of 80 percent clean electricity by 2030, according to the report. Today, nearly 40 percent of U.S. electricity generation comes from nuclear energy and renewable sources. “We desperately need our utility companies to stop greenwashing and sowing climate denial and get serious about clean energy and real climate leadership,” Holly Bender, Sierra Club’s senior director of energy campaigns, said earlier this month.”
Waste Dive: Landfill operators take a closer look at carbon sequestration projects in wake of Inflation Reduction Act
April Reese, 10/24/22
“Encouraged by potent new incentives in the Inflation Reduction Act aimed at accelerating cuts to greenhouse gas emissions, the waste industry is giving carbon capture and sequestration projects a closer look,” Waste Dive reports. “While landfills account for a smaller share of overall greenhouse gas emissions than other U.S. sources, such as transportation, they emit significant amounts of methane… “While the previous 45Q rules required landfills to capture at least 100,000 metric tons per year to qualify for the credits, the new version reduces the qualifying amount to just 12,500 tons per year. The law also sets a new, higher credit value of $85 per metric ton for landfills and other entities that send captured CO2 underground — up from about $50 per ton. Plus, it extends eligibility to projects that begin construction by the end of 2031. Taken together, industry groups believe these changes are likely to spur greater interest in developing carbon capture projects at landfills… “The lower emissions threshold is considered particularly attractive. Since most municipal solid waste landfills emit between 10,000 and 100,000 metric tons of CO2 per year, he said the new minimum of 12,500 tons “will incentivize investment in carbon capture projects at many landfills that were economically infeasible prior to enactment of the legislation.” “...But Morton Barlaz, who heads the Department of Civil, Construction and Environmental Engineering at North Carolina State University, doubts whether the Inflation Reduction Act’s expanded incentives will make much of a dent in U.S. carbon emissions. While the new incentives could prod smaller landfills that aren’t already required to capture emissions under current regulations to pursue projects, he suggested the gains will be small and said focus should be on curbing methane. “If you’re going to capture CO2, go to a coal-fired power plant,” Barlaz told Waste Dive. “They probably have 10,000 times more CO2. Don’t waste your time in landfills.”
CLIMATE FINANCE
Philadelphia Inquirer: Penn students end nearly six-week encampment on College Green after their football game protest
Susan Snyder, 10/24/22
“A group of student protesters at the University of Pennsylvania ended a nearly six-week encampment on the College Green this weekend after they stormed Franklin Field during halftime of the Penn-Yale football game,” the Philadelphia Inquirer reports. “The students, who belong to a group called Fossil Free Penn, have been calling on the university to help low-income residents who are being displaced from the neighboring University City Townhomes, further dissociate from fossil fuel companies, and make payments to the city in lieu of taxes. Nineteen people, 17 of them students, were arrested in the football field takeover, the university said. Ari Bortman, a Fossil Free Penn organizer and graduate student, told the Inquirer students decided to end the encampment on a positive note — “This is as strong of an exit as we could imagine making right now” — but fully intend to push in other ways until their demands are met. “We’re leaving in power,” Bortman told the Inquirer. “We’re leaving with the strongest message we’ve been able to give to Penn administration.”
OPINION
The American Independent: Opinion: Biden administration can bolster climate and energy security by cutting methane
Janessa Goldbeck is the CEO of Vet Voice Foundation. Jon Goldstein is the Senior Director of Regulatory & Legislative Affairs at the Environmental Defense Action Fund, 10/24/22
“Russia’s war in Ukraine and its weaponization of fossil fuel exports continue to send shockwaves through global energy markets, driving up costs for consumers and raising the specter of gas shortages for U.S. allies in Europe,” Janessa Goldbeck and Jon Goldstein write for The American Independent. “At the same time, climate scientists continue to warn that we must end our dependence on fossil fuels to avert the worst impacts of global warming, which the latest National Security Strategy underscores as a serious threat. Military and political leaders recently discussed how curbing emissions of methane – a powerful climate warmer and the main component of natural gas – offers an important near-term solution for advancing both climate and energy security goals as we work to decarbonize our economy in the long-term at a recent forum co-sponsored by Vet Voice Foundation, the American Security Project, the Center for Climate & Security and Environmental Defense Action Fund… “According to analysis from Environmental Defense Fund, reducing waste of natural gas from leaks and flaring could provide over half of the 50 BCM/yr of natural gas the Biden administration has pledged to our European allies. All while making immediate progress to tackle climate change. Currently, the Environmental Protection Agency and Bureau of Land Management are advancing rulemakings with the potential to significantly reduce methane emission and waste. It’s critical that the Biden administration take advantage of this opportunity to deliver strong rules that have the added benefit of reinforcing our climate and energy security… “Protective rules from EPA this fall are vital for curbing pollution, and they must address the outsized pollution from smaller wells – which provide just 6% of our oil and gas but produce half of wellsite methane emissions nationwide. Rules from both EPA and BLM must also address emissions from the practice of routine flaring, which researchers recently found emits 5 times more methane than previously thought. In fact, they estimate that flaring nationwide emits roughly 600,000 metric tons of methane – enough wasted gas to power nearly 6 million homes. Swift action from the Biden administration to cut methane waste offers a critical near-term solution to bolster the energy security of the U.S. and our allies while protecting public health and addressing climate change, all while we work to decarbonize the economy in the long-term and end our dependence on fossil fuels.”
The Hill: Alaska’s ‘Willow Project’ is essential to our Iñupiat sustainability
John Hopson, Jr., is a resident and council member for the City of Wainwright, Alaska, a village within the National Petroleum Reserve of Alaska (NPRA), 10/24/22
“As the first snows coat Alaska, families are bracing for a long and difficult winter in the midst of historically high energy prices. Across the Lower 48, many will face similar hardships as heating bills arrive in mailboxes,” John Jopson, Jr. writes for The Hill. “...Fortunately, the Biden administration is in the final steps of reviewing a major project in the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska (NPR-A) that will make a big difference. After extensive review, all the Willow project needs is the White House’s green light. If President Biden has any doubt that approval of Willow is critical to America’s interests, I hope he’ll look to those who stand to be impacted most. And no, I’m not talking about the outside groups that purport to speak for Alaska while fighting all forms of development. I’m talking about Alaska native communities. I’m an Iñupiat whaling captain who has subsisted in Arctic Alaska for my entire life. I’m also an elected assembly member for the North Slope Borough — the largest municipal government, in area, in the United States. My ancestors have been caring for our land, water and wildlife for thousands of years, and we continue to do so for future generations. Given our rich history and the rightful ownership of our homelands, it seems intuitive that our voices would be prioritized in debates regarding resource development there. Unfortunately, that’s rarely the case… The Willow Project continues to face opposition — primarily from Lower 48 environmental groups complaining about a “rushed” or “incomplete” review… “Willow is crucial for our future, but it’s also crucial for yours. It will provide essential revenue to allow us time to focus on diversifying our local economy while maintaining our current infrastructure, and it will allow our country time to diversify our energy-blend. This is about indigenous self-determination and Iñupiat sustainability on our terms. In our culture, as children, our elders gather us and teach us through story telling. This is the way I learned about many things, including the responsibility and need to participate in decision-making processes while staying true to our Iñupiat values. I honor my past for our future.”