EXTRACTED: Daily News Clips 1/9/25
PIPELINE NEWS
South Dakota Easement Team: Summit Pipeline 101 for Landowners [VIDEO]
The Bond Buyer: Midwest carbon capture projects face mixed prospects
Minnesota Public Radio: Minnesota regulators require studies along possible routes before pipeline construction near sacred site
Vermont Public: Neighbors of Addison County gas line say pipeline problems have ‘never been resolved’
WFDD: Elected officials discuss Williams' proposed pipeline expansion in the Piedmont
Hydrogen Insight: Hydrogen blending being explored for major gas import pipeline that is vital to European energy security
Rigzone: EPIC Sells Ethylene Pipeline to Howard Energy Partners
WASHINGTON UPDATES
E&E News: Senators pitch Trump on energy, regulations in reconciliation
E&E News: Trump rails against ‘quagmire’ of enviro rules
E&E News: Leading Republican takes aim at Biden’s California monuments
STATE UPDATES
WyoFile: ‘Make Carbon Dioxide Great Again’ law would ban carbon reduction efforts in Wyoming
American Press: Public hearings planned in Allen on proposed carbon capture and sequestration projects
WBRZ: Public hearing on carbon capture injections test well in Ascension Parish planned for late January
New York Times: Trump Wants Oil Drilling in Alaska. A Lease Sale There Just Flopped.
Reuters: Alaska sues Biden administration over oil and gas leases in Arctic refuge
Orange County Register: Local environmentalists applaud Biden’s offshore oil drilling restrictions
WBBH: Conservationists in Florida celebrate Biden's new offshore oil drilling ban
CT Insider: 'We cannot afford to double down': Lamont's embrace of nuclear, natural gas rankles CT advocates
The Climate Center: Water’s Edge Tax Haven and California’s Budget Shortfall
The Lever: How Big Oil Hindered The Fight Against L.A.’s Wildfires
New Jersey Monitor: Major legal brawl may decide what types of cars Americans can buy
EXTRACTION
Canadian Press: Political uncertainty could derail major carbon capture project: experts
Canada’s National Observer: Pathways Alliance's flagship project looks like a big money loser
Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers: CAPP Statement on the Draft Oil and Gas Sector Greenhouse Gas Emissions Regulations
DeSmog: Anti-Renewable Influencers Parrot Takes from Fictional Series ‘Landman’
WFYI: A look at the biggest greenhouse gas polluters in Indiana, Kentucky and nearby states
Bloomberg: Constellation Energy Nears $30 Billion Deal for Calpine
OPINION
Cowboy State Daily: Rethinking Carbon Dioxide – Wyoming’s Bold Move
CT Mirror: CT needs a climate change superfund act
Truthout: Biden’s Offshore Drilling “Ban” Won’t Protect Gulf of Mexico From Oil Spills
Bloomberg: Chill, Baby, Chill: Biden’s Offshore Oil Ban Is Just Politics
PIPELINE NEWS
South Dakota Easement Team: Summit Pipeline 101 for Landowners [VIDEO]
1/8/25
“Last time, over 400 citizens applied for party status to challenge Summit’s permit application. The rules have changed,” the South Dakota Easement Team reports. “The carbon pipeline industry is moving forward with an unprecedented landgrab. Find out what you need to do to protect your property rights, safety, and future. Then, fill out the form to sign up and join the South Dakota Easement Team landowners’ legal co-op, and be represented along with other SDET landowners by attorney Brian Jorde at the South Dakota Public Utilities Commission public hearings to challenge Summit’s pipeline permit application. The deadline to join the South Dakota Easement Team for representation at the SD PUC is Jan. 17.”
The Bond Buyer: Midwest carbon capture projects face mixed prospects
Jennifer Shea, 1/8/25
“Carbon capture — a process with proponents and opponents on both sides of the political spectrum — may be at a pivotal point in the U.S. with the change of administrations in Washington,” according to The Bond Buyer.
Minnesota Public Radio: Minnesota regulators require studies along possible routes before pipeline construction near sacred site
Melissa Olson, 1/8/25
“On Tuesday members of the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission rescinded a September decision to grant a specific route permit for a gas line near Pipestone National Monument, a site sacred to tribal nations,” Minnesota Public Radio reports. “Regulators moved the process forward by requiring Magellan Pipeline Company to coordinate with tribal nations on completing an archaeological study along two possible, separate routes that put distance between the pipeline and the pipestone quarries… “Samantha Odegard is a tribal historic preservation officer for the Upper Sioux Indian Community, a Dakota nation located in western Minnesota. Upper Sioux Indian Community was among the tribal nations who submitted letters and resolutions opposing any routing of a gas line near the quarry or through the surrounding areas saying construction of the line poses “unacceptable risks” to the pipestone formation, nearby archaeological sites, water and wildlife… “The modified permit process requires the company to coordinate and consult with more than a dozen more tribal nations across the Midwest and Great Plains regions. Approximately a hundred Indigenous people attended the PUC’s meeting in downtown St. Paul Tuesday morning. Chair of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe Ryman LeBeau traveled from South Dakota to attend the meeting. LeBeau told MPR he also heard the PUC take a step forward in how they are discussing how to work with tribes. LeBeau emphasized the need for coordination with tribes on the archaeological survey… “The PUC’s revised permit will also require the pipeline company to consult with the Minnesota Indian Affairs Council, a legislative agency made up of 10 of the 11 tribal nations in Minnesota, to identify who will conduct the archeological survey… “The park’s leadership and staff work with 23 tribal nations with historical ties to the site. The soft, reddish-brown stone — also known as catlinite — is quarried by Indigenous people for carving pipes and works of art.”
Vermont Public: Neighbors of Addison County gas line say pipeline problems have ‘never been resolved’
Sabine Poux, 1/9/25
“Nate and Jane Palmer have been fighting the natural gas pipeline that runs by their Monkton property for more than a decade. They worry about the safety of the line, especially since investigators found that Vermont Gas deviated from its approved construction plan a few years ago,” Vermont Public reports. “...But even though the pipeline has largely faded from the headlines, the Palmers are still fighting. They argue that the line wasn’t built well and is unsafe, a fear they say was validated in 2021 when regulators released a list of problems with the pipeline's construction. In that report, a hearing officer said the company made unauthorized, “substantial changes” to the construction plan that could impact the safety of the pipeline. For example, the line wasn't buried as deep as it was supposed to be in some places, and the company used an unapproved burial method in one section of swamp in New Haven. He also said no professional licensed engineer signed off on the project. In response, the Public Utility Commission — which oversees natural gas infrastructure in Vermont — ordered Vermont Gas to pay a fine and amend its operating plan. The Palmers and their neighbors appealed that decision, arguing that amending the plan without initiating a new proceeding with the PUC would violate their right to due process. The Vermont Supreme Court in April agreed that it wasn't enough. Now, Vermont Gas has to file a new petition, reopening the case for public input… “These days, the group of opponents fighting the pipeline is smaller, but just as determined. In August, they asked regulators to stop Vermont Gas from running gas through the pipeline while they’re working on a new plan. Last October, the town of Monkton signed on to be an intervener in the case. The Palmers know the large-scale change they’re looking for might be a long shot. But with the pipeline less than 300 feet from their property, they say they are obligated to keep trying.”
WFDD: Elected officials discuss Williams' proposed pipeline expansion in the Piedmont
Santiago Ochoa, 1/8/25
“Though the federal permitting process could take more than a year, local elected officials are starting to weigh in on the proposed Williams Companies natural gas pipeline expansion,” WFDD reports. “The proposal calls for 24 miles of pipeline to be built through the Triad, with an additional 30 miles in Rockingham County leading into Virginia. Williams' project has already caught the eye of multiple environmental advocacy groups and members of the North Carolina General Assembly for the risks it could pose to public safety, health and the environment… “Barrow, along with his fellow commissioners, unanimously passed a non-binding resolution in support of the expansion last Monday… “In Forsyth County, Commissioner Dan Besse has already written to the federal government asking for a thorough examination of the proposed project and its effects. "I’m concerned that this project is part of an unnecessary and extremely costly buildout of methane gas infrastructure that will not benefit the citizens of Forsyth County in any way," Besse told WFDD.”
Hydrogen Insight: Hydrogen blending being explored for major gas import pipeline that is vital to European energy security
Rachel Parkes, 1/7/25
“A consortium of gas companies, which includes oil giant BP, is moving ahead with plans to blend hydrogen into an 878km gas import pipeline of huge strategic importance to Europe — making it one of the largest such pipelines to investigate H2 blending thus far,” Hydrogen Insight reports. “The Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP), which traverses Greece, Albania and the Adriatic Sea to connect to Italy and Bulgaria, is part of the Southern Gas Corridor from Azerbaijan to Europe, a strategic gas import route thousands of kilometres long, conceived by the EU as a bulwark against Russian energy dependence. Now, TAP — which was inaugurated in 2020 and is owned by Azeri national oil company SOCAR and European gas transmission companies Snam, Fluxys and Enagas, as well as BP — has appointed UK-based energy consultancy Penspen to carry out a “hydrogen gap analysis” on some of its infrastructure to assess its suitability for H2 blending.”
Rigzone: EPIC Sells Ethylene Pipeline to Howard Energy Partners
Jov Onsat, 1/9/25
“Howard Energy Partners (HEP) has completed the acquisition of a bidirectional ethylene pipeline in Texas from EPIC Midstream Holdings LP,” Rigzone reports. “The 120-mile-long, 12-inch-wide pipeline links Exxon Mobil Corp. and Saudi Basic Industries Corp.’s (SABIC) ethane cracker in Gregory to storage in Markham. The cracker can produce up to 1.8 million metric tons a year of ethylene, according to ExxonMobil-SABIC joint venture Gulf Coast Growth Ventures. The pipeline has an initial design capacity of 7.8 million pounds a day, which can be increased to meet growing ethylene demand in south Texas, according to Houston-based EPIC. “In addition to increasing HEP’s overall footprint in the Gulf Coast region, the newly acquired ethylene pipeline offers unique synergies with HEP’s existing Javelina Plant, a treating and fractionation plant that extracts olefins, hydrogen, and natural gas liquids from the gas streams produced by local refineries”, HEP said in an online statement Wednesday… “Earlier Phillips 66 announced a deal to acquire from EPIC natural gas liquids (NGL) pipelines, fractionation facilities and distribution systems in the Permian basin for $2.2 billion.”
WASHINGTON UPDATES
E&E News: Senators pitch Trump on energy, regulations in reconciliation
Garrett Downs, Kelsey Brugger, 1/9/25
“President-elect Donald Trump and lawmakers failed Wednesday evening to settle on a legislative approach to advance their party-line agenda, potentially threatening to stymie the energy and border policies they’ve been promoting for months,” E&E News reports. “...On energy specifically, Sen. John Hoeven (R-N.D.) told E&E Trump told senators President Joe Biden’s recent ban on offshore drilling across 625 million acres of U.S. oceans “needs to be addressed.” Hoeven told E&E Senate Energy and Natural Resources Chair Mike Lee (R-Utah) also pitched the ‘‘Regulations from the Executive in Need of Scrutiny (REINS) Act” for inclusion in the package. That bill would require Congress to approve “major rules” issued by executive agencies, effectively stymieing regulation brought by the executive branch — a longtime goal for Republicans and the energy industry. “Mike Lee brought up the ‘REINS Act,’ and there was strong support and consensus for that,” Hoeven told E&E, adding that Trump agreed with the proposal… “Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) told E&E Trump and the senators talked about tariffs, immigration and unleashing American energy.”
E&E News: Trump rails against ‘quagmire’ of enviro rules
Robin Bravender, 1/7/25
“President-elect Donald Trump on Tuesday doubled down on his pledge to expedite environmental reviews for some companies as he blasted a “quagmire” of U.S. regulations,” E&E News reports. “Speaking Tuesday at his Mar-a-Lago resort, the incoming president declared the “beginning of a great, beautiful, golden age of business” as he ticked off grievances about the environmental review process, electric heaters, water-conserving faucets and wind turbines. Trump also assailed a Biden administration move to ban drilling off most of the United States’ coastline and promised to “drill, baby, drill.” “...The president-elect announced that Hussain Sajwani, the Emirati founder and chair of the property development company DAMAC Properties, plans to invest $20 billion in data centers across the United States. Trump vowed that his team would work with Sajwani to “make sure everything goes smoothly” and reiterated his plans to give expedited environmental approvals to those who invest $1 billion or more into the United States… “Trump also fumed over the Biden administration’s move Monday to ban drilling off most of the U.S. coast. Trump said again that he would reverse Biden’s move, although undoing the ban could face political and legal hurdles… “He called artificial intelligence a “very big deal in terms of the future,” but “you’ll need to double the electricity.” China is “already building electric facilities — big, bold electric facilities,” he said. “They’re being fired up with coal. And we’re going to build bigger and better ones.”
E&E News: Leading Republican takes aim at Biden’s California monuments
Heather Richards, 1/7/25
“President Joe Biden’s plan to create two new national monuments in California drew criticism from a leading Republican on Tuesday, raising the question of whether the new protections will survive the forthcoming Trump administration,” E&E News reports. “The White House said Biden will designate the Chuckwalla National Monument and the Sáttítla Highlands National Monument at an event in Southern California on Tuesday afternoon, securing protection for a sweeping desert ecosystem in the Chuckwalla Valley of Southern California and a forested area in the state’s northern mountains shaped by historic volcanoes… “But House Natural Resources Chair Bruce Westerman (R-Ark.), who has long criticized Democratic expansions of public land using the Antiquities Act of 1906, slammed Biden’s new monuments Tuesday and vowed to roll back Biden-era policies.”
STATE UPDATES
WyoFile: ‘Make Carbon Dioxide Great Again’ law would ban carbon reduction efforts in Wyoming
Dustin Bleizeffer, 1/9/25
“Despite overwhelming evidence that human-caused greenhouse gas emissions are the main driver of a climate crisis that threatens to imperil modern life on Earth, some far-right members of the Wyoming Legislature contend it’s a hoax intended to depress the state’s fossil fuel-reliant economy,” WyoFile reports. “Rather than capitulate to out-of-state policies and market forces, the state ought to set an example and outlaw carbon reduction measures altogether — a “bold step forward to lead a balanced, science-based dialogue,” Sen. Cheri Steinmetz (R-Torrington) wrote in a column published by the Cowboy State Daily, announcing Senate File 92, “Make carbon dioxide great again-no net zero.” The bill is co-sponsored by Freedom Caucus Chairman Emeritus Rep. John Bear, a Republican who represents Gillette, the heart of Wyoming’s coal country. It would declare that “carbon dioxide is not a pollutant and is a beneficial substance,” and codify in Wyoming law that carbon dioxide “not be designated or treated as a pollutant or contaminant.” “...To that end, the bill would repeal state-imposed mandates directing utilities to retrofit aging coal-fired power plants with carbon capture, use and sequestration technologies instead of retiring the facilities. That policy has already tapped Wyoming ratepayers for millions of dollars to comply with the initiative… “Ratepayers — it shouldn’t be their responsibility to pay for a legislative idea to protect the environment that has no sound science behind it,” Bear told WyoFile… “If passed in its current form, the bill might jeopardize the state’s primacy to oversee the implementation of some federal carbon dioxide regulations, according to the bill’s fiscal note, which is written by legal experts from the Legislative Service Office to help lawmakers gauge the financial implications of new legislation. The Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality “reports this legislation would end DEQ’s role with underground injection control (UIC) permitting for carbon capture and sequestration projects in Wyoming and that role would go to the [U.S. Environmental Protection Agency],” according to the bill’s fiscal note.
American Press: Public hearings planned in Allen on proposed carbon capture and sequestration projects
Doris Maricle, 1/8/25
“A series of public hearings are being planned in Allen Parish to help residents better understand the potential risks and benefits of proposed carbon capture and sequestration projects and lease agreements,” the American Press reports. “The first meeting will be held at 6 p.m. Monday, Jan. 13, at the Allen Parish Police Jury Office, 602 Court St. in Oberlin. “I still feel like there are so many people in our parish that are just unaware of what is going on and the risks that these projects are bringing,” Police Juror Roland Hollins told the Press. “Some of them say it’s a generational opportunity, but it’s also generational risks and that’s what we have to account for and we need our legislators to help with.” Members of the newly formed Louisiana CO2 Alliance are pushing for better regulations and more safety measures for the projects, he told the Press. The Alliance includes representatives from Allen, Vernon, Beauregard and Jeff Davis parishes with endorsements from the town of Kinder and Livingston Parish. “It is very important to the Alliance that we get these very important bills on safety, mitigation and liability and perhaps alternate water sources and benefits passed,” Hollins told the Press. “If we are going to be forced to have these projects in our areas, we definitely need benefits.” “...The companies recently began visiting residents to lease their property without notifying the police jury, despite its request to be informed of all activities in advance, Hollins told the Press… “The biggest concern for most is the effect and potential risks of the CO2 projects on groundwater aquifer locations, including the Chicot Aquifer, which provides 48 percent of the state’s groundwater. Eminent domain laws have significantly reduced local government authority and citizen rights, according to Hollins.”
WBRZ: Public hearing on carbon capture injections test well in Ascension Parish planned for late January
Adam Burruss, 1/8/25
“A public hearing is scheduled for late January regarding a company seeking a permit for the first carbon capture test injection well in Ascension Parish, according to a public notice,” WBRZ reports. “Blue Sky Infrastructure, a company based out of Houston, is seeking a permit for their River Parish Sequestration Project in Louisiana, which will be used to construct a Class V test well near Donaldsonville… “According to the company, the project is funded by Blackstone, and they also secured a $32.2 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy. The permit application states that the well may potentially be converted into a Class VI injection well for carbon dioxide storage.”
New York Times: Trump Wants Oil Drilling in Alaska. A Lease Sale There Just Flopped.
Lisa Friedman, 1/8/25
“One of President-elect Donald J. Trump’s biggest “drill, baby, drill” initiatives suffered a significant setback on Wednesday as the Interior Department announced that a lease sale in Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge ended without a single bidder,” the New York Times reports. “The sale, which was required by Congress, marks the second time in four years that an effort to auction oil and gas leases in the pristine wilderness — home to migrating caribou, polar bears, musk oxen, millions of birds and other wildlife — has been a flop. The repeated failures suggest that oil companies are either not interested in drilling in the refuge or do not think it’s worth the cost, despite insistence by Mr. Trump and many Republican lawmakers that the refuge should be opened up for drilling… “The lack of interest from oil companies in development in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge reflects what we and they have known all along: There are some places too special and sacred to exploit with oil and gas drilling,” Laura Daniel-Davis, the acting deputy secretary of the Interior Department, told the Times… “But Ms. Daniel-Davis told the Times that the oil and gas industry is “sitting on millions of acres of undeveloped leases elsewhere” and should pursue those first. “We’d suggest that’s a prudent place to start, rather than engage further in speculative leasing in one of the most spectacular places in the world.” “...Several major banks have said they would not finance any projects in the refuge. Drilling there would be difficult and costly because there are no roads or facilities. But for Mr. Trump, the refuge is a field of dreams… “Environmentalists said the failures exposed false promises made by Republicans about a boon to the U.S. Treasury if the refuge were opened to drilling. Erik Grafe, an Alaska-based attorney with Earthjustice, told the Times oil companies “seem to understand that drilling in this remote landscape is too risky, too complicated and just plain wrong.”
Reuters: Alaska sues Biden administration over oil and gas leases in Arctic refuge
Ryan Patrick Jones, 1/7/25
“The U.S. state of Alaska has sued the Biden administration for what it calls violations of a Congressional directive to allow oil and gas development in a portion of the federal Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR),” Reuters reports. “Monday’s lawsuit in the U.S. District Court in Alaska challenges the federal government’s December 2024 decision to offer oil and gas drilling leases in an area known as the coastal plain with restrictions. The lawsuit said curbs on surface use and occupancy make it “impossible or impracticable to develop” 400,000 acres (162,000 hectares) of land the U.S. Interior Department plans to auction this month to oil and gas drillers. The limits would severely limit future oil exploration and drilling in the refuge, it added. “Interior’s continued and irrational opposition under the Biden administration to responsible energy development in the Arctic continues America on a path of energy dependence instead of utilizing the vast resources we have available,” Republican Governor Mike Dunleavy said in a statement. Alaska wants the court to set aside the December decision and prohibit the department from issuing leases at the auction.”
Orange County Register: Local environmentalists applaud Biden’s offshore oil drilling restrictions
Laylan Connelly, 1/7/25
“Local environmentalists and offshore drilling opponents are welcoming President Joe Biden’s announcement he is ordering a ban on new oil and gas drilling that includes along the California coastline, arguing the risks far outweigh the benefits,” the Orange County Register reports. “...Surfrider Foundation CEO Chad Nelsen called the latest restrictions announced by Biden “fantastic news.” “Offshore drilling, as we saw in Huntington Beach just a few years back, is a dirty and dangerous business,” he told the Register. “It’s unpopular, it threatens our coastal environment and communities.”
WBBH: Conservationists in Florida celebrate Biden's new offshore oil drilling ban
Hope Salman, 1/7/25
“Conservationists are celebrating after President Biden announced a ban on new offshore oil and gas drilling off both the Atlantic and Pacific coasts,” WBBH reports. “Matt Depaolis with Sanibel Captiva Conservation Foundation told WBBH this is good news for our environment and our tourism industry. “So the more that we can do to bolster our natural resources, to protect our environment, and to boost our tourism to these areas, the more we’re going to see that Florida is going to be strong moving into the future,” Depaolis told WBBH… “However, Depaolis told WBBH preventing companies from creating new drill operations will prevent future oil spills. “When we think of these super deep water wells that have the potential to have a large spill, that’s something we absolutely need to avoid in Florida.”
CT Insider: 'We cannot afford to double down': Lamont's embrace of nuclear, natural gas rankles CT advocates
John Moritz, 1/9/25
“The rift between Gov. Ned Lamont and a cadre of local environment advocates grew wider on Wednesday with the prominent billing given in his annual State of the State address to the state’s largest and most contentious sources of electric power: nuclear and natural gas,” CT Insider reports. “In a speech that was largely focused on affordability and bringing down Connecticut's chronically high electric bills, Lamont charged lawmakers with exploring options for expanding the state's supply of electricity, both through fossil fuels and cleaner, renewable sources such as solar and wind power. In addition, Lamont said his administration is working with the federal government to "expand nuclear capacity here in Connectcut," and cautioned lawmakers not to "rule out natural gas," despite concerns over the emissions of methane, a potent greenhouse gas, from pipelines that crisscross the state… “While he did not announce any specific plans to procure new sources of energy or expand existing infrastructure, advocates afterwards criticized Lamont's speech for embracing traditional power sources that they have long fought to wean the state off of… “It locks us into dirty fossil fuel, dirty oil and gas infrastructure with roller-coaster prices, instability, not reliable in terms of how the price will be," Lori Brown, the executive director of the Connecticut League of Conservation Voters, told CT Insider… “We cannot afford to double down on our over reliance on costly nuclear and polluting methane gas,” Samantha Dynowski, the state director of Sierra Club Connecticut, told CT Insider.”
The Climate Center: Water’s Edge Tax Haven and California’s Budget Shortfall
1/7/25
“This report details how global oil majors like ExxonMobil, Chevron, and Shell orchestrated the creation of California’s Water’s Edge tax loophole — a policy that now costs California taxpayers billions annually. It offers a first-of-its-kind, historical look at how oil giants lobbied for and have benefited from the Water’s Edge tax election, shielding their profits while taxpayers bear the cost,” The Climate Center reports. “Critically, eliminating fossil fuel corporations’ access to this loophole could generate between $75 to $146 million annually — funds urgently needed to address California’s budget deficit, invest in climate solutions, and provide relief for working families. The Water’s Edge tax policy enables multinational oil and gas corporations to avoid paying their fair share in taxes and by contrast penalizes local businesses. It now deprives California of an estimated $4 billion in annual revenue across all industries, putting climate and social programs in peril. This ability to offshore profits and avoid taxes is no small matter. A 2015 U.S. Senate special investigation found that Chevron reported $31 billion in profits — untaxed — through subsidiaries in 13 different tax haven countries… “The Climate Center and the 30+ organizations that have joined to endorse this report strongly recommend eliminating the Water’s Edge election for oil and gas companies in California. It is time to put hard-working families ahead of oil and gas company profits by ensuring the deficit is not balanced on their backs.”
The Lever: How Big Oil Hindered The Fight Against L.A.’s Wildfires
Freddy Brewster, Lucy Dean Stockton, 1/8/25
“Fossil fuel companies are profiting off an obscure state tax break depriving California of up to $146 million of annual tax revenue that could be used to combat climate change-fueled wildfires, according to a new report released amid an inferno tearing through Los Angeles,” The Lever reports. “The tax break has persisted for decades in the Democrat-controlled state even as California has faced deficits and cuts to wildfire preparedness — including recent cuts to the Los Angeles Fire Department’s budget. The new report, released Wednesday by the Climate Center, a think tank focused on California climate solutions, details how oil and gas companies and their allies used campaign donations, lobbying dollars, and legal pressure to establish a tax loophole that allows corporations to reduce their taxable state taxable income by avoiding reporting foreign profits and losses, if the company elects to do so. This tax loophole, called the “water’s edge election,” is California’s largest business tax break. The loophole allows corporations to avoid paying more than $4.3 billion in state corporate tax revenue each year and specifically gives oil and gas companies upward of $146 million in annual tax breaks, researchers found.”
New Jersey Monitor: Major legal brawl may decide what types of cars Americans can buy
Alex Brown, 1/8/25
“Blue states are bracing for a battle with the Trump administration over their authority to limit tailpipe emissions, a showdown that will have major repercussions on the types of cars and trucks sold to American drivers,” the New Jersey Monitor reports. “All sides expect President-elect Donald Trump to try to revoke states’ authority to adopt California’s strict rules on the pollution spewed by vehicles. Many states’ efforts to fight climate change hinge on a federal process that allows them to adopt stringent regulations for transportation, the country’s largest source of greenhouse gas emissions. This long-standing waiver authority allows California — and the dozen or so states that follow its lead — to apply rules that go beyond federal limits and cover everything from specific pollutants to sales of certain vehicles. The states following the stricter California standards make up a significant portion of the U.S. auto market and exert major leverage over the cars that are offered to American consumers. “It becomes a de facto national standard,” Ethan Elkind, director of the climate program at the Center for Law, Energy & the Environment at the UC Berkeley School of Law, told the Monitor. “The combined might of California and those other states is pretty significant.” During his first term, Trump attempted to revoke California’s waiver authority, an action many states challenged as unlawful. The effort to deny the waivers was tied up in legal challenges until President Joe Biden took office. This time, Trump will have a “much more cohesive plan” to block state efforts to clean up their cars and trucks, Elkind told the Monitor.
EXTRACTION
Canadian Press: Political uncertainty could derail major carbon capture project: experts
Amanda Stephenson, 1/9/25
“The fate of Canada’s largest proposed carbon capture and storage project is even more uncertain after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s resignation announcement this week amplified existing unknowns around the future of energy and climate policy in Canada, experts say,” the Canadian Press reports. “...But industry watchers told CP the project’s future is cloudy due to current political turmoil and the likelihood that a new federal government will be elected this year. “I can’t imagine a huge project like that could really move forward in a time like right now,” Michael Bernstein, executive director of the non-profit group Clean Prosperity, told CP. “When you’re looking at a project that has at least a 15-year time horizon, you want as much certainty as possible. And there’s just more uncertainty than I can remember in my whole time doing this work right now.” “...But the oil industry has also repeatedly said that investing in carbon capture, which remains a hugely expensive technology, cannot happen without significant levels of government support… “Heather Exner-Pirot, special advisor on energy to the Business Council of Canada, told CP the problem for Pathways is that with polls showing the Conservatives are likely to win an upcoming federal election, it’s unclear how far a Pierre Poilievre government would go to financially support the group’s flagship project… “It doesn’t sound, from everything they (the Conservatives) have been saying, like they would support what you would need to do to get Pathways Alliance over the hump in the time frame we’ve been looking at,” Exner-Pirot told CP. “They don’t seem to be very keen on it. It’s just very expensive.” Andrew Botterill — energy, resources and industrials partner at Deloitte Canada — told CP any future weakening of the industrial carbon pricing system or emissions allowances would damage the business case to invest in decarbonization technology. That’s why a looming election on the horizon could delay or prevent final investment decisions, he told CP.”
Canada’s National Observer: Pathways Alliance's flagship project looks like a big money loser
John Woodside, 1/9/25
“The Pathways Alliance’s proposed carbon capture and storage megaproject has not begun construction or even received approval, and yet its business model is already collapsing, according to a global think tank,” Canada’s National Observer reports. “In a study published Thursday, the international Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA) found the $16.5-billion project to pipe carbon dioxide captured from 13 oilsands sites in northern Alberta to an underground storage site south of Cold Lake, using 600 kilometres pipelines, is facing spiralling cost challenges with limited revenue. Together, the factors are conspiring to threaten the project’s profitability — and therefore, its ability to go ahead. “Most businesses, when you have an increase in costs, you can increase your revenue to offset that,” Mark Kalegha, an energy finance analyst with IEEFA, told the Observer. “But if your revenue can't move, and you can't control your costs, the picture becomes clear that this is not a good investment.” “...If operating costs rise at currently observed industry rates for the life of the [Pathways] project, then total cost per tonne of CO2 at the proposed facility would balloon to levels that make breakeven or profitability highly improbable,” the study found… “If Pierre Poilievre’s Conservatives form government and scrap the carbon price as promised, the Pathways Alliance project would be even less likely to be built because the carbon price is the backbone to a carbon market. Without an incentive to reduce emissions, there’s little reason to build a business model around selling carbon credits. “If there's a penalty for pollution…, you have to purchase these credits in order to compensate for your pollution,” Kalegha told the Observer. “If you don't have to buy carbon credits in the market, then what then is the value? There's no revenue for these CCS projects.” “...An unprofitable carbon capture project will not provide lasting benefit for communities because they will be unable to create sustainable job opportunities or lasting infrastructure development. Rather, communities could end up saddled with environmental risks with no long-term benefit, IEEFA warns. The project “is probably going to lose money without subsidies,” Kalegha told the Observer. “That's the only way this becomes viable is if there are external subsidies to plug in this gap.”
Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers: CAPP Statement on the Draft Oil and Gas Sector Greenhouse Gas Emissions Regulations
1/7/25
“After reviewing the draft emissions cap regulations, it is CAPP’s view the federal government’s approach will directly limit Canada’s oil and natural gas production, significantly infringing on provincial jurisdiction. No government should pursue such value-destroying and patently unconstitutional legislation. This is a federal production cap under the guise of an emissions cap and well outside of federal jurisdiction. Canada is facing an affordability crisis and a decelerating economy along with the looming threat of a 25 percent tariff from our largest trading partner. Canadians cannot afford to have another layer of policy proceeding that will further deter investment into one of the country’s foundational economic sectors, which would result in less jobs, less opportunities for businesses, less revenues for governments, and a lower standard of living for Canadians. CAPP and its members do not see an oil and gas emissions cap as an appropriate tool for addressing greenhouse gas emissions. We support market-driven solutions that deliver emission reductions at the lowest cost to Canadians while encouraging investment and growth in Canada’s economy. Continuing to advance this unconstitutional regulation will only serve to create more uncertainty for oil and natural gas and overall business investment in this country. CAPP does not believe this legislation should proceed any further and is calling on the federal government to halt its progress and focus on ensuring the government continues to operate for Canadians during this time of uncertainty.”
DeSmog: Anti-Renewable Influencers Parrot Takes from Fictional Series ‘Landman’
Mitch Anderson, 12/6/24
“Tommy Norris is a grizzled oilman from Texas who has a low opinion of wind turbines and electric cars,” DeSmog reports. “You have any idea how much diesel you have to burn to mix that much concrete, or make that steel, and haul this shit out here and put it together with a 450-foot crane? You want to guess how much oil it takes to lubricate that fucking thing or winterize it? In its 20 year lifespan, it won’t offset the carbon footprint of making it. And don’t get me started on solar panels and the lithium in your Tesla battery.” Norris is a fictional character played with delightful gusto by Billy Bob Thornton in the new series Landman. He is also full of shit… “Why does a TV script matter? Because far more people watch television than read the latest dreary dispatch from the IPCC. Landman attracted over 14 million viewers in its first week. The wind turbine scene was featured on Fox News after blowing up online as a celebrated takedown of alleged green propaganda… “Does the Landman scene reveal that “woke activists” secretly crave human death on a planetary scale?... “Another running theme in the show is the unassailable influence of Big Oil. Believing he is backed by the most powerful industry on earth, Tommy blusters his way through confrontations with cops, customers and even a drug cartel.”
WFYI: A look at the biggest greenhouse gas polluters in Indiana, Kentucky and nearby states
Morgan Watkins, 1/6/25
“...A new analysis by the Kentucky Center for Investigative Reporting of the latest federal data identifies the biggest emitters in parts of the Midwest and South,” WFYI reports. “KyCIR, in partnership with Side Effects Public Media and NPR’s Appalachia + Mid-South Newsroom, analyzed federal data for nine states that are part of their news coverage areas. The data came from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program, which tracks about 7,500 facilities that collectively account for about half of America’s annual greenhouse gas emissions… “The analysis aimed to find the industrial facilities that directly released the most greenhouse gases –– mainly carbon dioxide –– in each of the following states: Kentucky, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Missouri, Ohio, Oklahoma, Tennessee and West Virginia. More than two-thirds of the facilities are power plants and most — more than 70% — burn coal to make electricity, while more than a third use natural gas. Several plants burn both fuels. Oil refineries, chemical manufacturers and steel mills are also among the region’s largest individual sources of greenhouse gas emissions. The top 10 facilities in each of the states KyCIR analyzed, considered altogether, accounted for 14.5% of the facility emissions tracked by the EPA… “Lisa Vallee lives a couple miles from the BP refinery and is the organizing director for an environmental justice organization called Just Transition Northwest Indiana. “It would come as no surprise to most people that the communities that are most affected – the frontline communities – are mostly working-class poor and communities of color, especially Gary, which has a really big population of those industry giants,” Vallee told WFYI.”
Bloomberg: Constellation Energy Nears $30 Billion Deal for Calpine
Ryan Gould, Dinesh Nair, Matthew Monks, and David Carnevali, 1/8/25
“Constellation Energy Corp. is nearing an acquisition of Calpine Corp., people familiar with the matter said, in what would be one of the biggest ever deals in the power generation sector,” Bloomberg reports. “Baltimore-based Constellation is in discussions with Calpine’s private equity owners about the terms of a transaction that could value the company at about $30 billion including debt, according to the people. A deal may be announced in the coming weeks, they told Bloomberg… “Founded in the 1980s, Calpine runs almost 80 facilities across 22 states and Canada, according to its website… “Constellation views Calpine as a rare opportunity to expand its power generation capabilities amid soaring electricity demand, the people told Bloomberg, adding that the companies began talking in recent months.”
OPINION
Cowboy State Daily: Rethinking Carbon Dioxide – Wyoming’s Bold Move
Sen. Cheri Steinmetz, 1/5/25
“The people of Wyoming have always believed in the value of questioning conventional wisdom, looking at the bigger picture and finding solutions that are possible and actually work. That’s the purpose of the bill titled "Make Carbon Dioxide Great Again," Sen. Cheri Steinmetz writes for the Cowboy State Daily. “This legislation is not about denying science, it is about applying science, thoroughly reevaluating the ‘climate change’ scientific assumptions and advocating for policies grounded in practicality, reality, and achievability - common sense… “CO2 is plant food! Yet, despite its essential role in sustaining life, CO2 has been demonized as a pollutant… “Instead of vilifying this essential gas, we should be acknowledging its role in our ecosystems and industries and protect the benefits it has in our lives… “The bill Make Carbon Dioxide Great Again shifts how we think about CO2. It proposes that we stop treating the essential gas as a pollutant or contaminant… “Critics of “net-zero” strategies have highlighted the risks of pursuing policy goals without fully considering their consequences. These frequently require massive investments, disruption of reliable energy systems, and the forced undue burdens on families and businesses… “This conversation is just beginning and must spark a national debate about the fundamental role of C02.”
CT Mirror: CT needs a climate change superfund act
Melinda Tuhus, 1/9/25
“I spent two days in mid-December sitting with dozens of other activists in the War Room (that’s its actual name) outside New York Gov. Kathy Hochul’s office, pressing her to sign the Climate Change Superfund Act into law,” Melinda Tuhus writes for the CT Mirror. “It had been sitting on her desk since both chambers passed the bill last June. On December 27, she signed it. Could we get a similar bill in Connecticut?... “The law is commonly known as Make Polluters Pay, and is the second one of its kind passed, after Vermont’s. However, New York’s massive economy and huge carbon footprint (which comes to Connecticut in the form of toxic air pollution) makes its law a game-changer and a beacon for the several other states currently considering similar legislation. Connecticut is not yet among them, but it could be… “The Climate Change Superfund Act does not do anything to reduce greenhouse gases. It addresses past harms that the big oil companies have unleashed on New Yorkers and that the $75 billion will only partially offset… “The fact is, consumers are already paying 100% of the costs of this deadly pollution — this law will take some of the burden off them.”
Truthout: Biden’s Offshore Drilling “Ban” Won’t Protect Gulf of Mexico From Oil Spills
Mike Ludwig, 1/7/25
“...However, Biden’s last-minute effort to secure his climate legacy before Donald Trump takes office does nothing to prevent offshore drilling in the central and western Gulf of Mexico, where intense fossil fuel exploitation already causes pollution and oil spills as climate change brings intensifying floods and storms to coastal communities,” Mike Ludwig writes for Truthout. “In a statement, Biden called the massive BP oil spill that devastated the Gulf of Mexico in 2010 a “solemn reminder” of the risks offshore drilling poses to fisheries and coastal communities — but the area of the Gulf where the spill occurred is not protected under Biden’s executive action… “Under Biden’s current executive action, the deep central region of the Gulf — where the deadly Deepwater Horizon explosion unleashed roughly 134 million gallons of oil in 2010 — will remain open for current and future oil and gas drilling, along with western Gulf waters off Texas and Louisiana… “If your goal is to protect the eastern Gulf, then you have to protect the Gulf as a whole; you can’t dissect a huge body of water like this,” Martha Collins, executive director of the watchdog group Healthy Gulf, told Truthout. “It strikes me that you are protecting one community versus another when all of the Gulf communities need protection from climate change and the devastating impacts of the oil and gas industry.”
Bloomberg: Chill, Baby, Chill: Biden’s Offshore Oil Ban Is Just Politics
Liam Denning, 1/8/25
“If an oilfield out in the middle of the sea that was never going to be drilled gets banned by a lame-duck president, would anyone care? Congress might,” Liam Denning writes for Bloomberg. “President Joe Biden kicked off his last fortnight in office by indefinitely blocking oil and gas development across 625 million acres of federal waters off the East, West and Gulf coasts as well as off Alaska. These account for about 40% of the estimated undiscovered economically recoverable oil and gas resources on the US outer continental shelf, according to ClearView Energy Partners, an analysis firm, citing a Bureau of Ocean Energy Management assessment published in 2021. That’s about 14.2 billion barrels of potential oil equivalent, with around 90% of that believed to be oil. If proven to actually be there, this would boost US proved reserves by about 10%. That’s not a game-changer, but it still constitutes a lot of foregone fuel… “As much as President-elect Donald Trump sought to foster drill-baby-drill during his first term with big auctions, less than 1% of acreage was ultimately leased — a lower proportion than under former President Barack Obama. This is all yet more evidence that, while presidents do shape energy policy in real ways, the oil and gas industry is subject to many other, and often more powerful, forces.”