EXTRACTED: Daily News Clips 4/5/23
PIPELINE NEWS
WMAY: Environmental Groups Call to Action Over U.S. Army Corps’ Possible Green Light to Heartland Greenway
Siouxland News: Along the Route: A closer look at three liquid carbon-capture pipelines
KFYR: Burleigh County Commission asking PSC to postpone pipeline permits
Dyersville Commercial: Supervisors hear inspection presentation
Fairbury Journal News: TC Energy Executives View Damaged Road
Spectrum News: Court rules LG&E can use Bernheim Forest land for pipeline
The Hill: Manchin fumes as court blocks pipeline permit
Common Dreams: 'A Win for All Living Beings': Appeals Court Tosses Mountain Valley Pipeline Permit
The Energy Mix: Indigenous Buyers Risk Big Losses as Trans Mountain Pipeline Costs Skyrocket
Food & Water Watch: New Yorkers Demand Gov. Hochul Deny Fracked Gas Pipeline Expansion Proposal
Kansas City Business Journal: Why CorEnergy's debt is pushing it to sell two natural gas pipelines
ICIS: Kinder Morgan brings US California renewable diesel hub projects online
WASHINGTON UPDATES
The Hill: EPA estimates 9.2 million lead water pipes in US, doles out funding to replace some of them
STATE UPDATES
Daily Montanan: Bill would tax nonprofits that bring lawsuits against government
Capital and Main: In Blue Colorado, Oil and Gas Companies Try a New Approach to Woo Democrats
EXTRACTION
OilPrice.com: How The U.S. Became A Natural Gas Giant
Reuters: Canada, German firm to sign carbon-capture cement partnership, sources say
Carbon Herald: Hydrogen Will Be A Game-Changer Solution — Michelle George, SVP, New Energy Technologies, Enbridge Inc.
ExxonMobil: Low Carbon Solutions Spotlight
CLIMATE FINANCE
Fortune: Jamie Dimon says the U.S. ‘desperately’ needs reforms to fast-track clean technologies and the ‘window for action’ is closing
TODAY IN GREENWASHING
Enbridge: Solving the world’s tough problems through STEM
OPINION
Nature: Carbon dioxide removal is not a current climate solution — we need to change the narrative
Miami Herald: Cumbersome permitting process holds up infrastructure projects our economy needs
Wall Street Journal: An Oil Price Warning for Democrats
Houston Chronicle: Biden's federal regulators are abandoning environmental justice
The New Republic: Is Environmental Radicalism Inevitable?
PIPELINE NEWS
WMAY: Environmental Groups Call to Action Over U.S. Army Corps’ Possible Green Light to Heartland Greenway
Benjamin Cox, 4/4/23
“Environmentalists and landowners are fighting an expected move by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to give the green light to a controversial carbon dioxide sequestration project running through Central Illinois,” according to WMAY. “WMAY reports that the Army Corps is gearing up to allow the Navigator Heartland Greenway pipeline project to proceed with a comprehensive environmental review. The Sierra Club and the Coalition to Stop CO2 Pipelines says the move would use a “nationwide” permitting process for the pipeline. The nationwide process was designed to facilitate smaller projects with minimal impacts. According to the Coalition, the process would allow permitting by breaking the pipeline up into 1800 separate projects. Both groups say this type of process is not suitable for such a large project, and would allow for no public comment to be entered into the record… “The groups are calling on the Army Corps to reconsider its plan and require a full environmental analysis of the project. Both the Coalition and the Sierra Club are offering form letters to send to the Army Corps of Engineers in opposition.”
Siouxland News: Along the Route: A closer look at three liquid carbon-capture pipelines
Katie Copple, 4/4/23
“...Now, three companies want to sequester that gas, liquify it, and store it underground. That process is known as carbon sequestration and it has become a hot-button topic across the corn belt,” Siouxland News reports. "I think it's really great to partner up with Summit Carbon Solutions because it's going to secure the future of ethanol plants," Chris Cleveland told Siouxland, "not only Lincolnway here, but other ethanol producers along with the farmers and the corn growers and their future and their next generations, too." “...If everything goes according to plan, "we would hope to be fully operational first quarter of 2025," Summit’s Lee told Siouxland… “These three pipelines have been met with heavy resistance from some landowners along their path. Roger Schmid is one of those landowners. Living in northwest Iowa, he and hundreds of others received registered letters in the mail informing them of a meeting with Summit and Navigator… “Landowners are asked to sign easements allowing the pipeline to pass through their property. Some are not on board, like Jim Colyer… “And I don't know if they're all false, but they seem to be leaning towards benefit rather than safety. And that is one of our main concerns is safety." "Our legislature should be standing up. Our county governments need to stand up," Doyle Turner, another Iowan fighting against the installation of these pipelines, told Siouxland. "But the big thing that we need is for more people to realize this affects a lot more people than just these landowners and that we all need to be stepping up and talking to our county board of supervisors. We need to be talking to our state legislators. We need to talk to our federal legislators." "...The use of eminent domain is a last resort scenario, especially on a project like this," Nebraska Representative Adrian Smith told Siouxland. "Ultimately, it's an infrastructure project and there's been some misinformation out there in terms of what the pipelines do. It's actually the safest way to transport products. All things considered, it's my hope that the right of way can be achieved and accomplished without the use of eminent domain." Both Summit and Navigator are taking the fight over property rights to court. In Woodbury County, Vicki Hulse is fighting to keep Navigator land surveyors off of her property. Her 151 acres of land are something she holds with pride. "We have worked hard to pay for our land," Hulse told me during an interview at the Siouxland News studios in September 2022. "We bought the farm from his dad's estate, and he worked two jobs. I work two jobs to pay for this farm. And we have two children that we want to hand the farm down to. And I'm fighting against eminent domain for private gain."
KFYR: Burleigh County Commission asking PSC to postpone pipeline permits
Bella Kraft, 4/4/23
“The Burleigh County Commission is writing a letter to the Public Service Commission asking them to postpone approving permits for Summit Carbon Solutions,” KFYR reports. “A federal agency is coming out with new safety standards for CO2 pipelines. Commission members say they may need to revise the pipeline zoning ordinance they passed last month if new measures are put in place. Commissioner Brian Bitner says rather than telling the PSC to postpone issuing giving permits, they should simply deny the pipeline altogether.”
Dyersville Commercial: Supervisors hear inspection presentation
Mike Putz, 4/5/23
“The first of two companies vying for the job of inspecting work on a proposed carbon capture pipeline that would run through Delaware County gave the Delaware County Board of Supervisors their presentation during the March 27 meeting,” the Dyersville Commercial reports. “The proposed Navigator Heartland Greenway pipeline would bisect the state from northwest to southeast, spanning nearly 811 miles in Iowa, including 25 miles in Delaware County from the ethanol processing plant west of Dyersville to the northwest corner of the county. ISG is an engineering firm with experience with pipelines, having worked on the Dakota Access pipeline, representing 13 of the Iowa counties that the pipeline passed through. ISG Pipeline Project Coordinator Tiffany Kruizenga discussed the hiring of inspectors with the supervisors. “ISG will hire all the inspectors. They have to know the agriculture part of it, but also how the pipeline works. We will select the inspectors based on the miles of the project, but also on the construction schedule.” “...Kruizenga told the supervisors inspectors would be responsible for daily reports and that any damage to drainage tile incurred during the construction would be recorded in those reports… “Madlom asked if ISG worked on the project in multiple counties and if they felt confident they would have enough inspectors. Kruizenga said ISG had no concerns about not being able to provide enough inspectors, noting they already have letters of intent with 13 counties on the Navigator project. ISG would not be responsible for inspecting welds on the pipelines. Contacted following the meeting, Madlom told the Commercial that responsibility would fall on Navigator.”
Fairbury Journal News: TC Energy Executives View Damaged Road
Gordon Hopkins, 4/4/23
“Officials with Jefferson County met with representatives from TC Energy to see firsthand damage done to a county road by an estimated 100 trucks a day hauling dirt between Kansas and Nebraska,” the Fairbury Journal News reports. “TC Energy was represented by Bob Baumgartner, Liquids Operations Environmental Services Manager from Houston, Texas; Nat Barker, Land Manager, Calgary, Alberta; and Marlon Hopkins, Steele City Construction Manager… “An oil leak dumped an estimated 12,937 barrels of crude oil into Mill Creek, three miles east of Washington, Kansas, and approximately 20 miles south of Steele City, on December 7, 2022. Clean soil from property owned by TC Energy in Steele City is being taken to the site of the oil spill to replace the oil-contaminated soil that has been removed and shipped to a landfill in Douglas County. According to a statement from TC Energy, “We are transporting additional soil to the site to support backfilling excavated areas and the management of temporary berms at the Milepost 14 site. The soil is sourced from a separate facility, and testing has validated it as a clean source of subsoil and topsoil.” The trucks transporting dirt back and forth on the nearly three miles of road between Steele City and the Kansas border have done considerable damage. The operation began in January and is not likely to be concluded any time soon, County Commissioner Mark Schoenrock told the News. “I talked to Marlon last week. He estimates probably they’re going to be keeping the same level of activity through June.” It is the position of commissioners that simply repairing the road is not sufficient. The road will need to be replaced… “The estimated costs are $3 million for Jefferson County and $3.5 million for Washington County. Schoenock told the News, “We asked for their commitment to back us to get these roads replaced and they gave us that commitment.”
Spectrum News: Court rules LG&E can use Bernheim Forest land for pipeline
Lydia Taylor, 4/4/23
“After four years of hurdles, the Bullitt Circuit Court ordered the Isaac W. Bernheim Foundation to provide LG&E with the easements it needs to build its pipeline through the foundation-owned property,” Spectrum News reports. “...The energy provider, which serves 333,000 natural gas and 429,000 electric customers, took the Foundation to court in January, hoping to use Kentucky's eminent domain law to acquire the land. The land, though, was protected by a conservation easement after Bernheim and the Kentucky Heritage Land Conservation Fund purchased the land in 2018… “Bernheim argued there is no legitimate public need for the pipeline, that the Commonwealth of Kentucky owns a property interest in the land and that state law doesn’t give the right to condemn public property interest held by state government. “We own this land,” Wourms said in January. “However, in purchasing that land, we did it with taxpayer money and because of that, there are public conservation easements and deed restrictions on that land, so this becomes public land. And because of that, the eminent domain criteria should not be applied on public lands. It’s only applicable for private.” The court stated on March 31 that LG&E is authorized to take possession of the easements.”
The Hill: Manchin fumes as court blocks pipeline permit
RACHEL FRAZIN AND ZACK BUDRYK, 4/4/23
“Manchin said in a statement Tuesday that “[i]t is infuriating to see the same 4th Circuit Court panel deal yet another setback for the Mountain Valley Pipeline project,” The Hill reports. “The conservative Democratic senator accused the court of “once again [siding] with activists who seem hell-bent on killing any fossil energy that will make our country energy independent and secure.” Manchin has previously tried to push the pipeline across the finish line as part of his permitting reform effort. His legislation — which ultimately flopped last year — would have directed federal agencies to issue approvals needed for the vessel’s construction. Bipartisan talks on speeding up energy projects have been ongoing, but it’s not clear whether they will amount to a compromise or whether the Mountain Valley Pipeline would be included. In a unanimous decision on Monday, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit in Richmond tossed the earlier approval of the pipeline by West Virginia’s Department of Environmental Protection.”
Common Dreams: 'A Win for All Living Beings': Appeals Court Tosses Mountain Valley Pipeline Permit
JESSICA CORBETT, 4/4/23
“A U.S. appellate court panel on Monday unanimously struck down a key water permit for the Mountain Valley Pipeline, a nearly completed fracked gas project long opposed by people living along the over-300-mile route through Virginia and West Virginia,” Common Dreams reports. “...The MVP gained national attention last year because of efforts by U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) to force the completion of the pipeline as part of his thrice-defeated "dirty deal" on permitting reforms. House Republicans, who recently passed their own fossil fuel-friendly energy package, are also now pushing for legislation to finish the project… "Today's ruling uplifts the tireless efforts of every single coalition member and volunteer fighting to protect land, water, and people," Russell Chisholm, managing director for the Protect Our Water, Heritage, Rights (POWHR) Coalition, told CD. "MVP should abandon their ill-fated project because we will defend every stream and river crossing that can still be saved from permanent harm." Several campaigners stressed that damage has already been done during the construction of the incomplete pipeline. "MVP has already gone too far in damaging West Virginia's water resources, particularly in some of our most valuable mountain headwater systems. WVDEP clearly cannot make a good conscience argument that MVP will not further violate water quality standards," West Virginia Rivers Coalition executive director Angie Rosser told CD. Similarly charging that "West Virginia communities have endured Mountain Valley Pipeline's damage to their water resources and environment for far too long," Jessica Sims, Virginia field coordinator for Appalachian Voices, agreed that "this ruinous project must be canceled." Along with violating water standards, this "disastrous" project "is already more than three years behind schedule, and billions over budget," noted Sierra Club's Patrick Grente. "With continuous legal setbacks, it has never been more clear that investors should stop throwing money at this doomed project and walk away."
The Energy Mix: Indigenous Buyers Risk Big Losses as Trans Mountain Pipeline Costs Skyrocket
Mitchell Beer, 4/4/23
“Indigenous investors interested in buying the financially troubled Trans Mountain pipeline can expect to lose money on the deal and face “the likely prospect of being saddled with a stranded asset,” according to an independent economist and longtime critic of the project,” The Energy Mix reports. “From the moment the Trudeau government bought the pipeline from Houston-based Kinder Morgan in 2018, a succession of federal officials have maintained that Ottawa would eventually offload the project to a private, ideally Indigenous, buyer. And last week, the Globe and Mail reported that discussions with several Indigenous business consortia are still in progress… “Uncertainty over how a deal would be structured—as well as the soaring costs—has resulted in fatigue, with some First Nations essentially dropping out of a process they see as stalled,” the Globe says… “Independent economist Robyn Allan, a former president and CEO of the Insurance Corporation of British Columbia, puts that “taxpayer-funded loss” closer to $25 billion, and the picture is not much better for an eventual buyer. “Commercial ownership, whether Indigenous or other third party, was never a realistic prospect for Trans Mountain,” Allan told The Energy Mix in an email this week. “Once the project cost exceeded $7.4 billion, the government began facing a significant loss because of the preferential toll rates baked into the 20-year contracts with Alberta’s oil shippers. With each cost increase, the burden on taxpayers mount. With the most recent increase, we are now looking at a cumulative taxpayer-funded loss of about $25 billion.” “...So if an Indigenous consortium or some other buyer did take over the project, Allan told TEM, it wouldn’t end well for them. “With Trans Mountain’s huge debt burden, coupled with the need to reduce the use of fossil fuels, any owner of Trans Mountain faces the likely prospect of being saddled with a stranded asset.”
Food & Water Watch: New Yorkers Demand Gov. Hochul Deny Fracked Gas Pipeline Expansion Proposal
4/4/23
“Amidst a fossil fuel industry effort to gut New York’s nation-leading climate law, advocates and New Yorkers on the frontlines of a massive fracked gas pipeline expansion, proposed in Greene and Dutchess counties, rallied today in Albany,” according to Food & Water Watch. “The groups called on Governor Hochul and the New York Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) to deny a request for an Article 19 State Air Facility Permit for the Iroquois Pipeline Company’s expansion by compression (EXC) proposal. The decision on air permits for the proposal is due April 11. The rally comes during a controversy over Senator Parker and Assemblymember Barrett’s push for new legislation (S.6030/A.6039) to abandon New York’s existing 20-year accounting standard for methane emissions just as state leadership is finalizing a budget, that is expected to include a landmark ban on fossil fuels in new buildings statewide. The Parker/Barrett legislation would prolong the state’s reliance on dirty fracked gas projects like the Iroquois Pipeline Co. proposal… “If approved, the Iroquois fracked gas expansion proposal would increase the volume of gas that is pushed through a 37-year-old pipeline that runs 414 miles from the NY/Canadian border, south into Long Island and New York City. The expansion would require doubling the size of polluting fracked gas compressor stations in Greene and Dutchess Counties, as well as two more in Connecticut before entering into the Long Island Sound and back into New York.”
Kansas City Business Journal: Why CorEnergy's debt is pushing it to sell two natural gas pipelines
James Dornbrook, 4/4/23
“Even in the boom-and-bust energy business, Kansas City-based CorEnergy Infrastructure Trust Inc. is in the midst of a rough run,” the Kansas City Business Journal reports. “The real estate investment trust specializing in energy infrastructure, such as oil and gas pipelines and storage facilities, announced a loss of $9.5 million for last year and said it had to restate earnings for most of 2021 and 2022. CorEnergy is racing to sell two natural gas pipelines in Missouri to deal with more than $200 million in debt coming due in the next two years. Additionally, the company's stock has lost about half its value since December — a trend that could cause more trouble down the line… “To reduce its debt risk, CorEnergy announced March 22 that it retained an adviser to sell two of its assets: the MoGas and Omega Pipeline Systems. MoGas is a 263-mile natural gas pipeline in the St. Louis area and Omega is a 75-mile natural gas pipeline near Fort Leonard Wood in southern Missouri… “The company anticipated that net proceeds of the sale will let it repay its bank facility in full. Combined with a new credit facility, CorEnergy plans to use the remaining proceeds to retire most of its outstanding convertible debt prior to maturity.”
ICIS: Kinder Morgan brings US California renewable diesel hub projects online
Adam Yanelli, 4/4/23
“US energy infrastructure company Kinder Morgan has begun full commercial operations of its two California renewable diesel hub projects, which will allow the fuel to be transported by pipeline to inland destinations for delivery to the market,” ICIS reports. “Renewable diesel is an alternative fuel that allows trucks, trains and any equipment that uses diesel fuel to operate with significantly lower life-cycle emissions. The Northern California hub, with throughput of 21,000 bbl/day, can transport renewable diesel from the San Francisco Bay area to Sacramento, San Jose and Fresno. The southern California hub, with throughput of 20,000 bbl/day, can send the fuel from the Los Angeles refinery basin to San Diego and the Inland Empire – an urban metropolitan area east of Los Angeles County centered around the cities of San Bernardino and Riverside… “These projects present a significant opportunity to participate in the transition to lower emissions energy sources of the future while continuing to provide fuels still in demand today,” Dax Sanders, Kinder Morgan president of products pipelines, said. “We are confident that the best way to serve markets during this energy evolution is through an all-of-the-above energy mix. Pipelines continue to be the safest and most cost-efficient mode of long-haul transportation for liquid fuels.”
WASHINGTON UPDATES
The Hill: EPA estimates 9.2 million lead water pipes in US, doles out funding to replace some of them
RACHEL FRAZIN, 4/4/23
“The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced on Tuesday that it estimates that there are 9.2 million lead pipes carrying water throughout the country and said it was allocating some of the funds from the bipartisan infrastructure law to replace them,” The Hill reports. “…The bipartisan infrastructure law provides $15 billion to replace the country’s lead pipes, and the EPA said on Tuesday that about $3 billion from the law would be used for lead service line identification and replacement. Officials told reporters on Monday that the money would be dispersed based on where it is most needed… “The official did acknowledge that the bipartisan infrastructure law’s funds would not be sufficient to address the entire problem — a departure from the White House’s past insistence that it would, despite estimates to the contrary.”
STATE UPDATES
Daily Montanan: Bill would tax nonprofits that bring lawsuits against government
DARRELL EHRLICK, 4/3/23
“A bill being considered by the Montana Senate would upend the finances of nonprofit groups that bring a lawsuit against the state for violations of environmental and natural resources law,” the Daily Montanan reports. “Senate Bill 524, sponsored by Sen. Greg Hertz, R-Polson, would subject any nonprofit group to paying Montana business tax — equivalent to 6.75% — on any cost associated with litigation against the state for a host of natural resources and environmental law. The legislation would also turn state taxation on its head by taxing an expense or expenditure instead of income… “These 501(c)3 groups are disrupting our lifestyles and economy, and they want to make changes to our way of life in Montana,” Hertz said in committee. “If the IRS would be doing its job like it should be doing, we have a number of nonprofits and 501(c)3s that are operating outside of their scope and mission.” “...Hertz did not specify which groups were disrupting the state, nor did he elaborate on what he meant by Montana’s way of life on follow-up questions sent Friday and Monday by the Daily Montanan… “During the hearing in front of the Senate’s Judiciary Committee, which passed the measure out of committee along party lines on Thursday, there were no proponents and nearly a dozen opponents, including the Montana Nonprofit Association, which has 720 member organizations. The organization raised a concern that there is no similar rule or law in any other state, and it would require a whole new model of taxation: Taxing expenses instead of income… “Others said that the legislature, which often refers to the rights of property owners, would be inhibiting the rights of residents to sue to protect their laws. Ellen Pfister, a Shepherd rancher who was active from 1972 to 2019, said that in the early 1970s, nonprofits like the Northern Plains Resource Council, formed as a coalition of local property owners who were standing up to coal mining interests in order to protect their land and water. “This impacts ranchers and their ability to protect their land, their water and their livelihood,” Pfister said.
Capital and Main: In Blue Colorado, Oil and Gas Companies Try a New Approach to Woo Democrats
Jennifer Oldham, 4/3/23
“Colorado’s largest oil and gas companies, which typically favor conservative legislators, gave tens of thousands of dollars to independent expenditure committees that funded advertising and get-out-the-vote efforts in 2022 for the state’s Democratic House speaker and other lawmakers positioned to consider bills that could impact how the fossil fuel industry operates,” Capital and Main reports. “Lobbyists registered to represent energy interests on bills being debated in the General Assembly this spring also donated thousands of dollars to the Colorado Democratic Party and gave to House Speaker Julie McCluskie and other Democratic politicians.The petroleum industry also contributed hundreds of thousands of dollars to Republican independent expenditure committees in last year’s midterms. According to Richard Painter, chief White House ethics lawyer under former President George W. Bush and a law professor at the University of Minnesota, the strategy follows a national playbook for well-heeled oil and gas interests in which they put 80% of their money behind right-of-center candidates and the remaining 20% to progressives… “Oil and gas companies’ “strategy is to give money to key Democrats they can woo over to their side — we find that in Congress as well,” Painter told Capital and Main. “They don’t have to have the majority of Democrats; they just need to get enough to vote their way to block legislation.” “...As the spring legislative session hits its halfway point, energy lobbyists are working under the Capitol’s gold dome in Denver to persuade lawmakers that producing oil and gas in Colorado is cleaner than importing it from regions with less stringent rules. “Colorado serves as an example for other states in reducing oil and gas emissions,” the Colorado Oil & Gas Association posted on its Facebook page days before it hosted a “day at the Capitol” on March 8 for energy companies to meet with lawmakers… “On the state Senate side, energy firms including Occidental Petroleum, Chevron and Civitas Resources gave $32,500 to All Together Colorado, an IEC that supports mostly Democratic candidates, from December 2020 to December 2022, according to financial summaries… “All Together Colorado electioneered in part in support of Democratic state Sen. Kyle Mullica, who in November won his suburban Denver district by 10 points… “Democratic state Sen. Kyle Mullica cast a pivotal vote in the Senate Finance Committee on Feb. 21 to strike a key provision of a sweeping bill that is the centerpiece of Democrats’ climate agenda.”
EXTRACTION
OilPrice.com: How The U.S. Became A Natural Gas Giant
Alex Kimani, 4/4/23
“From a position of relative obscurity less than a decade ago, U.S. natural gas and liquefied natural gas (LNG) export capacity has expanded rapidly since the Lower 48 states first began exporting LNG in 2016,” OilPrice.com reports. “ Last year, the United States achieved an important milestone after becoming the world's biggest LNG exporter, surpassing Qatar and Australia as Europe scrambled to replace Russian gas. This was made possible after LNG liquefaction units, called trains, at Sabine Pass and Calcasieu Pass in Louisiana came online last year. Last year, U.S. exports of liquefied natural gas (LNG) averaged 10.6 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d) , increasing by 9% (0.8 Bcf/d) compared with 2021. LNG exports to Europe increased a torrid 141% clip, or 4.0 Bcf/d, compared with 2021. Europe has become the primary destination for U.S. LNG exports, accounting for 64% (6.8 Bcf/d) of total exports in 2022… “But then, the shale revolution happened, leading to a massive increase in gas output through the use of horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing to extract hydrocarbons trapped in shale rocks. After a decade of dramatic growth and rapid expansion of LNG export facilities, the country began exporting LNG from the Lower 48 states in February 2016… “Unfortunately, whereas the United States has the world’s largest backlog of near-shovel-ready liquefied natural gas projects, takeaway constraints including limited pipeline capacity remain the biggest hurdle to expanding the sector… “According to FERC, four U.S. LNG projects are currently under construction, another 12 have been approved by federal regulators and four more have been proposed totaling 40 Bcf/d of potential LNG exports… “Previously, American LNG developers were unwilling to construct self-financed liquefaction facilities that are not secured by long-term contracts from European countries. However, the Ukraine war has exposed Europe’s soft underbelly and the harsh reality is forcing a rethink of their energy systems.”
Reuters: Canada, German firm to sign carbon-capture cement partnership, sources say
4/4/23
“The Canadian government will on Wednesday sign a memorandum of understanding with Germany's Heidelberg Materials (HEIG.DE) to help develop a facility to capture carbon emissions from cement production, two sources with knowledge of the plan said,” Reuters reports. “Innovation Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne will announce the partnership in Edmonton, Alberta, where Heidelberg and pipeline company Enbridge Inc are developing a plan to capture and sequester the Lehigh cement plant's carbon emissions… “One source, who did not have approval to speak publicly, told Reuters the agreement shows that the Heidelberg-Enbridge project is progressing faster than other plans to capture greenhouse gas emissions from heavy industry and store it underground. Oil sands companies are one of the other groups developing plans for hubs elsewhere in Alberta. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is relying heavily on carbon-capture plans for facilities in Alberta to capture and store underground the carbon produced by the Western Canadian province's heavy industry, including oil and gas, fertilizer and cement.”
Carbon Herald: Hydrogen Will Be A Game-Changer Solution — Michelle George, SVP, New Energy Technologies, Enbridge Inc.
Violet George, 4/5/23
“We had a chat with Enbridge Senior Vice President of New Energy Technologies, Michelle George, to discuss the future of hydrogen in the energy mix and the company’s current H2 projects,” the Carbon Herald reports. “...We’re advancing new low-carbon energy technologies — including hydrogen, renewable natural gas, and carbon capture and storage. We’re committed to reducing the carbon footprint of the energy we deliver, and to achieving net zero emissions by 2050… “We see many possibilities for low-carbon hydrogen as an energy vector that can help to decarbonize many sectors, especially those that cannot be electrified such as aviation, shipping and heavy-duty transportation. However, it requires key advancements in regulatory frameworks, standards, codes, infrastructure, underground storage, transportation, electrolyzers, and fuel cells… “The Inflation Reduction Act is helping to accelerate hydrogen development in North America and changing the conversation to focus on the full value chain – both costs and emission reductions. Permitting is something that is top of mind: building energy infrastructure in North America is very challenging and low-carbon is no different. Certainty is needed to help drive investment and the certainty created by the IRA will be lost if permitting challenges aren’t resolved… “Hydrogen and other decarbonizing technologies will have a role in the energy transition and future energy mix, and we are currently working on feasibility studies to determine how to best advance hydrogen usage. According to the IAE, however, oil and coal will continue to have a role in the global energy mix, which states steady demand for oil until the mid-2030s. Enbridge agrees that all forms of energy will be required for some time to come – and we remain committed to deliver the energy the world needs today while investing in the energy of tomorrow.”
ExxonMobil: Low Carbon Solutions Spotlight
4/4/23
“ExxonMobil is growing its Low Carbon Solutions business to help accelerate progress toward reaching society’s net-zero goals. In a presentation to investors, Chairman and CEO Darren Woods and Dan Ammann, president of Low Carbon Solutions, said ExxonMobil could deliver emissions-reduction solutions at a scale that matters. Our ambition is for exponential growth in our Low Carbon Solutions business in the coming years, as demand expands for products and services like carbon capture and storage, hydrogen and biofuels. We’re focused on the hardest-to-decarbonize sectors, including heavy industry, commercial transportation and power generation, which together account for 80% of global energy-related CO2 emissions… “Current planned projects could abate about 20 million metric tons of CO2 per year, and with our pipeline of potential new projects, we could abate nearly four times as much… “We also continue to make progress on our own emissions goals. We’re on track to reduce corporate-wide greenhouse gas emissions intensity (Scope 1 and 2) from our operated assets by 20-30% by 2030 compared to 2016.”
CLIMATE FINANCE
Fortune: Jamie Dimon says the U.S. ‘desperately’ needs reforms to fast-track clean technologies and the ‘window for action’ is closing
TRISTAN BOVE, 4/4/23
“Jamie Dimon used a highly anticipated letter published Tuesday to discuss the risk of banking contagion and “threatening clouds” hanging over the U.S. economy,” Fortune reports. “...He took the opportunity to do so again in his most recent letter, this time addressing attempts in Congress to overhaul requirements for clean energy technologies—efforts that have so far run into multiple political stumbling blocks… “Dimon is referring to repeated attempts in Congress to simplify and expedite the process of gaining a permit for energy projects… “But while interest and funds to build that infrastructure exists, permitting requirements still stand in the way. Politicians opposed to renewable power, NIMBY property owners, and even fossil-fuel-reliant power companies have been known to employ experts who can obstruct approval processes, eventually holding up permitting for so long that companies interested in developing a clean energy project finally just give up… “We may even need to evoke eminent domain,” he wrote, referring to the government’s ability to purchase private property for public use without requiring the property owner’s consent. “We simply are not getting the adequate investments fast enough for grid, solar, wind and pipeline initiatives.” “...In his letter to shareholders Tuesday, Dimon was vocal about the dangers of the climate crisis, and the rising costs of ignoring it. “The window for action to avert the costliest impacts of global climate change is closing,” he wrote. “The need to provide energy affordably and reliably for today, as well as make the necessary investments to decarbonize for tomorrow, underscores the inextricable links between economic growth, energy security and climate change. We need to do more, and we need to do so immediately.”
TODAY IN GREENWASHING
Enbridge: Solving the world’s tough problems through STEM
4/4/23
“According to the United Nations, 14% of crops—that’s 56 million tons—are lost worldwide between harvest and retail,” according to Enbridge. “But a high school junior may have the solution… “The teen developed her idea in her Grade 11 year at the Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy (IMSA)... “Held over spring break, on weekends, and in the summer, PROMISE is open to students in Grades 7, 8 and 9 from culturally, linguistically and economically diverse backgrounds, allowing them to experience STEM enrichment the IMSA way at little or no cost… “To help PROMISE meet its goals of developing the potential of underprivileged and BIPOC youth, Enbridge has awarded IMSA a pair of $5,000 Fueling Futures grants since 2021. Enbridge’s success is built on a diverse, respectful and inclusive workforce. We want to see people of all backgrounds represented in STEM, and we recognize the importance of helping diverse students advance their education in the field.”
OPINION
Nature: Carbon dioxide removal is not a current climate solution — we need to change the narrative
David T. Ho, 4/3/23
“Carbon dioxide removal (CDR) is what puts the ‘net’ into ‘net zero emissions,’” David T. Ho writes for Nature. “All pathways to limit global warming to 1.5–2 °C above pre-industrial levels that have been assessed by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change require rapid decarbonization to start now. But they also require the removal of CO2 from the atmosphere because we won’t be able to eliminate carbon emissions entirely on the required time scales… “Historically, this has meant planting or maintaining trees, but removing CO2 from the atmosphere and storing it in the ground, the ocean or in products will be more durable. However, businesses are springing up that promise various CDR techniques as climate solutions for today… “I have spent my career studying the natural carbon cycle and, in recent years, developing methods for checking that CDR works. I have scrutinized dozens of proposals, and I was a reviewer for the US$100-million XPRIZE Carbon Removal competition funded by the Musk Foundation. I don’t deny the need to develop CDR methods over the longer term. And I welcome governments committing much-needed resources to this area. After some small-scale demonstrations of ‘direct air capture’ (DAC) technology, which suck CO2 out of the atmosphere by chemical means, the 2022 US Bipartisan Infrastructure Law has devoted $3.5 billion to developing four DAC hubs. But it’s clear to me that deploying them to remove CO2 from the atmosphere is pointless until society has almost completely eliminated its polluting activities… “We have to shift the narrative as a matter of urgency. Money is going to flood into climate solutions over the next few years, and we need to direct it well. We must stop talking about deploying CDR as a solution today, when emissions remain high — as if it somehow replaces radical, immediate emission cuts… “In the meantime, research is needed to seek CDR methods that minimize land use and energy consumption, and can be scaled up rapidly and cheaply… “Humanity has never removed an atmospheric pollutant at a global, continental or, even, regional scale — we have only ever shut down the source and let nature do the clearing up… “The scale of the challenge is immense. We must slow the carbon clock to a crawl before we can turn it back.”
Miami Herald: Cumbersome permitting process holds up infrastructure projects our economy needs
Carlos Curbelo represented Florida’s Congressional District 26 from 2015-2019, 4/4/23
“No matter where you look, all signs point to the fact that the United States needs to repair and modernize its infrastructure to meet the challenges of tomorrow’s economy,” Carlos Curbelo writes for the Miami Herald. “ Whether it’s upgrading highways and bridges, building the pipelines it will take to deliver American energy to markets at home and abroad, or modernizing our grid for renewable energy projects that will help power our future, we must find a way to get critical projects moving on a faster timeline. Revitalization starts with significantly reforming current permitting processes and clearing the red tape that holds us back… “We can make sensible changes to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) without sacrificing progress on climate change and environmental protection. In fact, we are seeing a growing contingent of Democrats beginning to accept that revising NEPA is critical to the energy transition, since permitting reform is the most effective way to expedite the completion of renewable-energy projects… “Today, NEPA reviews can take up to seven years to complete. For example, the Keystone XL pipeline saw numerous setbacks because of reviews and legal challenges that blocked key permits and contributed to its cancellation… “Today, NEPA is impeding the completion of these projects… “To reform NEPA, we should set reasonable limits on timelines, scope, and generally, on the ability of opponents to block needed infrastructure projects. We should enforce limits on judicial review and set a statute of limitations for court challenges. With no limits, groups can use reviews to hold up projects for years… “We cannot let this critical issue become a casualty of the relentless partisan war. Reforming NEPA and building infrastructure for tomorrow’s America is too important to ignore or delay. It’s time to act.”
Wall Street Journal: An Oil Price Warning for Democrats
The Editorial Board, 4/3/23
“Oil prices surged 6.3% on Monday, to close to $85 a barrel on the global market, after a group of Saudi-led producers said they’ll reduce production by a million barrels a day starting in May. That’s another fist bump to the stomach from President Biden’s admirers in Riyadh, and it’s a warning to Democrats in the U.S. of how vulnerable they are to oil producers abroad,” the Wall Street Journal Editorial Board writes. “The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries plus Russia already cut oil production by two million barrels a day in October. Monday’s additional reduction took markets by surprise, as the price surge suggests. If it continues, it will complicate decisions by the Federal Reserve and other central bankers trying to get inflation under control.mNot too long ago, before Joe Biden became President, the U.S. produced enough oil to be a price setter in the global market. But Mr. Biden unleashed an assault on U.S. fossil-fuel production that includes permit delays and regulatory hostility that have reduced the incentive to invest in more wells. Mr. Biden finally approved the Willow project in Alaska last month, though that won’t help in the near term. Mr. Biden tried to reduce prices by tapping the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve, but he doesn’t have too many political tricks left. Regarding oil prices, Mr. Biden and his party are now hostage to fortune as an election year approaches… “As it happens, House Republicans are offering Democrats a lifeline in the form of H.R.1, the energy bill they passed last week. Mr. Biden is promising a veto, and Democrats may want to filibuster in the Senate.”
Houston Chronicle: Biden's federal regulators are abandoning environmental justice
Robert D. Bullard is the founding director of the Bullard Center for Environmental and Climate Justice and distinguished professor of urban planning and environmental policy at Texas Southern University, 4/2/23
“Almost two years ago, I implored federal energy regulators to start taking environmental justice considerations seriously, but since then the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission continues approving fossil fuel projects with little to no regard for systemic injustices,” Robert D. Bullard writes for the Houston Chronicle. “...The commission offers little more than pleasantries with regard to justice and equity as it races to approve more polluting facilities in Black, Indigenous, Latino and other communities of color across the country. Nothing has changed. Our communities are still being sacrificed. Last year at this time, FERC proposed rules and guidance requiring the commission to consider new gas projects’ effects on climate change and environmental justice. The effort barely lasted a month, as FERC caved to the fossil fuel industry and withdrew both. FERC’s quick retreat and silence since then speak volumes about its commitment to justice. In its latest move, FERC hosted an Environmental Justice Roundtable last week “to better incorporate environmental justice and equity considerations into its decisions.” But the fact that the fossil fuel industry had almost as many participants as frontline communities told me all I needed to know about FERC’s environmental justice charade. FERC named the American Petroleum Institute and Cheniere Energy (one of the largest producers of methane gas in the world) to the roundtable. The fossil fuel industry has caused most of the environmental injustices in our country. True environmental justice would mean holding the industry accountable for treating our communities as “sacrifice zones.” “...Instead FERC’s failings over the last year and, indeed, its approach to the roundtable itself, reveal that environmental justice is not embedded in FERC’s decision-making. It is an afterthought or worse, it is a performance aimed at giving the appearance that FERC is rectifying its decades-long exacerbation of systemic racism and economic disenfranchisement… “Simply put, we’re tired of FERC’s performance of environmental justice.”
The New Republic: Is Environmental Radicalism Inevitable?
Kate Aronoff, 4/5/23
“Andreas Malm’s 2021 non-fiction book How To Blow Up A Pipeline was a punchy 161-page manifesto on the role of violence in social movements, probing why rich-world climate activists have largely shunned tactics like sabotage,” Kate Aronoff writes for The New Republic. “Director Daniel Goldhammer’s fictionalized film adaptation releasing this week, on the other hand, offers a stylized, tense picture of what the world might look like if they didn’t. Watching it amid soaring oil profits and scant hopes for adequate climate policies in the next few years, it’s hard not to wonder: Why isn’t more of this type of thing happening? Young people, thronging to groups like the Sunrise Movement and Extinction Rebellion, were the ones who propelled the most recent phase of the climate movement, eventually extracting the first and only piece of climate-themed legislation Congress is likely to pass for the foreseeable future: the Inflation Reduction Act… “Instead, the opposite has happened. The Biden administration seems to have doubled down on the dubious idea that extraction can expand indefinitely without compromising the goals of the Paris Agreement. At an oil and gas conference last month, Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm praised executives’ potential to be “brave visionaries,” agreeing with them that fossil fuels will be needed for “decades to come.” “...Activists have already used non-violent means to halt plenty of pipelines here, of course. Ongoing campaigns against the (e.g.) Keystone XL and Atlantic Coast pipelines have employed a combination of civil disobedience and litigation to dissuade investors and policymakers alike. Though these non-violent campaigns are a far cry from what’s shown in the film, that hasn’t stopped the right from codifying any actions that might disrupt fossil fuel infrastructure as terrorism. Those taking direct action against fossil fuel infrastructure face increasingly dire punishments… “Each new climate science report and extreme weather event puts the dire reality of the climate crisis into sharper focus. Obvious, as well, is what’s needed to ward off runaway catastrophe: a rapid and orderly transition off of fossil fuels and the simultaneous build-out of emissions-free alternatives to power a transformed society. That the problem and solution are so painfully clear makes it all the more agonizing that the road to the latter remains so uncertain. Neither the film nor book versions of How to Blow Up A Pipeline posit sabotage as a silver bullet solution for getting governments to enact adequate climate policy. But nothing else has convinced them to, either.”