Energy

Energy efficiency's job potential


With help from Kelsey Tamborrino, Ben Lefebvre and Annie Snider.

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— Energy efficiency measures in some Democratic climate proposals could portend a major job boom, according to new ACEEE research.

— Details for a bipartisan infrastructure plan could drop this week as lawmakers scramble to put together a package before the July 4 recess.

— The Senate Agriculture Committee zeroes in on biofuels today as the Biden administration reportedly considers RFS waivers for some refineries.

HAPPY TUESDAY! I’m your host, Matthew Choi. Sadly, no one knew that Mr. Holland played Beethoven’s 7th Symphony for his students after he discovered his son was deaf in “Mr. Holland’s Opus.” For today’s trivia: What Colombian game involves throwing stones at exploding packets of gunpowder? Send your tips and trivia answers to [email protected]. Find me on Twitter @matthewchoi2018.

Check out the POLITICO Energy podcast — all the energy and environmental politics and policy news you need to start your day, in just five minutes. Listen and subscribe for free at politico.com/energy-podcast. On today’s episode: The dark side of solar panels

RETURNS ON INVESTMENT: The American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy is touting its new study that shows implementing a host new measures included in Democrats’ climate proposals and pushed by ACEEE would create millions of new jobs, cut energy consumption and shrink CO2 emissions if Congress includes them in an infrastructure package.

The study digs into 10 major federal investment proposals for energy efficiency, some of which have backing from the White House and lawmakers. They include HOPE4HOMES, a rebate program for home energy upgrades and contractor training; EV tax credits for chargers and purchases of electric cars and trucks; and funding for state energy offices and local governments to implement energy efficiency measures.

Altogether the programs could create as many as 4.3 million jobs over the lifetime of the investments and add up to $320 billion in energy savings, the study found. The analysis found that the “most transformational long-term market impacts” would be in heat pumps and heat pump water heaters, commercializing new low-carbon industrial technologies, and new zero-energy homes and commercial buildings.

“These investments are designed for both economic and environmental benefits, and they promote social equity through increased investment in affordable housing,” the group wrote in a fact sheet of its findings.

WHAT’S THE PLAN NOW? The bipartisan group of 21 senators working to hammer out an infrastructure plan could drop its proposal as soon as this week, just before the Senate heads out on its two-week Independence Day recess. POLITICO’s Burgess Everett and Marianne Levine reviewed a four-page breakdown of current priorities, and though numbers are still being finalized, the plan would set new spending at $579 billion, with about $1 trillion in total spending, depending on the timeline of the package’s implementation.

A more detailed breakdown per Burgess and Marianne: “$360 billion for roads, bridges and major projects; $48.5 billion for public transit; $66 billion for rail; $55 billion for water infrastructure; $65 billion for broadband and $73 billion for power infrastructure. In addition, the group is proposing spending $47.2 billion on climate resiliency, $25 billion for airports, $10 billion on electric buses and $16 billion for ports.”

The proposal also would bring in pieces of Senate Energy Chair Joe Manchin’s primary energy priorities (which Pro’s Anthony Adragna broke down here), particularly on dealing with abandoned mines, weatherization and climate. The full Energy Committee will debate infrastructure and review Manchin’s proposal at its hearing Thursday.

Meanwhile in the White House, President Joe Biden plans to have at least one infrastructure-focused meeting with lawmakers this week, including one with Manchin and Sen. Kyrsten Sinema on Monday. But press secretary Jen Psaki said the president wants Democrats to pursue via the reconciliation process some of their more ambitious policy priorities that have been soundly rejected by Republicans. POLITICO’s James Bikales has more.

RURAL RENEWABLES: The Senate Agriculture Rural Development and Energy subcommittee meets today on renewable energy opportunities in rural areas. Subcommittee Chair Tina Smith plans to use the hearing to highlight biofuels’ role in emissions reductions, particularly in hard-to-electrify industries like aviation, according to a copy of her opening remarks shared with ME. Smith plans to introduce legislation this week to bolster funding for the REAP program of the Farm Bill’s Energy Title — a program that offers grants for adopting renewable energy systems, including biofuels.

Smith was among the lawmakers who wrote to EPA Administrator Michael Regan and National Economic Council Director Brian Deese last week denouncing recent reports that the administration was considering waiving biofuel blending requirements for some refiners.

One of the witnesses, Emily Skor, CEO of Growth Energy, will cite a new study released by the biofuels trade group today that finds increasing the amount of ethanol in gasoline from 10 to 15 percent nationwide would “add $17.8 billion to U.S. GDP, support more than 182,000 additional jobs, generate $10.5 billion in new household income, and save consumers $12.2 billion in fuel costs,” according to her opening remarks.

Related: Democrats from rural states plan to introduce legislation seeking billions in federal funds to add high-biofuel pumps at gas stations and tax credits for car manufacturers building “flex-fuel vehicles,” Reuters reports.

ELSEWHERE IN COMMITTEE: The House Natural Resources Committee has a hearing today on a number of ocean-related climate bills, including the Ocean-Based Climate Solutions Act of 2021 (H.R. 3764 (117)). More than 130 groups and companies, including Sierra Club, Leagues of Conservation Voters and Patagonia, are writing to House leadership today in support of the legislation, which would bolster offshore wind while barring new offshore fossil fuel activity with some exceptions, among other protective measures for the ocean.

HOME SWEET HOME: Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-Ga.) introduced the Solar Energy Manufacturing for America Act on Monday, aiming to boost domestic solar manufacturing by providing production tax credits through 2028 for U.S. manufacturers at every stage of the solar supply chain, from the production of polysilicon to fully assembled solar modules. The credit, which would phase down starting in 2029 and sunset after 2030, aims to counter China and other countries’ dominance of several parts of the supply chain. The bill is co-sponsored by Democratic Sens. Raphael Warnock (Ga.), Michael Bennet (Colo.) and Debbie Stabenow (Mich.).

The Solar Energy Industries Association chief Abigail Ross Hopper praised the Ossoff bill and called for a tenfold increase in U.S. solar manufacturing capacity. “If we want to compete in this environment, the U.S. government must also invest in its manufacturers across the entire supply chain, and these investments must be long-term and multi-faceted,” Hopper said.

The solar trade group set a target of 50 gigawatts of annual domestic production capacity by 2030, which is equal to more than 150 percent of the 19.2 GW deployed in 2020.

Related: More than 100 clean energy organizations called on lawmakers to enact a 10-year extension of the Investment Tax Credit, and offer a direct pay option for projects claiming the tax break.

CLEAN THAT GRID: House Climate Crisis Chair Kathy Castor (D-Fla.) is introducing legislation today targeted at decongesting the grid in a bid to expand access to renewable energy. Dubbed the Efficient Grid Interconnection Act, the bill would direct FERC to equitably distribute upgrade costs among all network beneficiaries and to require grid operators to look into technologies that improve time and cost efficiency with transmission upgrades.

The bill is cosponsored by Reps. Julia Brownley (D-Calif.), Sean Casten (D-Ill.), Jared Huffman (D-Calif.), Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.) and Scott Peters (D-Calif.). ACORE, Americans for a Clean Energy Grid, SEIA and Earthjustice are among the groups backing the bill.

Refresher: FERC made moves to bolster state-federal cooperation on planning and siting for new transmission lines last week, as Pro’s Eric Wolff covered.

WE WANT WOTUS DETAILS: The entire Republican side of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee wrote EPA Administrator Michael Regan and Jaime Pinkham, the top political official overseeing the Army Corps of Engineers, Monday seeking details on their decision to repeal the Trump-era Navigable Waters Protection Rule and craft a new, more protective version.

“After the Administration’s continued commitments to transparency, engagement, and communication with stakeholders and Congress on this issue, the lack of transparency surrounding the decision to abandon this legally defensible and environmentally sound rule is disheartening,” they wrote. They asked for specifics on the 333 projects the Biden administration said no longer required a Clean Water Act permit under the Trump rule, the “implementation challenges” cited by the agencies and the standards the agencies will use to make permitting decisions as it goes about its repeal and replacement process.

VOGTLE GETS NEW NRC SCRUTINY: The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is opening a special inspection into one of the only two major nuclear reactors under construction in the U.S. as repeated delays and ballooning costs continue to hamper the project. The inspection will dive into Unit 3 of the Vogtle nuclear plant in Georgia, specifically construction remediation work on the electrical cable raceway system that supports cables used to power safety-related equipment. Pro’s Kelsey Tamborrino has more.

OIL PRESSURE: A surge in oil prices threatens to add a little more heat to the Biden administration energy policy. The U.S. spot futures price for WTI jumped nearly $2 a barrel to move above $73 on Monday, nearly double the low it hit in October, and Bank Of America analysts are predicting it could touch $100 this year.

The rebounding economy is spurring demand, but refineries are struggling to keep production apace. But no matter — as Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) showed yesterday by blaming “President Biden’s economy” for higher prices at the gas pump, opposition lawmakers likely to blame the White House for any hike in gasoline prices.

Psaki slapped down Jordan’s attack, noting that the economy at this point last year fuel demand wasn’t exactly in great shakes. But ME still expects some Republicans to wield higher prices as a cudgel against the Biden administration’s promotion of ESG investing standards and green energy projects.

Higher crude prices could also affect infrastructure talks if lawmakers think too much money is being thrown at green energy projects that won’t start producing for years and not enough going to help fossil fuel companies cover the here-and-now, a theory some investors are putting money behind. Higher gasoline prices could also be a nail in the coffin for lawmakers calling for raising the gasoline tax to cover the bill’s cost.

Oil companies themselves are caught in the middle with higher prices. While oil above $70 a barrel will help pad out the bottom lines that were crushed last year, getting too close to the triple-digits raises the specter of drivers voting with their pocketbook and accelerating the switch to electric vehicles. There’s plenty that could slam on the brakes before crude gets that far — including the U.S. removing lifting sanctions on Iran’s oil exports — but if the trendline continues skyward, it won’t be just the Biden White House feeling the pressure.

ST CROIX REFINERY SHUTS ITS DOORS: Lime Tree announced it was halting operations at its troubled refinery in St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands. The plant, which rained oil droplets on the local community earlier this year, is awash in debt and faces a series of other environmental concerns. The closure isn’t the company’s first, having shut down under a previous owner due to financial problems, The Washington Post reports. But Monday’s closure looks likely to be its last.

“The Trump administration never should have allowed [the new owners] to restart because they were very inexperienced. They didn’t know what they were doing, and within days of restarting experienced significant environmental problems,” Judith Enck, a former Environmental Protection Agency official who monitored the plant under the Obama administration, told the Post. “I was extremely concerned when I learned that an LLC with no experience was attempting to restart a major facility like this.”

DUKE SEEKS TO RENEW S.C. NUCLEAR LICENSES: Duke Energy is looking to renew the operating license for South Carolina’s Oconee Nuclear Station for an additional 20 years. The energy company filed an application with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to renew the licenses for Oconee, Duke Energy’s largest nuclear station, which remain current through the early 2030s, the company said Monday. The second license renewal would extend the operating licenses to 2053 and 2054. The request marks Duke Energy’s first to the NRC for subsequent license renewal of a nuclear station.

Meyer Seligman has been named DOE’s National Renewable energy Laboratory’s director for government relations. Seligman has been a professional staff member for the Senate Appropriations Energy and Water Development Subcommittee.

Jared Mullendore is joining the Renewable Fuels Association as its new director of government affairs. Mullendore has previously served as district director for former Rep. Abby Finkenauer (D-Iowa) and as a staffer for former Rep. David Loebsack (D-Iowa).

— Janet Coit was named assistant administrator of NOAA Fisheries, effective Monday. Coit will also serve as acting assistant secretary of commerce for oceans and atmosphere and deputy NOAA administrator. She previously directed the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management.

— “Iran’s sole nuclear power plant undergoes emergency shutdown,” via The Associated Press.

— “SEC Wants More Climate Disclosures. Businesses Are Preparing for a Fight,” via The Wall Street Journal.

— “Exxon Prepares to Cull U.S. White-Collar Ranks by Up to 10%,” via Bloomberg.

THAT’S ALL FOR ME!





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