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The 10 Energy Stories That Defined 2017

January 3, 2018

The 10 Energy Stories That Defined 2017

Electricity

As 2017 comes to a close, it’s time to review the top energy stories of the year. There are several stories that could compete for the year’s top spot, but this year I have decided to list the stories roughly in the order they occurred during the year. Thus, the recent tax reform bill, which would be the top energy story on some lists, is near the end.

Here are the stories that shaped the year in energy.

Executive Orders on Pipelines

Just after he was sworn in last January, President Trump signed executive orders on two stalled pipeline projects. One was the Keystone XL Pipeline rejected by his predecessor. Trump asked TransCanada, the pipeline’s backer, to reapply for the permit. Shortly after, the company did just that, and the permit was approved.

The other project backed by Trump was the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL). The $3.8 billion project had been halted by President Barack Obama following months of protests. Trump instructed the Secretary of the Army to cut through the red tape that had stalled the project. That directive was followed, the project was restarted, and oil began to flow through the pipeline in May.

Repeal of the Clean Power Plan

In March, Donald Trump signed an executive order that instructed EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt to begin the process of dismantling the Clean Power Plan (CPP). The CPP was first proposed by the Obama administration in 2014 and would have required states to cut carbon dioxide emissions from existing coal- and gas-fired power plants, targeting an emissions reduction of 30 percent below 2005 levels by 2030.

An Exodus from the Oil Sands

Citing high costs and better opportunities in U.S. shale oil, oil majors like Statoil, Shell, and ConocoPhillips sold off $24 billion in assets in Canada’s oil sands sector. Other majors, like Total, have indicated they will follow suit.

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Renewable Energy: Why Emissions and the Economy Don’t Tell the Whole Story

August 13, 2015

Renewable Energy: Why Emissions and the Economy Don’t Tell the Whole Story 

Last week, President Obama announced the Clean Power Plan, the United States’ strongest climate policy to date. The plan aims to reduce coal-fired power plant emissions by allowing states to devise their own plans to reach federally-mandated emissions reduction targets. This choose-your-own-adventure policy could send states down very different paths, some worse for the environment and community resilience than others.

A bragging point for the Clean Power Plan is its flexibility; all currently identified low-carbon energy sources can play a role in state plans, including natural gas, nuclear, hydropower and other renewables. But despite the low-carbon nature these energy technologies share, they differ greatly in overall community and environmental benefit. Natural gas is abundantly available today due to controversial fracking technology (most of which occurs near rural communities); hydropower requires dam construction (sometimes on massive scales); and nuclear power comes with the risk of disastrous accidents, issues around extraction and long-term storage problems.

The final Clean Power Plan rule does emphasize renewable energy and energy efficiency over natural gas; a “Clean Energy Incentive Program” provides credits that can be traded later as part of emissions trading systems to states that expand wind, solar and energy efficiency efforts in the two years before state implementation plans take effect. However, shifting from coal to natural gas is one of the three building blocks EPA used in calculating state goals, so states are still permitted to emphasize natural gas in their implementation plans, even if it’s not incentivized. Shifting from one fossil fuel to another is not a sustainable energy future for any state, even if it slightly reduces greenhouse gas emissions.

– See more at: http://www.iatp.org/blog/201508/renewable-energy-why-emissions-and-the-economy-don’t-tell-the-whole-story#sthash.efdtxaKW.dpuf

 

EPA’s Clean Power Plan Tougher Than Expected

August 4, 2015

EPA’s Clean Power Plan Tougher Than Expected

The Obama administration unveiled a much-anticipated, controversial rule on the regulation of greenhouse gases from power plants on August 3.

The first-of-their-kind limits on carbon pollution from existing power plants will actually require slightly tougher cuts than the original proposal. The EPA is calling for a 32 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions from power plants below 2005 levels by 2030. That is up from the 30 percent target as part of last year’s proposal.

However, the EPA did throw the industry, and its opponents in Congress, a bone.

In the final rule, the Obama administration will allow for two extra years for utilities to hit their interim targets of achieving a 25 percent reduction in greenhouse gases, with a deadline of 2022 instead of 2020. The EPA also offered up a “reliability safety valve,” which would allow states more leniency with deadlines in the event that the reliability of the electric grid came into question.

Under the final rule, the administration also decided to give new nuclear power plants credit towards the federal emissions target, as nuclear generates electricity without carbon emissions. That probably won’t be an avenue that many states pursue outside of a handful of nuclear power plants under construction in Georgia, Tennessee, and South Carolina.

Related: Top 6 Myths Driving Oil Prices Down

The EPA estimates that the so-called “Clean Power Plan” will cost $8.4 billion annually by 2030 when implemented, but yield public-health and other benefits of $34 to $54 billion, including avoiding thousands of premature deaths each year.

The plan will accelerate a trend towards cleaner sources of electricity. The plan expects renewable energy to more than double its share of the electricity market, jumping from 13 percent in 2014 to 28 percent by 2030.

 

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Coal Is Doomed Even If It Wins Against EPA In Courts

May 20, 2015

Coal Is Doomed Even If It Wins Against EPA In Courts

The controversy over the Environmental Protection Agency’s Clean Power Plan has become the latest chapter in the chronicle of President Obama’s so-called ‘war on coal’. The plan promises many things, chief among them the health and climate benefits accrued by switching to cleaner burning fuels. But a case before the DC Circuit Court has the potential to derail the plan before it even comes into effect, with implications for US coal producers and the national clean energy debate.

The new regulations have their critics, led by coal companies and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R- KY), who has personally urged the nation’s 50 governors to ignore the rules. While this may seem like just another example of partisan politics, the latest case, if successful, could seriously curtail the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) powers. A victory for coal would be a blow for the environmental lobby and the federal government.

The dispute over the Clean Power Plan centers on its proposal to cut pollution from power plants by assigning tough emissions reductions targets on a state-by-state basis. The goal is to reduce carbon pollution from the power sector by 30 percent by 2030 from 2005 levels. Existing coal-fired plants, as the biggest polluters, will be the most affected. Opponents argue that the federal government is overreaching its regulatory authority prescribed under Section 111(d) of the Clean Air Act. The EPA is expected to release the final rules midsummer this year.

 

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