EXCLUSIVE POLL – VOTERS WANT CONSUMER CHOICE IN REDUCING EMISSIONS: A new survey commissioned by Citizens for Responsible Energy Solutions has found that, while most Americans support more government action for clean energy solutions, that stops short of so-called EV mandates.
The details: Around 71% of American voters have said they support the federal government taking action to increase development for clean energy. This was consistent down party lines, with the majorities of Republicans (50%), Democrats (95%), and Independents (61%) all in agreement. However, nearly the same amount of voters (68%) also said they oppose “bans on gas-powered vehicles” – including 50% of Democrats.
When asked to choose between a possible ban on gas and diesel engines or allowing for all types of vehicles to be on the roads, voters widely supported having consumer choice. Approximately 82% said they would prefer to see all types of engines available on the market, as long as the fuel used has lower greenhouse gas emissions. Only 18% said they would support a ban.
Some background: Republicans have targeted several rules issued by the Environmental Protection Agency to lower carbon emissions from gas and diesel-powered cars while increasing the fleet of EVs on the roads. The EPA has said some of these rules will require upwards of 67% of passenger vehicles to be EVs or hybrids by 2032. As a result, critics have dubbed these rules as bans on gas vehicles and mandates for EVs.
Related: The House of Representatives approved a joint resolution today that would cancel the EPA’s tailpipe emissions standards in a 215-191 vote. Eight Democrats sided with Republicans in the vote in a surprising break with the administration, which vowed to veto the resolution earlier in the morning. Read more here.
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A LOOK AHEAD: Next Thursday the American Council for Capital Formation will be hosting a bipartisan discussion on energy policy following the November election.
The details: Shaping Energy Policy in the Next Presidency and Congress will be held on Sept. 26 at 9am in the Longworth House Office Building. Reps. Buddy Carter of Georgia and Scott Peters of California are expected to kick off the event on a Congressional panel. Their discussion will be followed by a panel featuring top industry executives including Solar Energy Industries Associations President and CEO Abigail Ross Hopper, Nuclear Institute President and CEO Maria Korsnick, American Petroleum Institute President and CEO Mike Sommers, and American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers President and CEO Chet Thompson.
The discussion is expected to focus on energy policy covering climate change, trade tax provisions, as well as regulations. ACCF has said it will be the first in a series of public forums leading up to the election.
BRENT CRUDE ENDS THE WEEK NEAR $75: Oil ended the week up about 5%, with Brent crude closing near $75.
After falling below $70 briefly earlier this month, prices have now recovered, apparently thanks in large part to the Federal Reserve’s half-percentage-point rate cut Wednesday, which also led to higher prices for other risk assets.
“U.S. interest rate cuts have supported risk sentiment, weakened the dollar and supported crude this week,” Giovanni Staunovo, an analyst at UBS, told CNBC.
Prices were also supported by a large dip in U.S. crude oil inventories. On Wednesday, the Energy Information Administration said stockpiles dropped by around 1.6 million barrels hitting 417.5 million barrels last week – the lowest level in a year. The dips excluded the Strategic Petroleum Reserve.
BIG MOVES FOR NUCLEAR: Constellation Energy revealed today that it plans to reopen Pennsylvania’s Three Mile Island nuclear plant, the site of the worst nuclear accident in U.S. history, to help Microsoft meet the growing need for energy for artificial intelligence. The revival would be the latest and most dramatic effort by the industry to meet immense power demand coming from AI-focused data centers.
The details: The company said it would be restarting the plant’s Unit 1 reactor, which shut down five years ago. If the reopening of the plant is approved by regulators, Microsoft and Constellation Energy will enter a 20-year purchasing agreement. The plant, to be renamed the Crane Clean Energy Center, would be expected to come back online in 2028 and extend its operations until at least 2054.
Constellation Energy said reopening the plant would create more than 3,000 jobs and add over 800 megawatts of carbon-free electricity to the grid. It is also anticipated to boost Pennsylvania’s GDP by $16 billion, generating over $3 billion in state and federal taxes.
Some background: Microsoft isn’t the only major tech company looking to power its high energy-demanding AI data centers through nuclear. Amazon entered an agreement with Talen Energy earlier this year to purchase the decades-old Susquehanna nuclear plant in Pennsylvania. However, the agreement has been criticized by utility companies that say it will lead to less power available on the grid, harming consumers.
BILLIONS GOING TO BATTERIES: The Biden administration announced today that more than $3 billion will be awarded to more than two dozen projects dedicated to producing batteries vital for the national power grid and electric vehicles.
The details: The Department of Energy revealed that 25 projects in 14 states will receive the funding that stems from the 2021 Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. The administration has said the investments will support more than 8,000 construction jobs and over 4,000 operating jobs.
The projects will cover a wide range of aspects for battery production including recycling, manufacturing, as well as extracting and processing minerals and other key components. While some of the projects are expected to focus on traditional chemistries such as lithium-ion, the administration said non-lithium-ion technologies will also be covered.
“Today’s game-changing announcement is helping support the technologies that we need in the market today, the components that we will need in the near future, and the innovative technologies we need to advance our vision for a circular domestic battery supply chain that positions the United States to continue leading the global effort on clean energy,” White House National Climate Advisor Ali Zaidi said in a statement.
Some background: The U.S. has sought to decrease its reliance on China, which has dominated the EV battery market as the leading producer of lithium-ion batteries. Earlier this month, the Biden administration finalized increases for steep tariffs on Chinese imports, including a 100% duty on EVs and 25% on EV batteries and key minerals. The tariff hikes are expected to go into effect next Friday.
CHINA AND JAPAN REACH DEAL OVER RADIOACTIVE FUKUSHIMA WATER: China may resume importing seafood from Japan thanks to a new deal between the two countries over the handling of the discharge of radioactive wastewater from the Fukushima disaster site, Reuters reports.
Japan has agreed to establish an international monitoring arrangement and allow for independent sampling. And China, which used to be Japan’s top market for seafood exports, said that it would gradually resume imports.
The background: China cut off imports last year after Japan began the release of more than a million metric tons of treated radioactive water into the ocean. The International Atomic Energy Agency had reviewed Japan’s plan and said that it would result in negligible radioactive damage to the environment and humans.
CLEAN FUEL SUCCESS: California has seen levels of greenhouse gas emissions significantly drop in recent years, state regulators revealed today, crediting the increased use of clean fuels.
The details: In 2022, the Golden State saw greenhouse gas emissions decline by around 2.4% from the previous year, according to data released by the California Air Resources Board. The percentage grows even more when looking at the transportation sector alone, which saw the largest decrease in emissions year-over-year at around 5.2 million metric tons (3.6%). Regulators claimed that a reduction in gas and diesel use made a significant contribution to the emissions drop.
Other markets also saw large drops in emissions, including the electricity sector, which reported its lowest carbon intensity in 2022 since 2000. With wind and solar making up for 30% of electricity generation in the state, California saw an emissions reduction of 2.6 million metric tons (4.1%). Industrial emissions declined by 1.5 million metric tons (2%), which regulators said was primarily from reductions in oil and gas.
Overall, CARB found that, from 2000 to 2022, emissions in California have dropped by around 20%. At the same time, regulators said, the state’s GDP grew by 78%.
Key quote: “California is proving that climate action goes hand-in-hand with economic growth,” Gov. Gavin Newsom said in a statement. “We’ve slashed carbon pollution by a whopping 20% since the turn of the century all while building the world’s fifth largest economy. Cleaner air, more good jobs – that’s the California way.”
ICYMI, NO U.S. LNG PLANTS FOR CHEVRON: Chevron executives revealed yesterday that the oil and gas company has no plans to invest in building LNG plants in the U.S., sticking to selling gas directly into the market.
The details: Colin Parfitt, vice president of Chevron’s Midstream, told Reuters that Chevron does not need to convert gas into LNG to boost its production and sales.
“We chose not to do the owning and operating but we do deals that allow us to have production of gas in the U.S. and translate it into LNG for our customers,” Parfitt said.
Parfitt pointed to typical delays that occur in large LNG projects as well as the Biden administration’s pause on LNG export approvals as hurdles. He explained that the company was not planning on taking an equity stake in Woodside Energy’s expected purchase of the Driftwood LNG project in Louisiana. Woodside has reportedly said it plans to sell up to 50% stake. The Driftwood project is expected to have a capacity of 27.6 million tons.
RUNDOWN
Associated Press Hotter summers are making high school football a fatal game for some players
The Guardian ‘It’s guerrilla warfare’: Brazil fire teams fight Amazon blazes – and the arsonists who start them
Deutsche Welle Heat pumps: Why Germany’s heating revolution is stalling
Christian Science Monitor What a Tunisian exodus says about the future of global migration
Vox The extremely messy, profoundly confusing fight over who should profit from animal DNA