ICYMI: PERMITTING REFORM PASSES COMMITTEE: The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee easily approved Sens. Joe Manchin and John Barrasso’s proposal to streamline the approval process for both fossil fuel and electric power transmission projects.
Now, all eyes are on the Senate floor – and Majority Leader Chuck Schumer.
The deets: The measure received an overwhelming amount of bipartisan support, passing the panel in a 15-4 vote. A group of liberal lawmakers, along with one Republican, voted against the proposal: Sens. Ron Wyden, Bernie Sanders, Mazie Hirono, and Josh Hawley.
Reasons for the opposition: While Wyden acknowledged that the bill has “useful provisions,” he argued it conflicts with the intent of the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act, which authorized hundreds of billions of dollars in subsidies for clean energy technologies. He noted, specifically, that he had problems with provisions that would require the pairing of fossil fuel and renewable projects to be considered, end the Biden administration’s pause on new approvals for liquified natural gas exports, and shorten deadlines for litigation against fossil fuel projects.
Amendments that failed or were withdrawn: Wyden proposed an amendment that would permanently prohibit offshore drilling on the outer Continental Shelf off the coast of California, Oregon, and Washington. The amendment, however, failed.
Sen. Lisa Murkowski, along with Sen. Steve Daines, introduced a number of provisions that would streamline hydropower projects, but a number were withdrawn to be considered at a separate hearing. Manchin had announced at the beginning of the hearing that the committee would consider the amendments during a mark-up of a public lands package in September.
Another notable amendment, introduced by Sanders, would strike provisions that would require the energy secretary to approve or deny all future applications exporting LNG to non-free-trade-agreement countries within 90 days. The lines in the bill would end the Energy Department’s pause on new LNG export approvals and prevent it from instituting a new one.
Another amendment that would require onshore oil and gas lease sales in certain states was proposed by Daines, Murkowski, and Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith, but that amendment also failed.
The amendment that passed: A provision introduced by Sens. Angus King, Jim Risch, and Daines would advance projects protecting forests and infrastructure from wildfires. Manchin voted against the amendment, reasoning the permitting proposal already includes measures to do what the lawmakers intended – and that the amendment would “likely lead to confusion.” The measure passed, 12-7.
Next steps: It’s unlikely that the amended bill will be brought to the floor before November’s election, as it would be a tough vote for Democrats to approve streamlining fossil fuel projects. Furthermore, Republicans would be reluctant to give Democrats a win. However, it’s possible the measure could gain traction during the lame-duck session – and both Manchin and Schumer are talking about the bill. Read more from Nancy here.
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A SCOOPLET ON RISEE ACT: Sens. Bill Cassidy and Sheldon Whitehouse are planning to advance a coastal infrastructure bill at a hearing next month, after scrapping discussions about adding it as an amendment to the permitting reform proposal that passed out of committee today.
The bipartisan duo sought to include the “Reinvesting in Shoreline Economies and Ecosystems Act” as an amendment to the permitting reform bill during today’s mark-up, Whitehouse told Nancy. The RISEE Act would direct revenue streams from offshore and onshore energy projects to states to use for coastal restoration and conservation.
But the RISEE Act is not among the 60 amendments filed to be proposed for addition to the permitting bill. Whitehouse had said that if he and Cassidy were not able to get the measure considered during Wednesday’s committee meeting, it would instead be taken up in a separate September markup.
“We’ve worked out an alternative arrangement,” Cassidy said on Tuesday.
The reason: A Senate aide said committee leadership had only allowed for amendments that wouldn’t affect spending levels to be introduced at the markup since it was unclear what the cost estimate of the permitting bill would be. Amendments that would need a cost estimate from the Congressional Budget Office would be pushed to the September markup. The legislative vehicle for the amendments is likely to be a public lands bill, Manchin announced today.
The plan to consider amendments that require CBO scores at a later date was undertaken to ensure the smooth passage of the permitting reform bill out of committee and prevent other measures from complicating its approval. Some amendments were withdrawn during Wednesday’s markup of the permitting reform bill, with an agreement to consider the measures during September’s hearing. Read more on that here.
CRUDE OIL FUTURES CLIMB AFTER HAMAS LEADER ASSASSINATION: Oil prices rose almost 3% on Wednesday following the killing of Hamas’s leader in Iran, wreaking geopolitical havoc in the Middle East. Crude prices were up after a decline that lasted seven weeks.
As Reuters writes, Brent crude futures for September increased by $2.08, or 2.8%, to $80.71 a barrel, while October contracts were up $2.60 at $80.71. West Texas Intermediate crude futures climbed $3.02 to $77.75 per barrel.
What’s driving the change: Hamas’ leader, Ismail Haniyeh, was killed Wednesday by an airstrike in the Iranian capital.
“Overnight developments and elevated geopolitical risk merely provide temporary reprieve for oil benchmarks. Unless oil and gas infrastructure is hit, the latest spike is unlikely to last,” Gaurav Sharma, an independent oil analyst in London, told Reuters. Read more on that here.
BYD WANTS TO ENTER CANADA’S ECONOMY: Chinese electric vehicle manufacturer BYD wants to lobby for its vehicles in Canada’s market, amid efforts from Justin Trudeau’s government to rein in Chinese EV imports, Bloomberg reports.
Lobbyists with BYD registered to approach officials and lawmakers to advocate for the company’s expected entryway into the market.
However: Canada is set to wrap-up a 30-day public consultation period on measures to help clamp down on Chinese EV imports – marking the first step before the country can bring forth any tariffs on the cars. The tariffs are meant to coincide with similar efforts from the U.S. and the European Union. Canada is also considering banning Chinese investment in new Canadian factories.
The conflict here: Canada’s government, along with labor groups, believes the action is necessary to even out the global playing field for Canadian auto workers and its EV industry to compete with Beijing. However, climate groups say that more affordable EVs are needed to speed up consumer adoption and reduce emissions. Read more here.
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