Don't expect common sense in Washington DC
Posted: Fri Dec 16, 2022 10:45 am
End of the line for permitting bill, but 2023 fight looms. E&E News.
Sen. Joe Manchin’s attempt to overhaul environmental rules for energy projects failed in the Senate on Thursday, ending a monthslong effort from the West Virginia Democrat. After the 47-47 vote, Manchin blasted Senate Republicans — most of whom voted against the measure. “Once again, Mitch McConnell and Republican leadership have put their own political agenda above the needs of the American people,” Manchin said in a statement, citing high energy costs and the Mountain Valley pipeline, a contentious natural gas project in his state whose advancement was included in the bill. The vote underscored disagreements between Democrats and Republicans about how the federal government should handle the major electric transmission projects that will be needed to add scores of new wind and solar projects to the grid. It could be a defining political issue for the energy transition over the next several years.
Biden administration attempts to reconcile with oil and gas industry. Oil & Gas 360.
Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm extended an olive branch to the oil and gas industry, telling executives at a meeting in Washington that she recognizes fossil fuels will be around for a long time, even as the Biden administration works to transition away from them to cleaner alternatives. “We are eager to work with you,” she said at the Wednesday meeting of the National Petroleum Council, an outside federal advisory group that includes executives from Exxon Mobil Corp. and Royal Dutch Shell Plc. “Moving too fast could have unintended consequences that hurt people and cause backlash.” Her remarks come at the end of a year that’s seen a deterioration in the relationship between the industry and the White House. Biden has accused fossil fuel companies of price gouging and has weighed additional taxes on their profits as well as curbs on exports of refined oil products.
Are grid reliability and fuel affordability at odds with climate goals? Forbes. Opinion.
The electric grid is under attack. America just experienced a rifle assault on a substation in North Carolina that shut off power to 45,000 people. But now it is at risk of a winter strike — threats ranging from extreme cold to fuel shortages to infrastructure limitations. With that, the North American Electric Reliability Corp. (NERC) provides a gloomy risk assessment, saying harsh weather conditions will test the system’s performance this winter. The “mid-continent” — from Minnesota down to Texas — could get hit the hardest, given that power plant retirements have eaten into reserve margins. “There’s a rush to electrification,” says Jim Robb, chief executive of NERC, during a symposium hosted by the United States Energy Association. “Twenty percent of the end use is now in electricity, and the rest is primarily oil and natural gas. If you took it to the extreme, it would imply a five-times increase in electricity demand.” The grid must expand, he says, noting that there will be no tolerance for reliability issues and energy shortages.
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The Climate Change Wackos control Washington. As long as we keep doubling down on wind and solar, the more power outages we will have. Regardless of how electricity is generated, the US power grid cannot handle much more demand.
Sen. Joe Manchin’s attempt to overhaul environmental rules for energy projects failed in the Senate on Thursday, ending a monthslong effort from the West Virginia Democrat. After the 47-47 vote, Manchin blasted Senate Republicans — most of whom voted against the measure. “Once again, Mitch McConnell and Republican leadership have put their own political agenda above the needs of the American people,” Manchin said in a statement, citing high energy costs and the Mountain Valley pipeline, a contentious natural gas project in his state whose advancement was included in the bill. The vote underscored disagreements between Democrats and Republicans about how the federal government should handle the major electric transmission projects that will be needed to add scores of new wind and solar projects to the grid. It could be a defining political issue for the energy transition over the next several years.
Biden administration attempts to reconcile with oil and gas industry. Oil & Gas 360.
Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm extended an olive branch to the oil and gas industry, telling executives at a meeting in Washington that she recognizes fossil fuels will be around for a long time, even as the Biden administration works to transition away from them to cleaner alternatives. “We are eager to work with you,” she said at the Wednesday meeting of the National Petroleum Council, an outside federal advisory group that includes executives from Exxon Mobil Corp. and Royal Dutch Shell Plc. “Moving too fast could have unintended consequences that hurt people and cause backlash.” Her remarks come at the end of a year that’s seen a deterioration in the relationship between the industry and the White House. Biden has accused fossil fuel companies of price gouging and has weighed additional taxes on their profits as well as curbs on exports of refined oil products.
Are grid reliability and fuel affordability at odds with climate goals? Forbes. Opinion.
The electric grid is under attack. America just experienced a rifle assault on a substation in North Carolina that shut off power to 45,000 people. But now it is at risk of a winter strike — threats ranging from extreme cold to fuel shortages to infrastructure limitations. With that, the North American Electric Reliability Corp. (NERC) provides a gloomy risk assessment, saying harsh weather conditions will test the system’s performance this winter. The “mid-continent” — from Minnesota down to Texas — could get hit the hardest, given that power plant retirements have eaten into reserve margins. “There’s a rush to electrification,” says Jim Robb, chief executive of NERC, during a symposium hosted by the United States Energy Association. “Twenty percent of the end use is now in electricity, and the rest is primarily oil and natural gas. If you took it to the extreme, it would imply a five-times increase in electricity demand.” The grid must expand, he says, noting that there will be no tolerance for reliability issues and energy shortages.
----------------------------
The Climate Change Wackos control Washington. As long as we keep doubling down on wind and solar, the more power outages we will have. Regardless of how electricity is generated, the US power grid cannot handle much more demand.