| | | | |  | | By Matthew Choi | | | With help from Daniel Lippman. Editor's note: Morning Energy is a free version of POLITICO Pro Energy's morning newsletter, which is delivered to our subscribers each morning at 6 a.m. The POLITICO Pro platform combines the news you need with tools you can use to take action on the day's biggest stories. Act on the news with POLITICO Pro.
| | | — The Commerce Department's probe into Southeast Asian solar imports could keep fossil fuels on the grid longer, undermining President Joe Biden's climate goals. — CEQ Chair Brenda Mallory testifies before the Senate Wednesday. — House and Senate committees continue to examine Biden's budget requests this week, including for the Agriculture Department and DOE's science and energy programs. WELCOME TO MONDAY! I'm your host, Matthew Choi, still dragging my feet through Covid. Martin Edwards of Taft Advisors gets the trivia for knowing The Inn at Little Washington is the only restaurant in the D.C. area with three Michelin stars, but it was great to hear from so many foodies! For today: Which NSYNC member voiced Chip Skylark in "The Fairly Odd Parents"? Send your tips, trivia answers and restaurant recs to mchoi@politico.com. 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: How renewables can grow in fossil fuel-dependent states.
| | | | A SOLAR SHOWDOWN COULD LEAD TO A RENEWABLE SLOWDOWN: Solar power has enjoyed meteoric growth over the past 10 years, with lower-than-expected prices incentivizing development and even changing models away from fossil fuel baseload generation toward a more central role for renewables. But all that could change with a Commerce Department probe into the solar supply chain chilling investment in new projects, POLITICO's Kelsey Tamborrino and Catherine Morehouse report. "It's just the math," said Richard McMahon, senior vice president of energy supply and finance at the Edison Electric Institute. "You need to maintain reliability on the grid and if you can't count on those solar projects coming online in a timely way, then you have to get the power from somewhere." The tariff petition, brought on by small California solar manufacturer Auxin Solar over parts imported from Southeast Asia, already delayed the retirement of a coal plant in Indiana, and utilities, industry groups and analysts warn more fossil fuel generation could stay on line longer as well. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm joined the chorus of concern, telling senators Thursday the country could miss President Joe Biden's goal of decarbonizing the electricity sector by 2035 if the probe isn't resolved quickly. The Solar Energy Industries Association forecasts that going through with the tariff petition could lead to an additional 364 million metric tons of carbon by 2035. A Commerce Department spokesperson told Kelsey and Catherine that the probe doesn't take into account political considerations and "Commerce is committed to holding foreign producers accountable to playing by the same rules as U.S. producers." And Auxin Solar CEO Mamun Rashid said in a statement that industry concern over the supply chain "crystallizes the need to completely on-shore the solar supply chain and to stop putting our country's clean energy future in the hands of the Chinese." Read more from Kelsey and Catherine here. RELATED READ: Zooming out for a 10,000-foot view of the Biden administration's trade policy, POLITICO's Gavin Bade takes a deep dive into the shifting politics of global trade as the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the economic pain of pandemic supply chain disruptions turn past assumptions on trade on their head. As Gavin puts it: "Trump's election in 2016 transformed a pro-globalization GOP and shocked Democrats into refocusing on working class voters hurt by trade deals. Then, shortages of masks and medical gear early in the Covid pandemic revealed the danger of America's reliance on China. The supply chain crunches and inflation of the late pandemic disproved the thesis that free trade always lowers consumer prices. And then Russia destroyed the postwar European peace that all the free trade was supposed to support — ushering in a new era of world politics."
| | | | STEP INSIDE THE WEST WING: What's really happening in West Wing offices? Find out who's up, who's down, and who really has the president's ear in our West Wing Playbook newsletter, the insider's guide to the Biden White House and Cabinet. For buzzy nuggets and details that you won't find anywhere else, subscribe today. | | | | | | | | IN COMMITTEE: Welcome back to another busy week on the Hill. White House Council on Environmental Quality Brenda Mallory heads before the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee on Wednesday to discuss the council's work over the past year. The oversight hearing comes as CEQ continues work on its Justice40 screener to determine communities eligible for greater environmental prioritization. The White House announced Jalonne White-Newsome would take charge of CEQ's environmental justice work Thursday. Both chambers continue to tackle the president's budget request this week, with a Senate Appropriations subcommittee meeting Tuesday to go over the Department of Agriculture's budget and a House Appropriations subcommittee meeting Tuesday for the Transportation Department's proposal. The House Appropriations Energy and Water Development Subcommittee meets Wednesday to go over the budget request for the National Nuclear Security Administration and environmental management, and it'll meet Thursday to go over DOE's science and energy programs. Also on Thursday, the House Energy and Commerce Committee will dive into licensing reforms for hydropower, particularly proposals between environmentalists and the industry to create sustainable generation as waterways degrade from climate change. On the legislation front: the House Natural Resources has a few subcommittee hearings this week including a Thursday Energy and Mineral Resources Subcommittee meeting on reforming the Mine Act of 1872. House Natural Resources Chair Raúl Grijalva is leading legislation, The Clean Energy Minerals Reform Act (H.R. 7580), in the House to update hardrock mining legislation, particularly as elements such as copper, lithium and nickel grow in importance amid the clean energy transition. Sen. Martin Heinrich is leading companion legislation in the Senate. The Water, Oceans and Wildlife Subcommittee and the Subcommittee on Indigenous Peoplesalso have legislative hearings on Thursday on a number of bills in their jurisdiction, including the WaterSMART Access for Tribes Act (H.R. 6238) to increase tribal water conservation grants and the Desalination Research Advancement Act ( H.R. 7612) to promote desalination innovation. The National Parks, Forests, and Public Lands Subcommittee has a hearing on Wednesday on four recreation and forestry bills. The Senate Energy National Parks Subcommittee will also hear testimony on a series of national parks and federal lands bills Wednesday.
| | | | A message from ExxonMobil: At ExxonMobil, we're working to supply the energy the world needs today, while developing solutions for tomorrow. Heavy transportation needs big solutions. Innovations like renewable diesel made from plants could help reduce emissions from trucks by about 3 million metric tons per year, compared to conventional fuel. Learn more about how we're helping society move toward a net-zero future at ExxonMobil.com/fuels. | | | | | | BIDEN'S HOSTING AGENDA: Biden will host Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi at the White House on Tuesday to discuss both European sanctions on Russia (more on that in a bit) and ways to ensure European energy security. Before the invasion of Ukraine, Italy was one of Russia's top natural gas customers. But it has since made moves to cut down on its reliance on Moscow, looking at other suppliers including Algeria. Biden will also host ASEAN leaders at the White House for dinner Thursday, followed by a summit Friday at the State Department. ASEAN members Indonesia and Malaysia are among the world's top natural gas producers. RENEWED TSA CHIEF: Biden plans to nominate David Pekoske for another stint leading the Transportation Security Administration, the White House announced Friday. The agency's role in overseeing pipeline security has come under increased scrutiny since the Colonial Pipeline cyberattack last year and TSA's contentious cybersecurity standards earlier this year . Pekoske was first confirmed for the job in 2017, but left briefly for stints with the Department of Homeland Security, including serving as acting secretary and acting deputy secretary during the Colonial hack. POLITICO's Oriana Pawlyk has more.
| | | | DON'T MISS DIGITAL FUTURE DAILY - OUR TECHNOLOGY NEWSLETTER, RE-IMAGINED: Technology is always evolving, and our new tech-obsessed newsletter is too! Digital Future Daily unlocks the most important stories determining the future of technology, from Washington to Silicon Valley and innovation power centers around the world. Readers get an in-depth look at how the next wave of tech will reshape civic and political life, including activism, fundraising, lobbying and legislating. Go inside the minds of the biggest tech players, policymakers and regulators to learn how their decisions affect our lives. Don't miss out, subscribe today. | | | | | | | | THE CENTRAL EUROPEAN EXCEPTION: European negotiators are still working out a deal on sanctioning Russian oil without tanking the economies of some of their more Moscow-reliant states. Negotiators put forth a proposal that would give Hungary and Slovakia until the end of 2024 and the Czech Republic until the summer of 2024 to comply with the EU-wide sunset of Russian oil imports, POLITICO's Jacopo Barigazzi reports. But negotiators couldn't reach a deal over the weekend after the Hungarian government continued to object. One diplomat told Jacopo and POLITICO's Leonie Kijewski: "They want something like a total opt-out. But that's crazy." Talks are expected to resume today or Tuesday. G-7 members — who include EU members France, Germany and Italy — committed to phasing out or banning the import of Russian oil during a meeting Sunday, the White House announced. The members met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and "committed to work together to ensure stable global energy supplies, while accelerating our efforts to reduce dependence on fossil fuels." WARMING WARNING IN CALIFORNIA: Climate change could spell more power outages in California this summer, the California Energy Commission warned Friday. Increased demand for air conditioning brought on by heatwaves, wildfire damage to transmission and growing cost of natural gas could all spell outages "and we have to be prepared for that," Mark Rothleder, senior vice president for the California Independent System Operator, said according to The New York Times. The state's energy officials made the assessment during a presentation Friday, where they warned electric bills would likely shoot up, with the average Pacific Gas & Electric customer paying 9 percent more by 2025. Read more from the Times here. Related: "Electricity Shortage Warnings Grow Across U.S," via The Wall Street Journal.
| | | |   | | | | | | — Max Levy is now deputy digital director for fundraising at Stacey Abrams' Georgia gubernatorial campaign. He most recently was manager for partnerships and special projects at the EPA.
| | | — "Billionaire George Kaiser's Bank Drills Deeper Into the Oil Patch," via The Wall Street Journal. — "Conservatives urge Ottawa to intervene in new threat to Enbridge's Line 5 pipeline from Indigenous band in Wisconsin," via The Globe and Mail. — "Canada in talks with Repsol, Pieridae Energy about LNG export terminals," via Reuters. — "Energy Stocks Still Have Gas in the Tank," via The Wall Street Journal. — "Giving old dams new life could spark an energy boom ," via The Washington Post. THAT'S ALL FOR ME!
| | | | A message from ExxonMobil: Energy and innovation. We're producing both.
At ExxonMobil, we're working to supply the energy the world needs – and we're committed to playing a leading role in society's transition to a lower-emission future.
With partners around the globe, we're working to develop renewable diesel derived from plants, advanced biofuels made from wood waste, and eFuel made with hydrogen and captured CO2 . One day, these engine-ready fuels could power cars, trucks, and even planes and ships with up to 85% fewer emissions compared to conventional diesel.
Learn more about how we are advancing climate solutions to keep society moving toward net zero at ExxonMobil.com/fuels. | | | | | | | Follow us on Twitter | | | | Follow us | | | | |
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