Ian's disaster trifecta comes for the grid

Presented by National Clean Energy Week: Your guide to the political forces shaping the energy transformation

Sep 28, 2022 View in browser   By Arianna Skibell Presented by National Clean Energy Week Palm trees in St. Pete Beach are hit with strong winds from Hurricane Ian. | Gerardo Mora/Getty Images Florida's electric utilities are planning for the worst. Less than two weeks after Hurricane Fiona left Puerto Rico in the dark, Hurricane Ian is testing Florida's ability to quickly get the lights back on during an even stronger storm, which knocked out Cuba's power before barreling ashore southwestern Florida on Wednesday. The eye of the hurricane made landfall near Cayo Costa, a barrier island west of Fort Myers, with sustained gusts near 150 mph. The west coast of Florida and areas inland are facing a disastrous trifecta of heavy rain, high winds and historic storm surge, which could engulf coastal homes and cause devastating flooding. More than 2.5 million people are under mandatory evacuation orders. The Category 4 storm is threatening the power grids of three major electric companies with a projected peak storm surge of over 12 feet across 60 miles of coast, writes POLITICO's E&E reporter Kristi E. Swartz. "I don't know if we've faced that before," Ted Kury, director of energy studies for the Public Utility Research Center at the University of Florida, told Kristi. By this afternoon, over a million homes and businesses in Florida had already lost power, which can increase the risk of fatalities during a storm, especially for vulnerable members of the population. A recent study found that nursing home residents in Florida were more likely to die within a week and 30 days after 2017's Hurricane Irma if they had lost power during the storm. Expect the outages to mount. Millions of Floridians have lost power from much weaker hurricanes in previous years. Officials have already coordinated more than 30,000 workers from at least 23 states to help Florida restore electricity, as Kristi notes. The hurricane-prone state has also spent years trying to shore up its grid against hurricanes and other natural disasters. The state's largest electric company, Florida Power & Light Co., has invested billions of dollars on grid resilience since back-to-back hurricanes tore through the state in 2004 and 2005, which the company said made a difference during Hurricane Irma. And Tampa Electric established a solar microgrid pilot program, which could prove more resilient during a regionwide blackout. Still, officials note there is no way to hurricane-proof a grid entirely, and Ian's force could plunge parts of Florida into darkness for days or even weeks.   It's Wednesday — thank you for tuning in to POLITICO's Power Switch. I'm your host, Arianna Skibell.  Power Switch is brought to you by the journalists behind E&E News and POLITICO Energy. Send your tips, comments, questions to askibell@eenews.net. Listen to today's POLITICO Energy podcast Today in POLITICO Energy's podcast: Zack Colman breaks down why Tampa Bay is at high risk of major destruction from Hurricane Ian and how the costs of climate disasters are accelerating. electric future Electric vehicle chargers. | Getty Images The Biden administration has approved electric vehicle charging blueprints for all 50 states, along with the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, unlocking a massive cash flow. The approval makes available more than $1.5 billion in funds for states to begin building out a national network of 500,000 charging stations by decade's end. Congress approved a total of $7.5 billion over five years for the effort.   A message from National Clean Energy Week: Save the date for the 6th annual National Clean Energy Week (NCEW), September 26-30! NCEW celebrates the policies, industries, and innovations that power our daily lives while reducing emissions. Ready to join the national clean energy conversation? REGISTER for the VIRTUAL Policy Makers Symposium on September 27-29! Join us to hear from legislators, industry leaders, and clean energy advocates alike! Thanks to NCEW sponsors, registration is 100% FREE for all attendees! Register for FREE here.   Power Centers Senate Energy and Natural Resources Chair Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) at the Capitol on Tuesday evening. | Francis Chung/E&E News Life support Sen. Joe Manchin abandoned his effort on Tuesday to attach his permitting proposal — which would ease environmental reviews on energy projects — to a must-pass government funding bill. But the plan itself still has signs of life, write Jeremy Dillon, Nick Sobczyk and Emma Dumain. Lawmakers from both parties signaled they'd be willing to work to find common ground on the proposal, which Senate leadership agreed to pass in exchange for Manchin's critical vote on President Joe Biden's climate law. Off the rails A pending $27 billion merger between two railroads is causing concern in the energy industry, where some say it could worsen existing freight delays and service problems, writes Mike Lee. Pipeline pressure After initial opposition, the French government is reevaluating its support for a natural gas pipeline from the Iberian Peninsula to northern Europe, write Giorgio Leali and Clea Caulcutt. Portugal, Spain and Germany have long argued the project can help solve Europe's energy supply problems, putting pressure on France to back the endeavor. In Other News Firefighters battle flames in Paradise, Calif., during the deadly 2018 Camp Fire. | Justin Sullivan/Getty Images Adaptation: How climate complacency has left firefighters ill-prepared. 'Nature-rinsing': How polluters use the beauty of nature to clean up their image. Question Corner The science, policy and politics driving the energy transition can feel miles away. But we're all affected on an individual and communal level — from hotter days and higher gas prices to home insurance rates and food supply. Want to know more? Send me your questions and I'll get you answers.   A message from National Clean Energy Week:   Subscriber Zone A showcase of some of our best subscriber content. Wind turbines spinning in Adair, Iowa. | AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall,File The central U.S. grid operator received nearly 1,000 applications from clean power generators wanting to plug into the region's grid — a record amount. House lawmakers rolled out a trio of methane-tracking bills, following concerns that countries are undercounting emissions. The German government said it's likely to backtrack on its planned phaseout of nuclear power plants given a shortage of energy from France. That's it for today, folks! Thanks for reading.   A message from National Clean Energy Week: Are you ready to join the national clean energy conversation? Save the date for the 6th annual National Clean Energy Week (NCEW), September 26-30 and REGISTER for the VIRTUAL Policy Makers Symposium on September 27-29! Tune in to hear from legislators, industry leaders, and clean energy advocates like YOU— thanks to NCEW sponsors, registration is 100% completely FREE for all attendees! NCEW is a weeklong celebration of the policies, industries, and innovations that power our daily lives while reducing emissions. Join us to recognize what an all-of-the-above clean energy future can bring: American energy independence, economic prosperity, & a healthier climate. Register for FREE here.     Follow us on Twitter Arianna Skibell @ariannaskibell   Follow us

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