Batteries power California’s newly reliable grid

Presented by Cheniere Energy: Your guide to the political forces shaping the energy transformation

Sep 10, 2024 View in browser   By Joel Kirkland Presented by  The sun shines over downtown Los Angeles during a heat wave Friday. | Etienne Laurent/AP California has long been an easy mark for Republicans eager to criticize clean energy policies. The nation’s most populous state struggled with rolling blackouts in a 2020 heat wave, handing political fodder to opponents of California’s ongoing transition to a carbon-free grid. Then-President Donald Trump accused Democrats of “forcing Americans in the dark.” But four years later, how the tables turn. As temperatures soared past 100 degrees last week, California didn’t have to hit the emergency button. A battery boom is now giving substantial support to the nation’s largest producer of solar power, Benjamin Storrow reports. California’s boost in resiliency comes ahead of tonight’s debate between Trump and Democratic nominee Kamala Harris, whose home state of California often serves as a stand-in for everything Trump hates about a shift away from fossil fuels. California might be more willing to impose clean energy mandates than other states. But it isn’t alone in using a big energy storage boom to ensure the lights, air conditioners, computers and appliances stay on as climate-induced extreme weather worsens. There is also ruby-red Texas, the nation’s largest energy consumer. Solar and storage are benefiting a Texas grid still reeling from its own deadly natural disasters and the effects of rising energy demand. The battery-storage boom has been profitable. Solar power is cheap to generate in the blazing sun and costs little to pull out of storage at night. But success in shoring up the California grid as it goes green also stems from a state regulation that requires utilities to build more storage. “What’s happening in California is a gradual, but pretty rapid transition, from total reliance on natural gas in these conditions to a mix of new technologies that provide the same level of reliability but without the greenhouse gas emissions or local air pollution,” said Michael Wara, a professor at Stanford University who tracks climate policies and energy markets.   It's Tuesday — thank you for tuning in to POLITICO's Power Switch. I'm your host, Joel Kirkland. 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: Matt Daily offers an energy-tinted primer for tonight's presidential debate.   A message from Cheniere Energy: As America’s #1 LNG producer, we are energizing a more secure future.   Power Centers The media center in the Pennsylvania Convention Center is quiet in the early morning leading up to the ABC News Presidential Debate in Philadelphia on Tuesday. | Jamie Kelter Davis for POLITICO Since you asked... POLITICO has come up with a wish list of policy questions for tonight's presidential debate — you know, just in case ABC News’ David Muir and Linsey Davis need some last-minute ideas. Tonight may be the only time Harris and Trump share a stage before the November election. It's a ripe opportunity to press Trump on why he claims the Biden administration is waging a war on American energy — amid a historic boom in U.S. production of oil, natural gas and renewables. It's also a chance to prod Harris on whether she will lift the administration's pause on new natural gas export permits. But if history is any guide, it's far from a sure thing that policy revelations will be the top news out of the debate. Fear of (climate) commitment? With just two months to go until the presidential election, Harris has avoided hot button energy issues, writes Brian Dabbs. Instead, she’s taking a minimalist approach, saying just enough to ensure voters know she represents a stark difference from Trump, who has called climate change a “hoax” and pledged to “drill, baby, drill.” Environmentalists are divided on whether that strategy helps her campaign — and the effort to combat climate change. Some activists say Harris could mobilize young voters by making more campaign trail climate commitments, which in turn would help ensure Harris delivers real results if she's elected. “We want to be able to sell that to our base. We want to be able to push for the climate agenda that we know that we need,” said Collin Rees, program manager at Oil Change International. Targeting agency power Conservative lawyers are crafting their next fight to stifle federal regulators, after the Supreme Court pared back the power of federal agencies to defend themselves against legal challenges, writes Pamela King. Recent lawsuits target federal agency decisions to block roadbuilding through a national forest in Alaska, impose federal wetlands protections and halt projects like the Pebble copper and gold mine. They all invoke the nondelegation doctrine, a legal theory that would bar lawmakers from passing too much of their legislative authority to executive agencies. The Supreme Court hasn’t used the doctrine since 1935, but conservative lawyers believe the justices may be poised to revive it — especially after deciding in June to overturn Chevron deference. In Other News You decide: Workers at a battery plant in northeastern Ohio where other vehicle plants have closed stress that electric vehicles are a consumer choice, not a partisan issue. Ripple effect: A low-emission aluminum smelter set to receive funding from the Inflation Reduction Act is considering northeastern Kentucky as its home, potentially transforming the region's clean-energy build-out.   A message from Cheniere Energy:   Subscriber Zone A showcase of some of our best subscriber content. A flare burns off methane and other hydrocarbons as oil pump jacks operate in Midland, Texas. | David Goldman/AP Methane emissions are increasing faster than any other greenhouse gas globally, despite pledges from countries to reduce their emissions, according to an international research organization. The owner of an Oklahoma wind project is suing General Electric Renewables North America after its turbines started suffering mechanical failures. Millions of barrels of Russian oil now have a green light from Ukraine to flow to the EU as part of a deal with Hungary. That's it for today, folks! Thanks for reading.   A message from Cheniere Energy: When Europe needed energy, Cheniere was ready to help. We supplied enough liquefied natural gas to help hundreds of millions keep warm through the winter months.     Follow us on Twitter Arianna Skibell @ariannaskibell   Follow us

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