Hill Heat

Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.V.), the chair of the Senate energy committee, has released the text of his Energy Infrastructure Act, which will undergo committee markup tomorrow.

An analysis by Friends of the Earth finds only $410 million in funding for renewable wind, solar, geothermal and tidal energy but nearly $30 billion for non-renewable energy programs.

Even the investments in storage and energy efficiency are less than half of spending in polluting energy.

The legislation proposes to make $95 billion in infrastructure investments mainly concentrated in the energy sector. But a close look at exactly where the money is going to go reveals an undeniable bet on dirty energy from the 20th century over clean energy from the 21st. In fact, the bill authorizes $28.8 billion in nuclear, carbon capture and dirty hydrogen over only $410 million in direct authorizations for wind, solar, geothermal and tidal. That’s a ratio of dirty to renewables of over 70-to-1. Even when combining the renewable provisions with the bill’s meager storage and efficiency programs, Manchin still proposes spending twice as much on dirty than he does on clean.

Most of the language for the carbon capture text was taken from the SCALE (Storing CO2 and Lowering Emissions) Act from Sen. Christopher Coons (D-Del.).

The nuclear provisions were drawn from the American Nuclear Infrastructure Act from Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.).

The fossil & polluting energy provisions include:

• $12.6 billion for carbon capture projects, including financing for carbon-dioxide pipelines used for enhanced oil recovery to extend the life of oil wells.
• $6 billion for subsidy payments to the nuclear industry to extend the lifetime of aging plants past economic viability.
• $7 billion in research and development from hydrogen programs; 95 percent of hydrogen production is from fracked gas.
• $1.9 billion in subsidies for commercial logging on public lands

On the storage and energy-efficiency side, provisions include:

• $6 billion for battery production: minerals mining, processing, manufacturing, and recycling
• $3.5 billion for the low-income energy efficiency efforts under the Weather Assistance Program

In addition, there is a further giveaway to the coal industry worth hundreds of millions of dollars in the text: a 20% cut to the Abandoned Mine Land fee paid by the coal industry.

Senior ExxonMobil lobbyist Keith McCoy revealed to a journalist posing as a corporate recruiter that Manchin holds weekly calls with Exxon. He named Coons and Barrasso as two other “crucial” allies to the oil giant’s agenda.

Witnesses

• Victor K. Der, Acting Assistant Secretary, U.S. Department of Energy
• Mark Gaffigan, director of the natural resources and environment team, Government Accountability Office
• Sarah Forbes, senior associate, climate and energy program, World Resources Institute
• Robert Finley, director, Energy and Earth Resources Center, Illinois State Geological Survey
• Larry Monroe, senior research consultant, Southern Co.

E&E News:

A House Science and Technology subcommittee will explore the troubled FutureGen advanced coal project Wednesday, days after Energy Secretary Steven Chu said he hoped to proceed in a “modified” way with the project that his predecessor abandoned.

The review of FutureGen, a prototype that would capture and sequester carbon dioxide emissions among other goals, is part of a broader Energy & Environment Subcommittee probe of DOE programs to curb emissions of heat-trapping gases from burning coal, which currently provides half the nation’s electric power.

The hearing will “inform members about near-term and long-term strategies to accelerate research, development and demonstration of advanced technologies to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions from new and existing coal-fired power plants,” according to the committee.

But questions about FutureGen – a joint federal-industry project that was slated for construction in Mattoon, Ill. – specifically will probably take center stage.

11/03/2009 at 10:00AM

The World Resources Institute will hold a press briefing of WRI’s upcoming Guidelines for CO2 Capture, Transport and Storage. The report, the result of a two-year stakeholder process led by WRI with contributions from 88 leading CCS experts, lays out specific recommendations for policy-makers, regulators and project developers (see full report details below) and argues that sufficient technical knowledge exists to begin full-scale demonstrations of the technology in the US today.

The briefing will feature:

• Dr. Jonathan Pershing, Director, Climate and Energy Program, WRI
• Dr. S. Julio Friedmann, Carbon Management Program Leader, Lawrence Livermore Laboratory
• Sarah Forbes, Senior Associate, WRI

Contact:Stephanie Hanson, Communications Associate: 202-729-7641; [email protected]

World Resources Institute 10 G Street NE Suite 800 Washington, DC 20002

28/10/2008 at 11:00AM

Reps. Nick Rahall (D-W.V.), Gene Green (D-Texas), George Miller (D-Calif.), and John Dingell (D-Mich.) have unveiled the House Democratic “all of the above” energy package, The Comprehensive American Energy and Security, Consumer Protection Act (H.R. 6899), which lifts the moratorium on offshore drilling and calls for massive investments in natural gas, oil, and coal, as well ethics reform for the MMS, support for public transit, and a suite of energy efficiency and renewable energy incentives and standards paid for by eliminating some oil subsidies.

Many elements are drawn from previous House bills—H.R. 5351, H.R. 3221, H.R. 6, H.R. 4520, H.R. 6578, H.R. 6078, H.R. 6052, H.R. 6515.

22 members of the US House of Representatives have introduced the National Conservation, Environment and Energy Independence Act that would lift many restrictions on offshore oil drilling, while providing a projected $2.6 trillion in lease and royalty payments that would generate $390 million for a Renewable Energy Reserve Act. The bill introduced by 11 Democrats and 11 Republicans would open up all protected Outer Continental Shelf lands and end the oil shale leasing moratorium. The bill is in sharp contravention of Democratic leadership but in line with Republican demands.

The leaders of the effort were John Peterson, R-Pa.; Neil Abercrombie, D-Hawaii; Thelma Drake, R-Va.; Tim Walz, D-Minn.; Jim Costa, D-Calif.; and Dan Burton, R-Ind.

• Roscoe Bartlett
• Jim Costa
• Shelly Moore Capito
• Tim Walz
• Neil Abercrombie
• Thelma Drake

A group of ten senators is working on a similar plan. “There’s going to be substantially more drilling and substantially more conservation,” Sen. Mary L. Landrieu (D-La.) said of the Senate plan.

The House bill includes:

• Ending moratorium on Outer Continental Shelf, Gulf of Mexico, and oil shale lease sales: funds apportioned 30% to general treasury, 30% to states, 8% to conservation, 10% to environmental restoration, 15% to renewable energy, 5% to CCS/nuclear waste, 2% to LIHEAP
• Repealing the Waxman provision (Section 526)
• 6-year extension of renewable energy/energy efficiency tax credits
• Drawdown of light grade petroleum from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, with $100 million going into LIHEAP, $60 million for university research, $15 million for wind research, $30 million for solar research, $30 million for hydro research, $40 million for automotive research, $110 million for industrial emissions research, $70 million for building efficiency R&D, $30 million for geothermal R&D, $30 million for smart grid R&D, $385 million for CCS R&D, $65 million for natural gas extraction research, $5 million for a hydrogen prize, $100 million for battery research

E&E News:

A new U.S. EPA proposal that would govern the underground injection of carbon dioxide by power plants and other industrial pollution sources will be the subject of a House Environment and Hazardous Materials Subcommittee hearing Thursday.

EPA’s proposed rule is aimed at protecting drinking water sources during and after the geologic sequestration process. In carbon capture and sequestration, CO2 is captured from fossil-fuel power plants, industrial facilities or other sources and then compressed. At the sequestration site, CO2 is injected into deep subsurface rock formations via one or more wells.

Legislators have said they look forward to discussing EPA’s proposed amendment to the Safe Drinking Water Act, which would create a new category of injection well under the agency’s existing Underground Injection Control Program and establish new permitting requirements for CO2 injection.

The requirements address well location, construction, testing, monitoring and closure. The goal is to prevent CO2 from migrating into underground water supplies. If the gas infiltrates drinking water, it could push other substances that occur underground naturally, like salt, into the drinking water source.

Talk at the hearing will focus on the proposal and potential environmental effects of carbon sequestration.

This will be the first subcommittee hearing under new Chairman Gene Green (D-Texas), who took over for former Rep. Al Wynn (D-Md.).

“A cap-and-trade program to address climate change could lead to the underground injection of carbon dioxide on a massive scale,” Green said last week. “Congress has to make sure the EPA’s carbon sequestration rules protect our sources of drinking water from contamination.”

Ranking member John Shadegg (R-Ariz.) also said he is interested in hearing more about the environmental impacts of carbon sequestration, as well as whether the process is economically viable. “Action should not be taken until we have gathered all the facts and have a complete sense of the issue and its consequences,” Shadegg said.

Stakeholders say Congress also will need to address liability issues surrounding carbon sequestration. Presently, it is unclear who has long-term responsibility for leaks and migration. It also will be important for Congress to address issues of ownership over land where carbon sequestration takes place.

24/07/2008 at 10:00AM

The House Committee on Ways and Means today passed bipartisan legislation to extend vital tax relief to millions of families, strengthen investment opportunities for American businesses and encourage the production and use of renewable energy. The legislation, H.R. 6049, the Energy and Tax Extenders Act of 2008, was introduced by Committee Chairman Charles B. Rangel (D-NY) and could be considered by the full House of Representatives as early as next week. H.R. 6049 passed the Committee by a vote of 25-12.

Information.

H.R. 6049 Energy and Tax Extenders Act of 2008

Summary: H.R. 6049, the Energy and Tax Extenders Act of 2008, will provide almost $20 billion of tax incentives for investment in renewable energy, carbon capture and sequestration demonstration projects, energy efficiency and conservation. The bill will also extends $27 billion of expiring temporary tax provisions, including the research and development credit, special rules for active financing income, the State and local sales tax deduction, the deduction for out-of-pocket expenses for teachers, and the deduction for qualified tuition expenses. In addition, the bill provides almost $10 billion of additional tax relief for individuals through an expansion of the refundable child tax credit and a new standard deduction for property taxes. The bill would be primarily offset by closing a tax loophole that allows individuals that work for certain offshore corporations, such as hedge fund managers, to defer tax on their compensation and would delay the effective date of a tax benefit that has not yet taken effect for multinational corporations operating overseas.

15/05/2008 at 10:30AM

On January 31, 2008, the Department of Energy (DOE) announced a significant departure from its clean coal initiative, FutureGen. Originally conceived in 2003, FutureGen was touted as a pollution-free power plant of the future intended to showcase cutting-edge technologies to address climate change and advance the President’s hydrogen initiative.

Panel I

• C. H. “Bud” Albright, Under Secretary of Energy, Department of Energy

Panel II

• Jeffrey N. Phillips, Program Manager, Advanced Coal Generation EPRI
• Ben Yamagata, Executive Director, Coal Utilization Research Council
• Paul W. Thompson, Senior Vice President, Energy Services, E.ON U.S. LLC

15/04/2008 at 10:00AM

Recognizing the heightened interest in carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) as a way to enable continued use of fossil fuels in emissions-intensive sectors of the economy, we invite you to a conversation on economic and other issues related to emissions-free energy and carbon mitigation technologies. The discussion, open to the public and press, is organized by the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, along with the Center for Strategic and International Studies, the British Foreign Office and the U.S. Mission to the European Union. Senate Energy Committee Chairman Jeff Bingaman (D-NM) will open the conference, which will feature energy experts from the international community, the private sector and academia. CSIS is a non-partisan, non-profit organization founded in 1962 and headquartered in Washington. It seeks to advance global security and prosperity by providing strategic insights and practical policy solutions to decision makers.

Welcome 1:00 – 1:15 p.m.

• Frank Verrastro, director and senior fellow, CSIS Energy and National Security Program
• Bob Simon, staff director, Senate Energy & Natural Resources Committee
• Sen. Jeff Bingaman, chairman, Senate Energy & Natural Resources Committee

The Business Case for CCS 1:15 – 2:00 p.m.

• Gardiner Hill, manager for Group Environmental Technology, BP (moderator)
• Bruce Braine, vice president of Strategic Policy Analysis, American Electric Power Service
• Craig Hansen, vice president, Washington Operations, Babcock and Wilcox
• Stephen Kaufman, chair, Integrated CO2 Network (ICO2N) and director for business development, Suncor Energy

Sequencing the Deployment 2:05 – 2:50 p.m.

• David Pumphrey, deputy director and senior fellow, CSIS Energy and National Security Program (moderator)
• Jan Panek, head, Coal & Oil Unit, Directorate-General for Energy & Transport, European Commission
• Jon Gibbins, Energy Technology for Sustainable Development Group, Imperial College, London
• Jim Dooley, senior staff scientist, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory

Economics, Infrastructure and Scale Issues 2:55 – 3:40 p.m.

• Shirley Neff, president and chief executive officer, Association of Oil Pipelines (moderator)
• Kevin Book, senior analyst, Friedman, Billings, Ramsey Group, Inc.
• Rachel Crisp, deputy director, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform, United Kingdom
• Vince Hahn, principal and vice president, Global Asset Consulting, R.W. Beck, Inc.

Closing and Summary 3:45 – 4:00 p.m.

31/03/2008 at 01:00PM

Rep. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.), chair of the Oversight Committee, and Rep. Ed Markey (D-Mass.), chair of the global warming committee, today jointly introduced the Moratorium on Uncontrolled Power Plants Act of 2008 (H.R. 5575).

The bill, if enacted, would require any new coal plant constructed before the U.S. implemented a strong greenhouse gas emissions reduction program to have state-of-the-art carbon-capture-and-sequestration (CCS) technology.

From the bill text, the CCS technology would have to capture “not less than 85 percent of the total carbon dioxide produced by the unit on an annual average basis and permanently sequesters that carbon dioxide” and the emissions reduction program would have to require requires “immediate and significant reductions in greenhouse gas emissions across the economy and increases the reductions over time to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to 80 percent below 1990 levels by 2050.”

This target is considerably more stringent than that of Lieberman-Warner (S. 2191), which calls for an approximately 60% reduction below 1990 levels by 2050, though at the minimum of the IPCC-recommended 80-95% reduction (Box 13.7 in the Fourth Assessment Report, p. 776).

Update: This bill would implement one of Al Gore’s legislative recommendations.