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| By Minho Kim |
Presented by Chevron |
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Jon Sullivan/Flickr (natural gas plant); iStock |
President Joe Biden’s push to accelerate the buildout of clean-tech manufacturing jobs is clashing with his other climate goal: to slash carbon pollution. As “Made in America” policies are funneling billions of dollars into the domestic production of electric vehicles, batteries, wind turbines and solar panels, electric utilities are turning to natural gas to power those factories, writes Jeffrey Tomich. To reach its climate goals, the U.S. needs to overhaul the electric grid by adding carbon-free renewable power and retiring power plants that run on coal, oil and natural gas. The challenge is that electricity companies are relying on natural gas to keep power flowing as more energy-intensive factories are built, even as more wind and solar power is brought online. Natural gas plants can ramp up during peak periods of electricity use, and they’re able to provide power when wind and solar aren’t producing enough electricity.
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Utilities and energy technology companies are advancing hydrogen, small nuclear plants and long-duration batteries that could replace some of those gas plants. But that technology is still in its infancy and expensive to deploy. Utilities say they don’t have time to wait. An electric utility in Kansas City, Missouri, is planning to build 1,300 megawatts of natural gas generation as a response to its new customer — a $4 billion electric vehicle battery plant under construction nearby. The company did not have plans for new fossil fuel generation a year earlier. Atlanta-based Georgia Power predicts its electricity demand will grow 17 times faster than the level initially projected in 2022. It’s seeking approval for new gas turbines and securing contacts with nearby gas-powered plants. Environmentalists are questioning the need for new gas plants and calling on utilities to be more creative with their solutions. They say that could include bundling up rooftop solar, batteries and EVs into “virtual power plants” that help offset electricity demands during peak hours. Others say utilities that own power plants have incentives to embark on large projects to increase shareholder profits, even if that comes at the cost of increased carbon emissions. “I would be skeptical of utilities’ claims about how much capacity they need to build because they’ve never not wanted to build capacity,” said Steve Cicala, a scholar at the Energy Policy Institute at the University of Chicago.
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It's Monday — thank you for tuning in to POLITICO's Power Switch. I'm your host, Minho Kim. Power Switch is brought to you by the journalists behind E&E News and POLITICO Energy. Send your tips, comments, questions to mkim@eenews.net.
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| A message from Chevron: Progress means moving toward a lower carbon future. We’re producing renewable fuels that are lower carbon to work in engines on the road now. |
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Today in POLITICO Energy’s podcast: Zack Colman and Sara Schonhardt talk about the climate divide between the U.S. and China heading into U.N. climate talks.
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| GET A BACKSTAGE PASS TO COP28 WITH GLOBAL PLAYBOOK: Get insider access to the conference that sets the tone of the global climate agenda with POLITICO's Global Playbook newsletter. Authored by Suzanne Lynch, Global Playbook delivers exclusive, daily insights and comprehensive coverage that will keep you informed about the most crucial climate summit of the year. Dive deep into the critical discussions and developments at COP28 from Nov. 30 to Dec. 12. SUBSCRIBE NOW. |
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Sultan Ahmed al-Jaber, CEO of the Abu Dhabi National Oil Co., speaks during a global energy forum in 2022. | Ebrahim Noroozi/AP |
UAE attempts to sell more oil at climate talks
Leaked documents show that the United Arab Emirates used its position as the host country of this year’s United Nations climate talks to advance oil and gas deals with more than a dozen countries, writes Nicolas Camut. Briefing notes prepared by the UAE’s climate summit team for meetings with foreign governments include talking points from the Emirati state oil and renewable energy companies. The UAE has attracted criticism for appointing the CEO of its national oil company, Sultan Ahmed al-Jaber, as this year’s climate summit president. Money for saving the Colorado River complicates future conservation efforts
In May, the Biden administration agreed to pay more than a billion dollars to water rights holders along the Colorado River to broker a conservation deal that could save the dwindling waterway from drying up. But the gusher of federal money is likely to make a broader, long-term deal to save the West’s most important river more expensive, writes Annie Snider. The federal government now pays up to $800 per acre-foot to farmers and other water users to reduce consumption, which will likely set the expectation for future agreements. The potential butterfly effect of a financial fraud case
A Supreme Court decision around an investment fraud case could upend federal enforcement against polluters and pipeline builders and handcuff Congress from delegating power to the executive branch, writes Pamela King. Federal agencies rely on their in-house administrative law judges to adjudicate disputes between regulators and those subject to federal rules. But that system could come tumbling down if the Supreme Court rules in favor of a hedge fund manager arguing against the executive branch’s power to resolve disputes and facilitate settlements.
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| A message from Chevron:   |
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Climate AIs: Startups and researchers across the world are recruiting artificial intelligence in their fight against climate change and efforts to mitigate its worsening impacts. Portugal, sued: Environmental groups have filed a legal action in a Lisbon court against Portugal over an alleged failure to put into practice its own regulation to tackle climate change. Some good news: Costs for renewables have plummeted, and growth is exceeding expectations.
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| SUBSCRIBE TO CALIFORNIA CLIMATE: Climate change isn’t just about the weather. It's also about how we do business and create new policies, especially in California. So we have something cool for you: A brand-new California Climate newsletter. It's not just climate or science chat, it's your daily cheat sheet to understanding how the legislative landscape around climate change is shaking up industries across the Golden State. Subscribe now to California Climate to keep up with the changes. |
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| A showcase of some of our best content.
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Emissions rise from the smokestacks at the Jeffrey Energy Center coal plant near Emmett, Kansas, in 2021. | Charlie Riedel/AP |
An estimated 460,000 deaths in the United States between 1999 and 2020 were attributable to coal-fired power plant pollution, new research finds. The Energy Department proposed the first energy efficiency rules for some motors used in the fans, compressors and pumps of electrical equipment, which enjoy broad support from industry groups. The oil and gas industry represents 1 percent of clean energy investments and must significantly change how it operates to limit warming to less than 1.5 degrees Celsius since preindustrialization, according to the International Energy Agency. That's it for today, folks! Thanks for reading.
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| A message from Chevron: Our partnerships enable us to make a bigger impact on the lifecycle carbon intensity of the transportation industry. Working with agriculture, transportation, and other allies, we’re aiming to continue scaling lower carbon intensity fuels. We’re also developing strong value chains to help keep producing renewable fuel solutions using a variety of feedstocks such as plant byproducts and cow manure. Taking these steps bring us closer to our target production capacity of 100,000 barrels of renewable fuels per day by 2030. Driving the world forward today, while forging new roads to the future. That’s energy in progress. |
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