| | | | | |  | | By Annette Choi | Presented by Equinor | With help from Josh Siegel and Catherine Morehouse 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. | | | — President Joe Biden threw his support behind breaking up BBB and running with the climate portions as his party grasps for paths forward on the stalled package. — The Biden administration's latest WOTUS guidance is causing confusion over what exactly gets protected under the Clean Water Act. — Crypto's high energy footprint will come under some scrutiny at the House Energy Committee hearing today. WELCOME TO THURSDAY! I'm your host, Matthew Choi. NiSource's Kristy Monk gets the trivia for knowing the rebellious students organized at the Cafe Sans Blague in "The French Dispatch." For today: Suzy met Sam while performing in what play in "Moonrise Kingdom"? Send your tips and trivia answers 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: The murky future of rooftop solar in California. | | | | | | | | A message from Equinor: Can a wind turbine generate more than electricity? We believe it can. At Equinor, we're planning to power 2,000,000 New York homes with homegrown, renewable energy that will also boost the economy and generate jobs. And we will do more. Equinor is a broad energy company with an ambitious net-zero target for 2050. We're pursuing the Empire Wind and Beacon Wind offshore wind developments in the US and quickly becoming a leader in this growing industry. | | | | | | BIDEN BACKS BBB BREAK UP: President Joe Biden is throwing his support behind what Senate Democrats had previously been skittish to embrace: splitting Build Back Better into smaller bills and passing them separately. "I think we can break the package up," he said at a news conference Wednesday. "Get as much as we can now and fight for the rest later." Biden cited the climate and clean energy provisions in particular as a starting point. Those parts of Democrats' stalled reconciliation package were often cited in the upper chamber as the most likely to get the backing of Senate Energy Chair Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), who opposed the full bill on inflation concerns. While some House Democrats saw that as a sign to run with the climate provisions now and hope for the best on everything else, splitting the package up had not been a wildly popular idea among Senate Democrats, Pro's Josh Siegel reported earlier this week. But that appears to have changed, with more positive reactions coming out Wednesday. "The climate justice and clean energy provisions in Build Back Better have been largely worked through and financed, so let's start there and add any of the other important provisions to support working families that can meet the 50-vote threshold," Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) told Josh on Wednesday, just days after he shied away from such a move. "We should pass whatever can pass," Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii) told Josh Wednesday. "It's as simple as that. We are all using our brains and our egos to make this more complicated than necessary. Let's figure out what's got fifty, and enact it." There are still details to iron out in the climate package, but the crux of the provisions appear to have support across the caucus, including a smorgasbord of expanded clean energy tax credits for technology including wind, solar, nuclear, hydropower and carbon capture. The rest of Democrats' legislative agenda, however, including billions for health care, labor and education, could be up in the air, with Republicans remaining universally opposed in the Senate and Democrats lacking the requisite super majority to overcome the filibuster. Still, Sen. Tina Smith (D-Minn.) sounded optimistic on Wednesday, saying it "seems we have agreement on other parts like lowering the cost of child care, and universal pre-school. We need to fish or cut bait on this." Read more on Biden's latest comments from Josh. WOTUS REDUX: The Biden administration signaled it won't be relying on a Trump-era rule to determine what will be included in waters protected under the Clean Water Act as it develops a replacement rule. Instead, it will revert to operating based on pre-2015 rules as a guide in the meantime. But the actual implementation is a lot more complicated, Pro's Alex Guillén reports, with oscillating definitions under Democratic and Republican administrations causing confusion on what is subject to the regulations. Projects that received "jurisdictional determinations" from the Army Corps of Engineers under the Trump-era rule in particular face uncertainty if they have yet to receive a final permit decision, and potentially hundreds of projects could be impacted, including high-profile proposed mines in Georgia and Arizona. EPA and the Army Corps of Engineers opened public comments on their proposed new rule Dec. 7 for a 60-day period. House Transportation and Infrastructure ranking member Sam Graves (R-Mo.) and Water Resources and Environment Subcommittee ranking member David Rouzer (R-N.C.) wrote to EPA Administrator Michael Regan and Michael Connor, assistant secretary of the Army for Civic Works, to lengthen it to at least 90 days, arguing it deserves further scrutiny. Read more from Alex. | | | | JOIN NEXT FRIDAY TO HEAR FROM GOVERNORS ACROSS AMERICA : As we head into the third year of the pandemic, state governors are taking varying approaches to public health measures including vaccine and mask mandates. "The Fifty: America's Governors" is a series of live conversations featuring various governors on the unique challenges they face as they take the lead and command the national spotlight in historic ways. Learn what is working and what is not from the governors on the front lines, REGISTER HERE. | | | | | | | | CRYPTO AND FEDERAL LEASING IN COMMITTEE: The House Energy and Commerce Committee's oversight panel holds a hearing today on the energy and climate impacts of cryptocurrency. Committee Chair Frank Pallone (D-N.J.) plans to highlight the vast amount of energy that crypto can consume, with one estimate finding the 2021 carbon emissions from Bitcoin and Ethereum mining comparable to more than 15.5 million gasoline-powered cars. But it won't all be dunking on the budding industry, and Pallone is looking "forward to hearing about the possibilities the crypto-mining industry may bring in support of new renewable energy deployment, grid stabilization and other innovations that may reduce energy consumption and have applications far beyond the crypto-mining industry itself," according to his talking points. Related: Pro's Sam Sutton has more on congressional Democrats' efforts to keep crypto's energy consumption in check. The House Natural Resources Energy and Mineral Resources subcommittee will also have an oversight hearing today to look into the Interior Department's latest oil and gas lease sale in the Gulf of Mexico. The committee's Democrats said the sale was "antithetical to U.S. climate goals" and have repeatedly urged the phasing out of future leases. And well over 300 environmental, health and community groups petitioned the federal government to practically end oil and gas production on public lands and waters by 2035. The committee's Water, Oceans and Wildlife subcommittee will also have a legislative hearing today on several wildlife and conservation bills. A WHOLE OF GOVERNMENT BILL: Sens. Chris Coons (D-Del.) and Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) are leading a bipartisan and bicameral group of lawmakers introducing legislation today requiring the White House to create a "whole-of-government National Climate Adaptation and Resilience Strategy." The National Climate Adaptation and Resilience Strategy Act, shared early with Josh, aims to ensure the U.S. government takes a "unified" response to climate-related hazards across federal agencies. It would also authorize creation of a chief resilience officer in the White House who would develop a strategy to confront adapting to the effects of a warming planet. Co-sponsors include Sens. Susan Collins (R-Maine), Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.) and Bill Cassidy (R-La.). Reps. Scott Peters (D-Calif.) and María Salazar (R-Fla.) are introducing matching companion legislation in the House, with Rep. John Curtis (R-Utah) co-sponsoring. The bipartisan effort shows a growing consensus on the need to adapt to climate change, as opposed to efforts to mitigate its cause — emissions caused by fossil fuels. The bipartisan infrastructure bill that passed Congress last year would provide tens of billions of dollars to help cities and states protect against the effects of climate change, the most in U.S. history, including federal money to protect against floods, reduce damage from wildfires and even relocate communities away from vulnerable places. Read the bill here. 45Q BACKERS HOPEFUL ON CAPTURE THRESHOLD: Carbon capture proponents are bullish that Senate Democrats will address their concerns that requirements under the expanded 45Q tax credits in the BBB — which mandate power facilities to capture at least 75 percent of their emissions — will stymie growth of the technology. Addressing the issue is a top priority for Manchin, who sees carbon capture as essential for his fossil fuel-dependent state and is among a group of Senate Democrats pushing to alter the House bill's language. Some House Democrats and progressive environmental groups are lobbying hard against changes, arguing overly generous tax subsidies could incentivize uneconomic coal plants. Sen. Tina Smith, who is working with Manchin to make changes to the credit, told Josh last week that a compromise is within reach. | | | | A message from Equinor:   | | | | | | GRANHOLM TO MEXICO: Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm is heading to Mexico City today for a 2-day trip, where she'll meet with President Andrés Manuel López Obrador as he is pushing a major overhaul of his country's energy sector. The two plan to discuss emissions reductions and working together to bolster North American competitiveness. Some of her fellow Democrats in Congress are urging her to confront López Obrador about his energy proposals, which would have the state take substantially greater control of the electricity sector and resource extraction. López Obrador's leftist government contends the plans will put the nation's resources in the hands of the people, but U.S. environmentalists and investors fear they would backtrack on emissions goals and undermine investor certainty, making U.S.-Mexico clean energy collaboration to counter China more difficult. Sens. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), Schatz, Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) and Tim Kaine (D-Va.) also warn that López Obrador's plans would prohibit concessions to mine strategic minerals like lithium and copper, violating the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement and worsen national security concerns. Pro's Kelsey Tamborrino has more on Granholm's visit. EXPORT BAN STILL OFF THE TABLE: The Biden administration isn't considering an export ban on U.S. oil or natural gas as fuel prices surge, deputy Energy Secretary David Turk told the House Energy and Commerce Committee on Wednesday. It was a move advocated by a handful of progressive Democrats in the Senate both out of environmental and consumer protection concerns, but Turk told the House lawmakers it was "not something we're discussing." Still, Turk wouldn't answer ranking member Fred Upton 's (R-Mich.) query on whether the administration was considering shortening the duration of the federal licenses that allow companies to export LNG, saying instead: "We're trying to do what Congress has told us to do, and take into account the whole range of issues that should go into national interest determinations on LNG decisions." "I just think that certainty of a contract and a license ought to be imperative to the companies as they make decisions that impact certainly lots of money," Upton said. Pro's Ben Lefebvre and Catherine Morehouse have more from the hearing. MVP SECURES WIN FROM DOI: The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on Tuesday filed a notice with FERC largely agreeing with the commission's conclusion that the latest Mountain Valley Pipeline construction plan will not harm any endangered species along its route. The project had filed an amended proposal with the commission last February, and FERC had asked FWS to review its conclusions that the changes would not adversely affect endangered plants or animals in October. The notice comes as the project continues to face legal challenges. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit heard oral arguments from the Sierra Club against the project's proposed southern expansion on Wednesday, and the environmental group filed another lawsuit earlier this month against West Virginia regulators for granting the project a water quality certificate. DOE'S NUCLEAR CHIEF: The White House is tapping Kathryn Huff to head the Energy Department's nuclear program. She already holds the role in an acting capacity and serves as DOE's principal deputy assistant secretary for nuclear energy. Kelsey has more. | | | | BECOME A GLOBAL INSIDER: The world is more connected than ever. It has never been more essential to identify, unpack and analyze important news, trends and decisions shaping our future — and we've got you covered! Every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, Global Insider author Ryan Heath navigates the global news maze and connects you to power players and events changing our world. Don't miss out on this influential global community. Subscribe now. | | | | | | | | NOT BUYING THAT DAM DEFENSE: A federal appeals court rejected FERC's defense that an Oklahoma dam it had licensed in 1992 was not responsible for flooding in the region. Miami, Okla., alleges the dam is in violation of its license and needs to take further measures to cover the costs of future flooding, but its owner, Grand River Dam Authority, denies it is responsible for flooding outside its immediate territory. The court found FERC's justification that the dam was not responsible "illogical" and sent the case back to the commission. Pro's Catherine Morehouse has more. | | | — "'Responsibly Sourced' Gas Finds a Niche, But Some Cry Greenwashing," via Bloomberg. — "FERC Commissioner Christie blasts 'false narrative' about state of U.S. electric grid," via POLITICO. — "EU should ban energy-intensive mode of crypto mining, regulator says," via The Financial Times. — "New Hampshire lawmakers work to restore gutted energy efficiency programs," via WMUR. — " Construction to start on New York's first offshore wind farm after Interior approval," via POLITICO. | | | | A message from Equinor: The energy transition is the defining challenge opportunity of our time. Our world needs energy to keep moving forward — but it must be affordable, reliable, and accessible. How will we do it? By accelerating the energy transition . At Equinor, we're growing our renewable energy portfolio and cutting greenhouse gas emissions. We're already on the way to powering 2,000,000 New York homes with energy from the Empire Wind and Beacon Wind offshore wind projects. But for us, that's only the beginning. By the time the global population reaches 9 billion in 2050, our goal is to have net-zero emissions. Discover more about Equinor at www.equinor.com/USA. | | | THAT'S ALL FOR ME! | | | | Follow us on Twitter | | | | Follow us | | | | |
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