| | | | |  | | By Matthew Choi, Josh Siegel and Kelsey Tamborrino | Presented by the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association | With help from Daniel Lippman 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.
| | | — Lawmakers brainstormed climate and energy policy with Sen. Joe Manchin, but a legislative path forward remains elusive. — President Joe Biden's pick to lead DOE's Office of Electricity is up for a vote in the Senate Energy Committee today. — Senators are getting impatient over the Commerce Department's probe into Southeast Asian solar part imports. HAPPY TUESDAY! I'm your host, Matthew Choi. EEI's Emily Fisher gets the trivia for knowing Fleetwood Mac's "Silver Springs " was named after Silver Spring, Md. For today's trivia: What did Chef Skinner order Alfredo Linguini to make as a special order in "Ratatouille"? 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: DeSantis delights Dems with solar veto.
| | | | | A message from the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association: America's Electric Cooperatives are powering stronger communities, returning $1.5 billion to their member-consumers in 2020. Motivated by people, not profits, co-ops invest in stronger communities and drive toward new possibilities. Learn how electric co-ops are #PoweringTomorrow. | | | | | | SLOW-GO FOR MANCHIN'S ENERGY TALKS: A bipartisan group of senators led by Energy Chair Joe Manchin touted the various energy and climate policy ideas they chewed over in their second meeting on Monday night, but there's no sign that any of it would transform into legislation anytime soon. The group was up to 11 members (seven Democrats and four Republicans) by the rough count of POLITICO'S Josh Siegel and Kelsey Tamborrino, who staked out the meeting. But members didn't appear any closer to outlining even a sketch of a potential bipartisan deal. Instead the lawmakers leaned into their own pet policies to describe what went down. "I spoke specifically about the carbon border adjustment, which I see as a kind of a geopolitical tool," said Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.), a new attendee. Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah), meanwhile, recalled conversations around boosting production and processing of critical minerals. Another Republican new to the talks, Sen. Dan Sullivan of Alaska, proclaimed himself ecstatic about the prospects of reforming NEPA, the nation's benchmark environmental law, as a means to speed up development of all types of clean energy projects. While all of these ideas broadly have some level of bipartisan support, it's hard to see how they could come together to form legislation. Manchin insisted any bipartisan agreement would have clean energy incentives, but it's unclear how they'd agree to a compromise package when Democrats haven't been able to pass tax credits as part of reconciliation. "Everything's on the table, we're talking about everything, it's just so great to have — we got Republicans and Democrats and everybody sharing their ideas back and forth," Manchin told reporters, acknowledging that reaching a deal merging energy security and climate is "much more complicated" than the bipartisan infrastructure legislation he helped negotiate last year. Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.), the only House member present, dismissed concerns of many progressives who worry dragging on these talks will only jeopardize Democrats' push for a climate and social spending reconciliation package before the midterms. "I remain hopeful something will come of it," Khanna said of the bipartisan talks. "Having an exchange of ideas on climate with as many people as possible in the Senate is something I welcome." Sen. John Hickenlooper (D-Colo.) said Democrats' separate reconciliation track that would include climate legislation didn't even come up in the meeting, and he expressed the preference that the group strike a bipartisan agreement first. "This is the goal — to try to get a bipartisan bill done. Republicans and Democrats," he said.
| | | | HAPPENING NOW - MILKEN INSTITUTE GLOBAL CONFERENCE: Go inside the 25th annual Milken Institute Global Conference with our special edition Global Insider newsletter, featuring exclusive coverage and insights from one of the world's most influential gatherings. Stay up to speed with the latest from #MIGlobal, which brings together 3,000 of the world's most powerful leaders and features 700+ speakers representing more than 80 countries. Don't miss out, subscribe today. | | | | | | | | VOTES IN COMMITTEE: The Senate Energy Committee plans to vote on Maria Robinson's nomination to lead DOE's Office of Electricity today, and it could be a close one. The vote had been scheduled for March but was delayed after Republicans voiced their opposition and Democrats weren't able to guarantee enough votes to push her through. Robinson is currently a member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives, where she leads the Clean Energy Caucus, and she was rumored to have been under consideration last year for the FERC seat now occupied by Willie Phillips. During her confirmation hearing, Republicans and Manchin expressed fears that Robinson would prioritize renewables over fossil energy sources, citing her work in Massachusetts. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm praised Robinson last year when her nomination was announced, saying in a statement "her political smarts and technical expertise will help us turn President Biden's goal of 100% clean electricity by 2035 into reality." The committee will also vote on 13 different bills related to public lands and forests, including Manchin and ranking member John Barrasso's Outdoor Recreation Act. SENATORS JOIN CALLS FOR QUICK SOLAR PROBE: A bipartisan group of 22 senators — led by Democrats Sen. Jacky Rosen of Nevada, Martin Heinrich of New Mexico and Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona — wrote to Biden on Monday to urge quick action on the Commerce Department's ongoing probe into solar equipment imports from four Southeast Asian nations. The probe, which U.S. solar developers warn is costing jobs and slow deployment, is already causing a "massive disruption" in the solar industry and will "severely harm" U.S. solar businesses as long as it is continued, the senators write . They urge the administration to swiftly review the case and make an expedited preliminary determination. Currently, the department is expected to present its preliminary findings in late August on whether those countries are being used to circumvent U.S. tariffs on Chinese-made equipment. While the White House did not respond to a request for comment on the letter, Mamun Rashid, the CEO of Auxin Solar, which petitioned for the inquiry, said the company "asked for a thorough investigation because some companies may be cheating while others are not." He added that while a more expeditious proceeding "would be valuable to us," the company is not telling Commerce how to conduct its investigation "or to pressure it to cut corners." DEMS ISSUE RESOLUTION ON CLEAN ENERGY: Democratic Sens. Jeff Merkley, Chris Murphy, Elizabeth Warren, Cory Booker, Chris Van Hollen and Richard Blumenthal introduced a non-binding resolution Monday condemning oil and gas companies they contend are "profiteering off of Russia's war in Ukraine by inflating gas prices at the expense of their consumers" and highlighting the importance of quickly transitioning the U.S. to a clean energy economy to protect national security. In a statement to ME, Merkley said the Russian invasion of Ukraine has "underscored how our dependence on oil fills the coffers of tyrants and dictators like Putin, and that a rapid transition to clean and renewable energy is not just necessary for our environment, but critical to our economic and national security."
| | | | A message from the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association:   | | | | | | ALASKA WATCH: Alaska's senators are miffed with the Bureau of Land Management's announcement last week that it would close off half of the land set for drilling in the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska — and Sen. Dan Sullivansaid local indigenous leaders are on their side. The senator gathered DJ Fauske, director of government for the North Slope Borough; Forrest "Deano" Olemaun, president of the tribal council of the Native Village of Barrow; and Alaska state Rep. Josiah Patkotak (I) for a media call Monday, where they said narrowing the scope of the NPR-A would hurt the economies of local communities. The speakers on the call were disappointed with last week's announcement, particularly after meeting with Interior Secretary Deb Haaland during her trip to Alaska when she toured the North Slope. "I think the timeliness of the decision as soon as the delegation left Alaska— that was clear to me that that was something that was predetermined," Patkotak told reporters. Sullivan, meanwhile, said reducing the amount of land open for drilling goes counter to the administration's calls for greater domestic production to offset Russian energy. BLM announced in January that it would pursue reversing a Trump-era plan for the NPR-A in favor of a 2013 plan with far fewer leases. BLM confirmed its course of action in its announcement last week. Interior declined to comment.
| | | NO OIL OR RUBLES: The European Commission could unveil a fresh set of sanctions on Russian energy as soon as today, including potential measures to phase out Russian oil by the end of the year, POLITICO's Jakob Hanke Vela and Barbara Moens report. The bloc's energy ministers met for an emergency session Monday where they debated how severely to penalize Russia and what would be sanctionable behavior. Hungary and Slovakia, both heavily reliant on Russian oil, could get waivers under an oil ban in order to keep them on board with further sanctions (Bloomberg reported Hungary was threatening to veto sanctions if they got in the way of its Russian oil consumption). Still, the question of Russia's natural gas remains a major sticking point, with key economies like Germany far more dependent on gas imports than oil. Russia halted deliveries to Poland and Bulgaria last week after they refused to pay for their gas in rubles, and the Polish delegation urged other countries not to give in to Moscow's currency demands, according to the AP. EU energy commissioner Kadri Simson told reporters Monday that "paying rubles through the conversion mechanism managed by the Russian public authorities and a second dedicated account in Gazprombank is a violation of the sanctions and cannot be accepted," Reuters reports. ICYMI: "EU energy ministers near mandatory gas storage dea l," via POLITICO's America Hernandez and Zosia Wanat. MEANWHILE IN JAPAN: Tokyo is not nearly as keen to shut off Russian energy imports, with one of Japan's top investors pushing ahead on a Siberian natural gas project, The Wall Street Journal reports. Investment firm Mitsui's chief executive, Kenichi Hori, said abandoning the project would mean "the world's energy balance will collapse, or there will be shortages." The $21 billion Arctic LNG 2 is planned to liquefy natural gas to supply markets in East Asia. Read more from the Journal.
| | | | INTRODUCING DIGITAL FUTURE DAILY - OUR TECHNOLOGY NEWSLETTER, RE-IMAGINED: Technology is always evolving, and our new tech-obsessed newsletter is too! Digital Future Daily unlocks the most important stories determining the future of technology, from Washington to Silicon Valley and innovation power centers around the world. Readers get an in-depth look at how the next wave of tech will reshape civic and political life, including activism, fundraising, lobbying and legislating. Go inside the minds of the biggest tech players, policymakers and regulators to learn how their decisions affect our lives. Don't miss out, subscribe today. | | | | | | | | — José Zayas is joining the American Council on Renewable Energy this month as executive vice president of policy and programs. Zayas was previously senior vice president of Eagle Creek Renewable Energy and served as executive director of the Wind and Water Power Technologies Office at the Energy Department. — Mae Stevens is now senior vice president at Banner Public Affairs. She was previously executive vice president at Signal Group and chair of the Signal Water Practice. — Chris Moser has been promoted to be EVP and head of competitive markets and policy at NRG Energy. He most recently was EVP of plant operations, commercial operations, and engineering and construction at the company. — Howard Feldman is retiring from the American Petroleum Institute, where he served as senior counselor for policy, economics and regulatory affairs.
| | | — "Supreme Court has voted to overturn abortion rights, draft opinion shows," via POLITICO. — "French utility Engie buys US natural gas as Europe looks beyond Russia ," via The Financial Times. — "California hits major energy milestone as renewable production matches demand for first time," via The San Francisco Chronicle. — "Rich Nations Scramble to Seal Coal Transition Deals Before COP27," via Bloomberg. — " Low water levels reveal body in barrel at Lake Mead, officials say more are likely to be found," via CNN. — "Blinken to unveil 'no surprises' China strategy pre-Asia push," via POLITICO. THAT'S ALL FOR ME!
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