A green future for New Mexico’s last coal plant?

Your guide to the political forces shaping the energy transformation

Aug 18, 2023 View in browser   By Arianna Skibell The Four Corners power plant in Waterflow, N.M., near the San Juan River in northwestern New Mexico. | Susan Montoya Bryan/AP Photo A tech startup has hatched a plan to save New Mexico’s last coal plant. The Four Corners power plant, located in the Navajo Nation roughly 200 miles northwest of Santa Fe, is slated to retire in 2031. To keep the half-century-old coal burner producing electricity, Enchant Energy is proposing a retrofit that could capture and store 95 percent of the facility’s greenhouse gas emissions, write Carlos Anchondo and Jason Plautz. If successful, the project would be among the most ambitious U.S. carbon-capturing efforts to date. It could also offer a promising data point for the Biden administration’s efforts to compel power plants that burn coal and natural gas to install the new technology — despite skepticism from both utilities and many environmental groups. The nation’s only commercial-scale power project to capture carbon, the Petra Nova project in Texas, shut its doors in 2020 (although it’s trying to stage a comeback). Despite this, the Environmental Protection Agency’s latest climate regulation for power plants relies heavily on the technology. And President Joe Biden’s nearly $370 billion climate law offers generous tax credits to install carbon capture and storage. So far, the nation’s largest utilities have indicated they would rather close their fossil fuel plants than retrofit them. The lack of interest could bolster conservatives’ claim that EPA’s proposed pollution standards are too onerous. West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey (R) has pledged to challenge the rule in court. Now, Enchant has a chance to prove the skeptics wrong. But it’s far from a done deal. While the Energy Department has indicated that the Four Corners carbon capture project is in the running for federal funding, there is no guarantee it will move forward. It’s also receiving pushback from environmental advocates, who say the project would prolong coal-fired generation in the region and postpone a transition to cleaner sources of power. Plus, the power plant is more than half a century old, and Enchant doesn’t have the best track record. In December, the company abandoned plans to retrofit another coal-fired power plant, the San Juan Generating Station, after it failed to secure full ownership of the facility.   Thank goodness it's Friday — thank you for tuning in to POLITICO's Power Switch. I'm your host, Arianna Skibell. 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. And folks, let's keep it classy.   GROWING IN THE GOLDEN STATE: POLITICO California is growing, reinforcing our role as the indispensable insider source for reporting on politics, policy and power. From the corridors of power in Sacramento and Los Angeles to the players and innovation hubs in Silicon Valley, we're your go-to for navigating the political landscape across the state. Exclusive scoops, essential daily newsletters, unmatched policy reporting and insights — POLITICO California is your key to unlocking Golden State politics. LEARN MORE.     Listen to today’s POLITICO Energy podcast Today in POLITICO Energy’s podcast: Wes Venteicher breaks down the challenges California faces in building dozens of massive floating wind turbines in coastal waters off one of the state’s poorest most remote areas at a scale and depth never before attempted in the world. Power Centers Sultan al-Jaber is leading the COP28 climate talks. | Pool Photo by John MacDougall A new ‘eye-popping’ climate fund The United Arab Emirates is considering creating a multibillion-dollar fund to spur clean energy investments across the world that it plans to unveil at this year’s U.N. climate talks in Dubai, according to people familiar with the plan, write Zack Colman and Karl Mathiesen. The fund could amount to tens of billions of dollars, with a sizable slice of the money coming from the UAE’s sovereign wealth reserves, according to seven people with knowledge of the discussions. Anti-abortion activists = animal lovers? The newest federal court ruling on abortion pills is gaining attention for one judge’s unorthodox argument, Pamela King writes — one that equated anti-abortion activists to wildlife lovers. Judge James Ho, a Trump appointee on the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, borrowed from a long line of environmental cases to contend that medical providers challenging abortion care suffer “aesthetic injury from the destruction of unborn life.” Therefore, he argued Wednesday, they should have the same legal right to sue that courts have given to people who object to development projects that threaten plants and animals. Abortion rights supporters have spent days mocking Ho's logic on social media, and legal experts said they doubt that the Supreme Court will embrace it. But some noted the "irony" of a conservative judge relying on precedents that have helped green activists gain access to the courts. It’s hot. You’re traveling. Here's what could go wrong. As the hottest summer ever winds down, even the hardiest of travelers will face a climate stress test. For those brave enough to venture from home air-conditioning, Daniel Cusick breaks down four ways this summer’s hellish climate may affect your end-of-summer travels, including rain bombs, pole-snapping winds, floodwaters and storms. In Other News Brace yourself: Hurricane Hilary, now a powerful Category 4 storm, is charging toward Southern California, eliciting the state's first ever tropical storm watch. Wildfires: In 2020, Maui sued major oil and gas companies, citing increased fire risks associated with climate change — a charge with renewed heft given this month's devastating blaze. Ratepayers pay: Utilities are getting sued over wildfires. Who’s bearing the cost?   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.     Subscriber Zone A showcase of some of our best subscriber content. Rows of solar panels gathering sunlight in Florida. | John Raoux/AP Photo The Biden administration has affirmed its finding that Chinese companies are funneling solar products through four Southeast Asian countries in order to avoid tariffs. Republicans are trying out a new strategy to block action on climate change: warn that Biden's agenda is empowering China and endangering national security. Accelerating permits and cutting the cost of installing solar panels would drive down the total price tag for adding more clean power to the nation's electric grid. That's it for today, folks. Thanks for reading, and have a great weekend!   Follow us on Twitter Arianna Skibell @ariannaskibell   Follow us

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