West Coast Dems feud over feds’ pipeline approval

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Oct 20, 2023 View in browser   By Minho Kim and Arianna Skibell Presented by Chevron Willie Phillips, acting chair of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, testifies during a Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee hearing in May. | Francis Chung/POLITICO The federal agency charged with overseeing the nation's energy system just approved a spate of natural gas pipelines, bringing complaints from Democrats that it’s threatening blue states' ambitious climate goals. Among the projects the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission OK’d on Thursday is the Gas Transmission Northwest XPress Project from TC Energy in the Pacific Northwest. That fueled angry responses from West Coast Democrats concerned about their states’ climate goals, write Jason Plautz and Zach Bright. The strongest rebuke came from Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), who criticized the commission as a “completely captured agency” and “one huge rubber stamp.” Democratic Washington Gov. Jay Inslee followed, saying he was discussing legal options to block the gas project. “It’s just inconsistent with what the West Coast is doing in trying to develop a clean energy economy,” Inslee said in an interview Thursday. “It strikes right at the heart of our West Coast plans.” Several environmental groups said they will challenge the ruling on the pipeline. The approved pipeline project would allow Idaho, Washington and Oregon to import 150 million cubic feet of extra natural gas per day, when the Northwest states are scrambling to meet their climate targets. Both Washington and Oregon are aiming to cut carbon emissions by 45 percent compared with 1990 levels. The Biden administration, meanwhile, has pledged to cut greenhouse gas emissions in half by the same year compared with 2005 numbers. In previous comments to FERC, the attorneys general of California, Oregon and Washington said the commission had not done enough to evaluate climate impacts of the new gas project. Congress, courts could be next If FERC’s signoff is challenged, the agency will first rehear the case. If states and enviros still object to the final decision, they can take the agency to a federal appeals court. Merkley went a step further and signaled that he will drive conversation in Congress to overhaul FERC, adding that the agency needs to be “scrapped” and “start over.” (That could be a tall order, considering that the House is both in Republican hands and lacks a speaker.) “If our national policy is that we are going to take on climate change, we have to dump an agency that greenlights fossil fuel project after fossil fuel project,” Merkley said. FERC is an independent agency but is not completely free of political influence, as the president nominates its five commissioners. In May, as part of the debt ceiling deal, then-House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and President Joe Biden agreed to fast-track the Mountain Valley Pipeline. FERC approved the controversial 300-mile project from West Virginia to Virginia a month later, drawing a strong backlash from climate advocates.   Thank goodness it's Friday — thank you for tuning in to POLITICO's Power Switch. I'm your host, Arianna Skibell. Big thanks to Minho Kim for anchoring our top today. 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. And folks, let’s keep it classy.   A message from Chevron: Chevron knows methane management is critical for a lower carbon future. We’re striving to lead in methane management with innovative practices, partnerships, and new technologies. These are a few ways we’re aiming to keep methane in the pipe.   YOU WON'T WANT TO MISS IT: Join us for a live event next week — 5:30 p.m. Wednesday — to explore the future of the nation's electric grid. You'll hear directly from Rep. Scott Peters (D-Calif.), co-author of the reliability bill called the Big WIRES Act, and Rep. Bob Latta (R-Ohio), co-chair of the Grid Innovation Caucus, followed by a panel discussion with industry stakeholders. It's moderated by our very own Manuel Quiñones and Catherine Morehouse. Listen to today’s POLITICO Energy podcast Today in POLITICO Energy’s podcast: Kelsey Tamborrino breaks down why Republican lawmakers are accusing Jigar Shah, the head of the Energy Department’s Loan Programs Office, of ethical lapses.   A message from Chevron:   Power Centers Vineyard Wind erected its first turbine off the coast of Massachusetts this week. | Vineyard Wind A blade of hope for offshore wind America’s offshore wind industry has been hammered by inflation and rising interest rates. But some developers are making progress despite the headwinds, writes Benjamin Storrow. “In the long run we still see a lot more growth opportunities for the offshore wind industry. It’s just likely to grow on a longer and flatter trajectory than first envisioned by the Biden administration and the states,” Timothy Fox, an analyst who tracks the industry at ClearView Energy Partners, told Ben. Developer scuttles CO2 pipeline The developer planning a 1,300-mile network of carbon dioxide pipelines through the farm belt announced it’s scrapping the project, citing the “unpredictable nature of the regulatory and government processes” in two of the five states it would cross, writes Jeffrey Tomich. The decision comes after South Dakota regulators denied a permit for the Heartland Greenway project across 112 miles on the state’s western edge. In Other News Climate migration: A warming planet has some moving to the Midwest. ‘You should be able to have a water break’: U.S. workers fight for extreme-heat rules.   JOIN 10/24 FOR AN UPDATE ON CHIPS: America is rapidly restructuring its semiconductor supply chain and manufacturing base, thanks in part to billion-dollar initiatives like the CHIPS and Science Act. But who is winning the reward? Join POLITICO Oct. 24 to get an update on CHIPS what other challenges have emerged now that the new era is underway. REGISTER NOW.     Subscriber Zone A showcase of some of our best subscriber content. The San Juan Generating Station is seen behind a chain-link fence in New Mexico in 2022. | Susan Montoya Bryan/AP New Mexico officials are considering a plan to help the hydrogen industry move into a former coal community, prompting a heated debate over the region’s fossil fuel past. New York Gov. Kathy Hochul dealt another blow to the state’s leading offshore wind developer just a week after the company was rejected for increased payments for its three large-scale projects. Two conservative groups are asking the Supreme Court to overturn a lower court's dismissal of their challenge to the science that undergirds most of EPA’s climate rules. That's it for today, folks. Thanks for reading, and have a great weekend!   JOIN 10/25 FOR A TALK ON THE FUTURE OF GRID RELIABILITY: The EPA’s proposed standards for coal and new natural gas fired power plants have implications for the future of the electric grid. These rules may lead to changes in the power generation mix—shifting to more renewable sources in favor of fossil-fuel plants. Join POLITICO on Oct. 25 for a deep-dive conversation on what it will take to ensure a reliable electric grid for the future. REGISTER NOW.       A message from Chevron: By 2028, our upstream methane intensity target is set to be 53% below the 2016 baseline. To help us get there, we’ve trialed over 13 advanced methane technologies including satellites, planes, drones, and fixed sensors to help reduce methane emissions intensity. In the Permian, we have deployed real-time autonomous optimizers that continuously monitor facilities and well conditions to help prevent flaring, venting and well shutdowns. Developing new solutions to provide energy that’s affordable, reliable and ever-cleaner, that’s energy in progress.     Follow us on Twitter Arianna Skibell @ariannaskibell   Follow us

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