Biden’s Energy Department under fire from both sides

Your guide to the political forces shaping the energy transformation

Jan 05, 2024 View in browser   By Rebekah Alvey Department of Energy headquarters in Washington. | Francis Chung/POLITICO As 2024 begins, President Joe Biden’s climate agenda is on a collision course with the United States’ role as one of the world’s largest exporters of natural gas. At the crossroads is the Department of Energy, which has to sign off on additional gas exports and faces critics who want the United States to stop supplying fossil fuels to the world, regardless of how hungry for energy it is,writes Brian Dabbs. “Exports are the Achilles’ heel of the Biden administration’s climate efforts,” said Tyson Slocum, director of energy at Public Citizen. The decision by Congress and Biden to spend nearly $400 billion on zero-carbon energy projects through the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act, Slocum added, “is being eviscerated by unregulated fossil fuel exports.” Energy companies are proposing export projects that would boost capacity along the U.S. Gulf Coast to ship liquefied natural gas to Europe and Asia. The U.S. was the largest global LNG exporter during the first half of 2023. Top administration officials have played the future of gas exports close to their vests. Europe’s need to secure gas from suppliers who aren’t Russian is still a force behind proposals to keep U.S. energy export terminals humming. But administration officials have also argued that natural gas exports are helping other countries replace dirtier coal. Solyndra and its discontents Gas exports aren’t the only reason the Energy Department action is facing mounting scrutiny. It’s also under the microscope of Republicans who oppose sending federal largesse to clean energy companies, including through the DOE loan program. GOP senators led by Sen. John Barrasso of Wyoming are targeting a solar company called Sunnova Energy, which won a $3 billion federal loan guarantee. So far, the Republican playbook looks a lot like the one they used during President Barack Obama’s time in office, when the failed solar company Solyndra dominated headlines after it got federal cash. What goes on at the Energy Department in 2024 is also pivotal to the development of hydrogen as a clean fuel for heavy industries. The administration has staked a lot on hydrogen’s role in the larger effort to eliminate carbon pollution from the economy — especially in its grittier corners such as steel production. In October,DOE named seven companies that would receive $7 billion through a hydrogen hub program designed to get production off the ground. That cash is still being disbursed. The hydrogen push has its own snags.Recent tax credit guidance could affect investments if it’s finalized, and companies are pushing back against a requirement to tap new clean energy sources in their regions in order to reap tax benefits.   It's Friday — thank you for tuning in to POLITICO's Power Switch. I'm your host, Rebekah Alvey. Power Switch is brought to you by the journalists behind E&E News and POLITICO Energy. Send your tips, comments, questions to ralvey@eenews.net. Listen to today’s POLITICO Energy podcast Today in POLITICO Energy’s podcast: Jordan Wolman breaks down the latest in the conflict over environmental, social and governance policies. Power Centers Mukhtar Babayev, the ecology and natural resources minister of Azerbaijan, was selected to lead the U.N. climate talks later this year. | Rafiq Maqbool/AP New COP leader. Old oil ties. Former Azerbaijan oil executive Mukhtar Babayev was selected to lead United Nations climate talks planned for later this year, writes Sara Schonhardt. This marks the second year in a row that an official with ties to fossil fuels will head the influential negotiations. Babayev worked for the Azerbaijan state-owned oil company for almost 25 years before taking a role as minister of ecology and natural resources in 2018. Last month's COP28 in the United Arab Emirates was led by Sultan al-Jaber, who directs the UAE's state-run oil company. Youth climate case Environmental lawyers are worried a new youth-driven lawsuit could hurt other climate cases, writes Lesley Clark. Similar to other youth climate cases, in Genesis v. EPA, filed Dec. 10, young Californians say the agency has violated their right to a healthy environment. Environmental lawyers not associated with the case say it makes an important statement. But if Genesis reaches the Supreme Court and its conservative majority, it could have a chilling effect on efforts by state and local governments to hold the oil industry accountable for climate pollution. Our Children’s Trust, the force behind Genesis and other youth climate cases, pushed back against the critics. Genesis is a constitutional case rather than an environmental statutory case, one attorney argued. Furious farmers In a protest over proposed tax hikes on diesel fuel, a group of over 100 German farmers blocked Economy Minister Robert Habeck from getting off a ferry. The incident late Thursday underscores tensions over spending cuts amid the country’s budget crisis, writes Hans Von Der Burchard. In one budget plan, leaders proposed removing tax privileges for farmers including a tax break on diesel fuel. This mobilized the group to block and challenge Habeck as he and his wife attempted to disembark a boat after a private visit to a North Sea island. Hours before the incident, the German government said it would backtrack on some of the proposed tax changes, but farmers were not satisfied. Large protests are also planned for next week. In Other News AI of the storm: A series of winter storms expected across the country starting this weekend brings a major test of artificial intelligence-based computer modeling. Weather and climate scientists are not convinced the technology will be effective in forecasting hard-to-predict storms. Textile waste in flames: A lawyer sought action over a mountain of discarded clothing and fabric in Chile weighing 11,000 to 59,000 tons. Then it went up in flames. Subscriber Zone A showcase of some of our best subscriber content. Over 4 million electric vehicles are on the roads after automakers sold more than 1.4 million EV and plug-in hybrid vehicles last year, according to federal officials. The boost is a sign that EV adoption is moving into the next phase of drivers. The retirement of a Tennessee coal plant could be delayed without swift action by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission on a proposed natural gas pipeline. It would take an "extraordinary" battery and a high price tag to electrify President Joe Biden's presidential limo known as the Beast. 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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