Can climate cash help Harris hold onto Pennsylvania?

Presented by Williams: Your guide to the political forces shaping the energy transformation

Aug 08, 2024 View in browser   By Benjamin Storrow Presented by  Chris Dellinger, Eos senior director for advanced manufacturing, explains how the company’s batteries are injected with a soluble electrolyte. | Benjamin Storrow/POLITICO's E&E News If a battery factory gets built in a critical swing state, will voters notice? That’s the question at the heart of the story I wrote about a battery plant that took over a previously vacant factory outside Pittsburgh. Eos Energy Enterprises is the type of company President Joe Biden and congressional Democrats envisioned when they passed the Inflation Reduction Act two years ago. They envisioned a law that would cut pollution and create jobs. Eos does that. Its batteries provide critical backup to renewables like wind and solar. It also employs more than 300 people in a community that was hit hard when a major manufacturer shut down its factory in the 1980s. “I think we’re going to change the world,” Dana Radic, a 34-year-old operations manager at Eos, told me when I visited the battery maker last month. The challenge for Biden and his would-be Democratic successor, Vice President Kamala Harris, is that examples of companies like Eos are still few and far between. The company was conditionally awarded a $398 million loan guarantee from the Department of Energy last year, and it stands to benefit from tax credits under the IRA that support domestic clean energy manufacturing. As we wrote back in May, when a team of E&E News and POLITICO reporters took an in-depth look at the impact of Biden’s climate policies, the clean energy revolution envisioned by the Biden administration is only now starting to take root. Whether voters see enough benefits to reward Harris and down-ballot Democrats for that approach in November remains to be seen. That is especially true in western Pennsylvania, a swing region in a swing state, where the natural gas industry has emerged as a driving economic force in recent decades. Local unions, for instance, are talking less about battery manufacturing and more about a controversial project at the Pittsburgh airport that would turn methane leaked from coal mines into hydrogen for sustainable aviation fuel. That project would also benefit from tax-credits under the Inflation Reduction Act. Its proponents say it would create an economic incentive to capture a powerful greenhouse gas that is already leaking into the atmosphere. Detractors say it would enable energy companies to receive a generous subsidy for capturing pollution they should be limiting anyway. Whatever their differences, there’s more agreement on this point: Average voters really aren’t that familiar with Biden’s climate work, be it on hydrogen or battery manufacturing. “They’re not seeing it as much as they should,” said John Walliser, who oversees policy work at the Pennsylvania Environmental Council. “This is really driving a renaissance in a lot of ways."   It's Thursday — thank you for tuning in to POLITICO's Power Switch. I'm your host, Benjamin Storrow, with help from Nicole Norman. Power Switch is brought to you by the journalists behind E&E News and POLITICO Energy. Send your tips, comments, questions to jkirkland@eenews.net.   During unprecedented times, POLITICO Pro Analysis gives you the insights you need to focus your policy strategy. Live briefings, policy trackers, and and people intelligence secures your seat at the table. Learn more.     Listen to today’s POLITICO Energy podcast Today in POLITICO Energy’s podcast: Josh Siegel speaks with Kentucky Republican Rep. Brett Guthrie, who is in the race to be the next chair of the House Energy and Commerce Committee. Power Centers U.S. oil fields pumped an average of 13.4 million gallons per day last week. | Matthew Brown/AP Weekly U.S. oil production peaks U.S. oil producers maintain their dominance over world oil and gas production as they set new weekly records for barrels pumped per day, Ben Lefebvre writes. During the week that ended Aug. 2, oil fields pumped an average of 13.4 million gallons per day, breaking a record of 13.3 million that the industry has hit several times this year. “Seems to be an all-time weekly record and indicative of improving the efficiency of using drilling rigs in the oil patch,” Andrew Lipow, head of Houston-based consulting firm Lipow Oil Associates, said of the latest EIA production number. The statistics highlight the disconnect between GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump’s assertion that Biden administration policies have hurt the oil industry. Trump vows to refill oil reserve In a move that would require the purchase of 300 million barrels of oil, Trump told Fox News he would “immediately refill” the nation’s oil reserve. Nico Portuondo writes that the Strategic Petroleum Reserve now stands at around 375 million barrels, its lowest level since the 1980s. This is due to Biden’s 2022 decision to release more than 200 million barrels of oil, which Republicans call a political ploy. Trump has also attacked his Democratic opponent, Harris, for her previous support for a national ban on hydraulic fracturing. The Harris campaign has said she no longer supports a ban on the production technique that environmental groups have fought over the past decade.   A message from Williams: As clean, reliable energy demand increases at historic rates, one company is uniquely positioned to accelerate America forward: Williams. We have 116 years of experience in powering the nation, handling 1/3 of its natural gas—and we’re ready to help the country take the next step. Learn how we’re changing America’s future for the better in our latest Sustainability Report.   In Other News It's happening again: A melting glacier overfilled a basin above Juneau, Alaska, on Tuesday, sending water flooding into the city almost exactly a year after a similar event. Different kind of flood: West Texas is producing so much natural gas that it is trading at negative prices.   A message from Williams:   Subscriber Zone A showcase of some of our best subscriber content. Former President Donald Trump speaks to reporters during a news conference Thursday at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida. | Alex Brandon/AP Trump used a press conference today at his Mar-a-Lago Club in Palm Beach, Florida, to attack Biden-Harris policies on electric vehicles. If Harris wins the presidency, “you’re going to have fuel prices go through the roof,” Trump said. Federal financial agencies are coordinating efforts to better protect solar power customers from "scams" as the rooftop industry grows. Four of New York's state agencies have not taken steps to make sure their policies don't increase emissions as part of the state's climate law, according to the environmental coalition NY Renews. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce filed a friend of the court brief to support calls to freeze the Biden administration's power plant rule. That's it for today, folks! Thanks for reading.   SUBSCRIBE TO GLOBAL PLAYBOOK: Don’t miss out on POLITICO’s Global Playbook, our newsletter taking you inside pivotal discussions at the most influential gatherings in the world. Suzanne Lynch delivers the world's elite and influential moments directly to you. Stay in the global loop. SUBSCRIBE NOW.       A message from Williams: Williams has been powering our nation’s growth since 1908—and we’re ready to power the next 100 years of clean energy innovation, with sustainability goals based on five pillars: 1. Providing Clean, Reliable and Affordable Energy We’re leveraging 116 years to accelerate our contributions to sustainability. 2. Minimizing Our Footprint We’ve reduced emissions intensity by 26% since 2018, while increasing energy throughput by 47%. 3. Protecting People and Strengthening Infrastructure Our Pipeline Integrity Program utilizes the latest innovations to keep our employees and communities safe. 4. Building an Empowered Workforce Our Employee Resource Groups enable a culture of understanding across our entire company. 5. Strengthening Our Communities In 2023 alone, we donated over $13.1 million to 2,142 organizations across 47 states and Washington, D.C. Read how we’re powering a better future for all Americans in our latest Sustainability Report.     Follow us on Twitter Arianna Skibell @ariannaskibell   Follow us

To change your alert settings, please log in at https://login.politico.com/?redirect=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.politico.com/settings This email was sent to rouf@idiot.cloudns.cc by: POLITICO, LLC 1000 Wilson Blvd. Arlington, VA, 22209, USA Unsubscribe | Privacy Policy | Terms of Service