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RENEWABLES: Corporate climate commitments along with federal incentives are helping get clean energy projects off the ground, panelists say at a Cleveland event. (Energy News Network)
ALSO:
PIPELINES:
GRID: Iowa Republicans for the second time advance a bill to give incumbent utilities first rights to build transmission lines, criticizing a state Supreme Court ruling that blocked lawmakers’ previous attempt. (Des Moines Register)
UTILITIES: Michigan regulators issue several new orders to establish a framework for utilities to comply with new energy laws that include higher clean energy targets and energy storage requirements. (MLive)
OHIO:
ELECTRIC VEHICLES: An oil and gas lobbying group aims to engage voters by taking out an ad during the Super Bowl in key swing states accusing the Biden administration of forcing people into buying electric vehicles. (Detroit News)
EFFICIENCY: Michigan regulators approve a settlement agreement that will require Consumers Energy to increase energy efficiency investments in communities most affected by high energy burdens. (Michigan Advance)
SOLAR:
AIR POLLUTION: A Detroit neighborhood will install six air quality monitors to provide data that residents hope will force city leaders to take action. (WDIV)
CLIMATE: Teenage climate activists call on Wisconsin’s attorney general to sue fossil fuel companies for their role in contributing to climate change. (WKOW)
STORAGE: Nearly a quarter of the world’s battery storage systems have defects related to fire detection and suppression, an advisory firm estimates. (Utility Dive)
OFFSHORE WIND:
OIL & GAS:
PIPELINES: The FBI began tracking Native American opponents of the Keystone XL pipeline as early as 2012 as part of a sweeping law enforcement strategy to counter civil disobedience aimed at fossil fuels. (Grist)
ELECTRIC VEHICLES: Consultants trace Republican opposition to electric vehicles back to the early 2010s, when the federal government first offered EV companies loans to get off the ground. (E&E News)
CLIMATE:
SOLAR: A company encourages Black farmers in the Southeast to lease some of their property for solar projects to add a new source of income. (Civil Eats)
CLEAN ENERGY:
GEOTHERMAL: The Biden administration awards $60 million to three enhanced geothermal energy pilot projects in California, Utah and Oregon. (The Hill)
GEOTHERMAL: The Biden administration awards $60 million to three enhanced geothermal energy pilot projects in California, Utah and Oregon. (The Hill)
TRANSPORTATION: New Mexico lawmakers pass legislation requiring reductions in transportation fuel greenhouse gas emission intensity and establishing a carbon credit market for fuel producers. (NM Political Report)
OIL & GAS:
WIND:
SOLAR: A report finds California and Arizona lead the nation in rooftop solar capacity, but recent net metering policy changes threaten further progress. (news release)
UTILITIES:
COAL:
CLIMATE:
NUCLEAR: Gillette, Wyoming, looks to lure a nuclear microreactor company to establish a manufacturing facility in the Powder River Basin coal mining town. (Cowboy State Daily)
MINING: A Wyoming company claims to have found a 2.34 billion metric ton deposit of rare earth minerals in the southeastern part of the state. (Cowboy State Daily)
COMMENTARY: A Wyoming columnist urges lawmakers to drop a proposed $10 million carbon dioxide-enhanced oil recovery stimulus bill, saying it would only benefit ExxonMobil. (WyoFile)
Companies have a smoother road for getting management to greenlight clean energy projects now than they did five years ago, thanks to corporate climate commitments, federal incentives and more.
And if last month’s turnout of more than 800 people for the Greater Cleveland Partnership’s sustainability summit is any guide, businesses want support and guidance on navigating a process that is more compelling yet also more complex than it was years ago. The Jan. 23 program drew twice as many attendees as last year’s inaugural event.
Sustainability “is a major market trend at this point. It’s a massive market opportunity,” said Baiju Shah, president and chief executive officer for the Greater Cleveland Partnership, which is one of the United States’ largest metropolitan chambers of commerce. At the same time, sustainability is crucial if businesses want to stay competitive in a global marketplace, he said.
Roughly a third of the Greater Cleveland Partnership’s largest member companies have pledged to be carbon neutral by 2050, according to Emily Keller, GCP’s manager of sustainability initiatives. And, she added, practically all member companies have committed to some environmental sustainability practices.
Those pledges and goals have an impact when it comes to getting the green light for clean energy projects, especially when companies report on their progress towards environmental, social and governance objectives.
“Explaining an energy efficiency project [to management] or even being able to get a renewable energy project across the finish line five years ago was much different than what it is today,” said Rebecca Karason, the environment and sustainability director for Huntington National Bank. Decisions on three solar arrays for the company were based on economic factors, but a good part of the decision also hinged on the company’s renewable energy commitment, she said.
Ideally, clean energy projects add to businesses’ bottom lines.
“At its core, the development and the analysis of these projects is no different than any other capital project, but it is a complicated process,” said Gino Scipione, whose practice with Cohen & Company centers on compliance and financial reporting.
For any project, “you have to be able to prove at its core that it’s going to return value,” Scipione said. Most projects are capital expenditures, so for accounting purposes they get capitalized and depreciated over time, instead of being treated as an expense for a single year. How much comes from equity versus debt financing affects the calculations, too.
Beyond the general tax considerations that enter into any business deal, companies should also consider if a project can qualify for tax credits under the Inflation Reduction Act’s clean energy incentives, Scipione noted. Those reductions in tax liability reduce the total cost for a project. And larger tax credits are available if projects are located in disinvested or energy communities and satisfy other requirements. In some cases, there also may be an opportunity to sell renewable energy credits, or RECs, which can provide income to further offset costs.
All of that, for example, means a company can see savings sooner from an investment in solar energy compared to the costs of otherwise purchasing electricity from the grid.
“The amount of money that I’ve seen in the last two years coming from the federal government is really helping,” said Rishabh Bahel, Nestlé’s manager of energy and sustainability for North America, who is based in Solon, Ohio. The company has announced it plans to power all its operations sites with renewable electricity by 2025, and one of its strategies has been investing in solar farms.
If a project meets enough requirements for the Inflation Reduction Act’s tax credits, “essentially you can get 40 to 50% paid by the government,” Bahel said. “So you have to make sure you’re looking at all the incentives and plans available in the market.”
Energy efficiency is another big emphasis for Nestlé.
“Any time you’re saving energy, you’re saving money,” Bahel said.
Those energy savings cut the costs of production and support the business case for the investment. In contrast, if companies merely pay for carbon offsets, “that really doesn’t have any payback,” he said.
Businesses in disinvested neighborhoods also need the economics of clean energy projects to work, because a company with too much debt won’t succeed, said Michael Jeans, CEO of Growth Opportunity Partners and its GO Green Energy Fund. He and others at Growth Opps often guide companies through the financing process and provide advice to help them make projects succeed.
Even as financial incentives boost the business case for clean energy investments, companies also face added compliance requirements for reporting greenhouse gas emissions.
“It’s sort of a carrot and stick,” said Kaitlin Bergan, head of sustainable client solutions for BlackRock’s U.S., Canadian and Latin American team, as she reported on overall trends in industry.
In 2022, the Securities and Exchange Commission issued proposed rules for publicly traded companies to report on climate risks and their contributions to greenhouse gas emissions. The rule will likely be finalized sometime this spring. The European Union already has adopted reporting requirements for some companies. And as Karason sees it, reporting requirements will trickle down even to smaller companies.
Reporting requirements can be a challenge, especially if different customers need data reported in different formats, said attorney Richik Sarkar, Dinsmore & Shohl’s ESG equity partner in Cleveland. Yet as sustainability managers do that, he suggested they also should think about how to explain projects to their companies’ financial officers.
So, Sarkar challenged: “How do you make the business case and explain to them it’s not only a matter of doing good, but it’s a matter of doing well?”
To be sure, not all companies are moving ahead on clean energy projects. About 50 attendees walked out during Bergan’s talk, as a protest against BlackRock’s continuing investments in fossil fuels. And last week, FirstEnergy reneged on its commitment to reduce greenhouse gas emissions 30% by 2030.
Craig Ickler is an energy democracy organizer for Cleveland Owns, which was among the groups organizing the protest. With BlackRock being an exception, Ickler felt the Greater Cleveland Partnership is “talking about sustainability seriously.” He also wants more involvement of local neighborhoods in energy projects and decisions. “My focus is as much on removing fossil fuels from the energy equation as it is about who’s going to own those clean energy assets and who’s going to benefit from them,” he said.
Emily Bacha, vice president of public affairs for the Ohio Environmental Council, also attended the Jan. 23 conference. She said she saw “real momentum to push forward equity in climate and sustainability strategies” — something she wouldn’t have expected ten years ago.
Now Bacha and others will be watching to see what further strides companies make. “It’s important that we’re not just talking the talk, but walking the walk across all sectors,” she said.
Nine states just made a big electrification commitment: They want electric heat pumps to make up 90% of their residential heating, air conditioning and water heating sales by 2040.
Officials in California, Colorado, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Oregon and Rhode Island signed on to the agreement last week. And while it’s legally nonbinding and the states haven’t set aside any funding to achieve the goal, it’s a step toward making heat pumps the norm for homeowners when they install new HVAC equipment.
The residential sector is a big contributor to U.S. greenhouse gas emissions, especially in cold Northeastern states that heavily rely on fossil fuels for heating. Heat pumps meanwhile use electricity to both heat and cool homes, and while much of that electricity may come from fossil fuels for now, they use that power far more efficiently than gas boilers. They also help keep natural gas and its health and safety risks out of homes.
And if you’ve got questions about just how well electricity can heat a home, this study from 2022 shows heat pumps kept Maine residents cozy even when temperatures dropped below freezing. It’s a big goal, but another record year for heat pump sales suggests it’s within reach. An industry group reported the electric appliances outsold natural gas furnaces by 21% in 2023, marking the second year in a row that heat pumps have outsold gas.
🏭 Cutting soot, saving lives: The U.S. EPA is tightening airborne soot regulations to reduce coal plant and diesel truck pollution, a move expected to save as many as 4,500 lives in 2032 and bring $46 billion in health benefits by that year. (E&E News)
Read more: Air quality monitoring data suggests Arizona, California, Pennsylvania and Texas will have the hardest time meeting the new soot limits, though 99% of counties will likely comply with the rules by 2032. (E&E News, Utility Dive)
📈 The IRA’s price tag is growing: The estimated cost of implementing the federal climate law has more than doubled since its passage in 2022, largely because forecasters think its clean energy, electric vehicle and other incentives will be more popular than originally expected. (The Hill)
🚨 ‘Dangerous greenwashing scheme’: Democratic senators call on federal regulators to crack down on “responsible” and “certified” natural gas claims, saying the selling of low-emissions methane is a “dangerous greenwashing scheme” that undermines the clean energy transition. (The Guardian)
💧 Keeping hydrogen clean: As some developers look to weaken proposed rules for federal clean hydrogen tax credits, environmental advocates warn that could divert existing clean energy generation to hydrogen production and prolong fossil-fuel-fired generators. (Energy News Network)
🏫 Stolen lands’ legacies: State trust lands taken 150 years ago from Indigenous territories in Western and Midwest states provide public universities with millions of dollars of annual funding, largely via oil and gas drilling. (Grist)
🚚 Long road ahead: Waning interest in Ford’s F-150 electric truck reflects a broader cooling market for electric vehicle sales, though experts still predict long-term demand to grow. (New York Times, NPR)
🌎 Climate rights: Several states are considering amending their constitutions to guarantee residents’ right to a safe climate amid a nationwide campaign by environmental advocates. (The Hill)
☑️ Voting for clean energy: The World Resources Institute says the 2024 presidential election will perhaps be the biggest driver of the U.S. clean energy sector’s near-term future. (Utility Dive)
HYDROPOWER: Environmentalists and legislators from Pennsylvania’s York and Lancaster counties come together to oppose the $2.3 billion Cuffs Run hydroelectric project, citing economic, ecological and cultural concerns. (York Dispatch, WITF)
POLICY:
FINANCE:
SOLAR:
EMISSIONS: Residents of Pennsylvania’s Mon Valley wait to see how much of a difference the latest legal settlement with the highly air-polluting Clairton Coke Works will make in their lives. (Public Source)
OFFSHORE WIND:
TRANSIT:
FLOODING:
CLIMATE: Some oil companies line up to defend Washington’s new carbon cap-and-invest program against a ballot measure to repeal it, saying fixing the program’s flaws would be more effective than killing it. (Grist)
ALSO: Oregon advocates challenge the Portland regional government’s transportation plan, saying it won’t live up to the state’s climate mandates and fails to reduce driving. (Oregonian)
OIL & GAS:
GRID: A report finds Northwest utilities relied on power imports from neighboring balancing areas to meet surging demand during a January cold snap, showing the region’s grid is at a reliability “tipping point.” (RTO Insider, subscription)
CLEAN ENERGY: New Mexico lawmakers advance a legislative package that includes tax credits for solar, clean cars, geothermal energy and heat pumps. (NM Political Report)
UTILITIES: An Alaska utility warns lawmakers that importing natural gas to offset a looming shortfall may not be feasible until 2030, far later than previously expected. (KDLL)
HYDROGEN: A California transit agency says it “took a little risk” by investing in 57 hydrogen buses before the fuel produced from clean energy sources becomes widely available. (Mercury News)
TRANSPORTATION: Arizona Republican lawmakers look to permanently kill a proposed commuter rail line between Phoenix and Tucson, saying the funds should be used to expand freeways instead. (Arizona Daily Star)
PUBLIC LANDS: Arizona Republican lawmakers sue the Biden administration over last year’s designation of a national monument near the Grand Canyon that withdrew the land from new uranium mining claims. (Arizona Daily Star)
COMMENTARY:
ELECTRIC VEHICLES: A Virginia lawmaker introduces a budget amendment to use $200,000 to establish a working group to identify sources of long-term state funding for the shift to electric school buses after federal funding runs out. (Energy News Network)
ALSO:
ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE: The startling disparity between the booming oil and gas industry in Port Arthur, Texas, and the grinding poverty of its mostly Black and brown residents raises hard questions about environmental justice. (Inside Climate News)
SOLAR:
WIND:
PIPELINES: A surge of muddy runoff that appears to be from a Mountain Valley Pipeline construction site into a normally clear spring leads 29 community and statewide organizations to call on Virginia regulators to issue a stop work order. (Roanoke Times, Augusta Free Press)
POLITICS: U.S. House Democrats meet in Virginia to discuss how to sell wins from their historic climate law in the upcoming 2024 election when many of the projects have yet to materialize on the ground. (Politico)
CLIMATE: A Georgia advocacy group organizes teams from congregations and faith organizations across the state to add energy efficiency upgrades and advocate for clean energy, environmental justice and climate action. (WABE)
COMMENTARY:
CLEAN ENERGY: The federal government is looking for carbon-free electricity to power defense and other government facilities in what could be one of the administration’s biggest clean energy procurements. (Axios)
ALSO: The World Resources Institute says the 2024 presidential election will perhaps be the biggest driver of the U.S. clean energy sector’s near-term future. (Utility Dive)
ELECTRIC VEHICLES:
OIL & GAS: California regulators propose to stop issuing new permits for hydraulic fracturing and other oil and gas well stimulation treatments in a move that would eventually phase out fracking statewide. (Courthouse News)
ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE:
CARBON CAPTURE: Efforts to pay farmers for sequestering carbon in their soil are hampered by questions over just how much carbon dirt can store. (Grist)
OVERSIGHT: President Biden officially makes Willie Phillips the chair of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, while FERC member Allison Clements says she won’t return when her current term expires. (The Hill, Politico)
TRANSPORTATION:
NUCLEAR: Federal money could boost efforts by Michigan and other states to restart or keep aging nuclear power plants operating as a source of carbon-free electricity. (Stateline)
GRID: Western utilities consider competing options for establishing a regional transmission organization. (E&E News)
SOLAR:
COMMENTARY: The Biden administration’s pause on new LNG export approvals won’t stop a massive buildout already in progress, an energy professor writes. (The Conversation)
OIL & GAS: California regulators propose halting issuance of new permits for hydraulic fracturing and other oil and gas well stimulation treatments, citing widespread public concern over the impacts. (Courthouse News)
ALSO:
STORAGE: Federal regulators advance a proposed 1,200 MW pumped hydropower storage project in Washington state, raising concerns among tribal nations and environmentalists. (OPB)
SOLAR:
CLEAN ENERGY:
BIOFUELS: Nevada advocates push back on a proposal to harvest pinyon and juniper trees to produce methanol, saying the long-term damage to forest ecosystems outweighs any short-term carbon emission reductions. (Los Angeles Times)
HYDROPOWER: California’s grid operator says a series of recent storms should boost this summer’s output from the state’s hydroelectric facilities. (San Diego Union-Tribune)
GRID:
UTILITIES: Wyoming lawmakers are set to consider several bills aimed at keeping utility rates affordable, but critics say the proposed legislation may only sow confusion. (Wyoming Public Radio)
POLITICS: Utah lawmakers advance a proposal to overhaul the state’s energy policy and prioritize fossil fuel generation over clean energy. (Deseret News)
ELECTRIC VEHICLES: Colorado awards a town and nonprofit $185,000 to purchase 50 electric bicycles for low-income residents. (Steamboat Pilot)
COAL: A freight train derails in northern California, spilling an undetermined amount of coal into the Feather River. (CBS Sacramento)
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