EXTRACTED: Daily News Clips 11/19/24

PIPELINE NEWS

• WXPR: Controversial Line 5 project faces more legal action in Wisconsin

• WKOW: Meet the Madison environmentalists who could challenge a transnational oil pipeline

• WZFG: Summit Ag Chairman says pipeline project to grow ethanol plants by millions of bushels annually

• St. Cloud Live: Could green methanol technology provide an alternative to carbon pipelines?

• Cedar Rapids Gazette: Carbon dioxide sequestration in Iowa? Researchers hope to find out

• South Dakota Searchlight: Relaunched Open Meetings Commission finds violations in five of six cases

• 1012 Industry Report: Louisiana’s pipeline industry struggles with infighting and other roadblocks as it aims to meet LNG demand

• Rogue Valley Times: Jordan Cove pipeline protestors to defend DOJ surveillance suit

• Reuters: TC Energy forecasts higher 2025 core profit on natgas, electricity demand

WASHINGTON UPDATES

• Common Dreams: Campaigners Demand ‘Biden Make a Final Stand’ for Climate Before Trump Takeover

• Bloomberg: Trump’s Energy Shakeup Will Spare Carbon Capture

• E&E News: Biden inks billion-dollar climate deals to foil Trump rollbacks

• E&E News: Manchin Signals Busy Lame Duck With 74-Bill Markup 

• E&E News: Democrats Ask Biden To Clamp Down On Offshore Drilling 

• Financial Times: Offshore Oil Is Back. At What Cost? 

• E&E News: 4 things Trump can — and can’t — do to boost oil and gas

• Wall Street Journal: A Battle Brews Over America’s West: Environmentalists Vs. ‘Cowboys For Trump’ 

• Washington Post: These are the environmental rules that will likely outlive Trump

STATE UPDATES

• KPLC: Vernon Parish joins other parishes in objecting to carbon capture

• NOLA.com: Louisiana offshore carbon capture facility gets $26 million federal grant

• Boulder Reporting Lab: Colorado commission halts Draco fracking plan near Erie over concerns about proximity to residents, orders new site review

• Associated Press: Alaska Political Leaders Hope To See Trump Undo Restrictions On Oil Drilling 

• Alaska Beacon: Alaska scientists and policymakers look to hydrogen as power source of the future

• Colorado Public Radio: How A Second Trump Administration Might Reverse Drilling And Energy Restrictions On Public Lands In Colorado 

• Floodlight: Huge gas plant eyed to power mystery $5B Louisiana data center

• Energy News Network: Advocates make economic case for green steel production at Dearborn, Michigan plant

EXTRACTION

• Inside Climate News: The Tug-of-War on This Climate Super Pollutant Has Big Implications for the Future

• Canada’s National Observer: Documents reveal Canada’s early efforts to save orcas from ‘catastrophic’ oil spills

TODAY IN GREENWASHING

• The Narwhal: How Canada helped fossil fuel companies improve global ‘perception’ of the oilsands

OPINION

• Energy News Network: Consensus-driven bill protects North Carolina from high power bills and spurs innovation
  

PIPELINE NEWS

WXPR: Controversial Line 5 project faces more legal action in Wisconsin
Judith Ruiz-Branch, 11/18/24

“A legal challenge is expected since the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources has granted key permit approvals to a Canadian energy company to reroute its controversial Line 5 pipeline in northern Wisconsin,” WXPR reports. “…Stephanie Tsosie, staff attorney for Earthjustice, represents the Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Tribe, whose lands have been directly affected by Line 5 for years. She told WXPR Enbridge still needs federal approval to move forward with construction. “This is not a foregone conclusion that Enbridge is going to have this pipeline operating,” Tsosie told WXPR. “There’s a lot of processes, there’s a lot of approvals, and this is just one of them. And we’re ready to stand with the Band and figure out ways to make sure that, whatever approvals there are, that they comply with the law.” She explained the current line is illegally trespassing on tribal lands… “Evan Feinauer, staff attorney for Clean Wisconsin, told WXPR the debate misses the bigger picture by ignoring the current climate threats and their generational consequences… “He added Clean Wisconsin will take legal action to challenge the DNR-issued permits for Line 5 and ask for construction to be paused until it is resolved.”

WKOW: Meet the Madison environmentalists who could challenge a transnational oil pipeline
JT Cestkowski, 11/18/24

“The Canadian oil company Enbridge cleared a major hurdle towards rerouting its Line 5 oil and natural gas pipeline in northern Wisconsin last Thursday when the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources approved permits for the project. But now a Madison-based environmental organization is considering challenging the DNR’s approval in court,” WKOW reports. “…In a press release issued after the DNR announced approval of part of the project, Clean Wisconsin Staff Attorney Evan Feinauer said, “Wisconsin law makes it clear that projects causing harm to our waters must meet a high bar to move forward. Given the enormous impacts that construction of this pipeline would cause, we are skeptical that the proposed project meets these legal standards.” “…I’m angry that the DNR has signed off on a half-baked plan that spells disaster for our homeland and our way of life,”Bad River Band Chairman Robert Blanchard told WKOWt. “We will continue sounding the alarm to prevent yet another Enbridge pipeline from endangering our watershed.” “…In an interview with 27 News, Feinhauer pushed back on the promised economic benefits of an oil pipeline. “But by and large, we’re being asked to basically bear a risk here in Wisconsin for other folks to get their energy in Canada,” Feinhauer told WKOW. “And I just think people need to ask themselves whether, as a state, that’s a good deal for us. I think pretty clearly it isn’t.” “…However, Wisconsin law allows for a 30-day window in which interested parties could challenge the DNR’s approval. And Clean Wisconsin is interested.”

WZFG: Summit Ag Chairman says pipeline project to grow ethanol plants by millions of bushels annually
Chris Larson, 11/18/24

“The agriculture industry stands to benefit largely from the Summit Carbon Solutions pipeline project,” WZFG reports. “Bruce Rastetter, who is the Chairman of Summit Ag, told WZFG the project will create new markets for agriculture and ethanol. “This project has been about responding to new markets around the world,” he said in an exclusive interview with The Flag’s What’s On Your Mind on Monday. “We literally have corn and almost all commodities, corn, soybeans, wheat, below the cost of production, because we have proven that we can produce more than the world can consume. The surpluses continue to grow, so we need to continue to add value out of those crops.” Rastetter told WZFG ethanol plans will grow by as much as 700 million bushel per year…”The ethanol plants stand to make between 30 and 35 cents extra per gallon, which means the plant can pay equivalent to one dollar per bushel of corn more than today, Rastetter told WZFG.”

St. Cloud Live: Could green methanol technology provide an alternative to carbon pipelines?
Kennedy Tesch, 11/19/24

“As carbon pipeline projects face growing opposition, some are exploring green methanol as a cleaner, more profitable alternative for the region’s ethanol industry,” St. Cloud Live reports. “The renewable fuel, made from captured CO2, could reduce emissions and create new economic opportunities without the environmental and legal hurdles of pipeline development. Results of the Nov. 5 election showed that South Dakota voters opposed by a margin of 60% to 40% Referred Law 21, a measure that attempted to eliminate local control over carbon dioxide pipeline zoning laws and provide protections for landowners. The South Dakota Supreme Court also ruled Aug. 22 that Summit Carbon Solutions is not a common carrier, and that CO2 is not a commodity, unlike what many proponents of the pipeline have long argued… “Doyle Turner, a retired farmer, feeder, and banker from Moville, Iowa, told St. Cloud Live carbon pipelines are an outdated idea, and he is suggesting alternative technology for the corn and ethanol industries — green methanol… “While carbon pipelines have generated the most discussion when it comes to helping ethanol plants reduce their carbon emissions, Jeff Bonar, chief executive officer of CapCO2 Solutions, told St. Cloud Live his company is different in almost every dimension. “We’re not planning to throw the CO2 away. We’re not taking anyone’s farmland. We don’t cost $8 billion to build, and we’re not based on government subsidies,” Bonar told St. Cloud Live.”

Cedar Rapids Gazette: Carbon dioxide sequestration in Iowa? Researchers hope to find out
Olivia Cohen, 11/16/24

“Aided by more than $11 million in grant funding, researchers plan to build a huge drilling rig and determine whether carbon dioxide can be permanently stored underground in Iowa — even though the state’s geography was largely thought to be ill-suited for sequestering the most common greenhouse gas,” the Cedar Rapids Gazette reports. “…This month, the University of Iowa was selected to lead a two-year study about how CO2 is managed in the state. The U.S. Department of Energy is funding $9 million of the study and MidAmerican Energy — which has a coal-fired power plant in Council Bluffs that will be central to the study — will cover the majority of another $2.3 million. The study will look to see if CO2 can be stored in a particular type of rock found in the Midcontinent Rift system, where the North American continent was splitting apart more than a billion years ago. “This type of experimentation has never been done,” geologist Ryan Clark, whose team at the UI-based Iowa Geological Survey will lead the study beginning next fall, told the Gazette. “It’s going to be devastating if the answer is that nothing happens. (But) the ideal scenario is that a facility that generates CO2 can just capture it on site, inject it on site, with no pipeline. … That’s the ideal scenario.” “…Clark told the Gazette field studies in other states have suggested that when liquefied CO2 is injected it into the basalt rock, it eventually becomes a mineral — whereas it remains a liquid in other types of rocks.”

South Dakota Searchlight: Relaunched Open Meetings Commission finds violations in five of six cases
Joshua Haiar, 11/18/24

“The Lincoln County Commission violated South Dakota’s open-meetings laws when three commissioners attended a November 2023 open house for a carbon dioxide pipeline without notifying the public, the state’s Open Meetings Commission decided Monday in Pierre,” the South Dakota Searchlight reports. “Commissioners Mike Poppens, Jim Jibben and Joel Arends attended the gathering, which prompted a complaint. The Open Meetings Commission decided a public notice should have been issued because a quorum of the five-member commission was present at a gathering where public policy may have been discussed — in this case, a pipeline that’s been a matter of debate in the county for several years… “Hoffman said public policy is almost always discussed at such gatherings and that county commissioners should know better – particularly when the topic is something as controversial as the carbon pipeline project… “The commission found violations in five of the six cases it considered Monday, which will result in written public reprimands against the offenders.” 

1012 Industry Report: Louisiana’s pipeline industry struggles with infighting and other roadblocks as it aims to meet LNG demand
Sam Barnes, 11/18/24

“Irrespective of the current LNG permitting pause, existing demand and a readily available supply are fueling the construction of thousands of miles of new natural gas pipelines from the Haynesville and Permian shale plays,” according to 1012 Industry Report. “As many as eight pipeline projects continue to advance across Texas and Louisiana to feed five LNG export projects currently under construction along the Gulf Coast, according to the most recent data provided by the U.S. Energy Information Administration’s Natural Gas Pipeline Project Tracker… “Gordon Gorrie, vice president of oil and gas research at Industrial Info Resources in Houston, is currently tracking 155 projects totaling $22 billion in natural gas pipelines and compressor stations across the two states that are either planned, designed or under construction. Gorrie, who monitors oil and gas investment worldwide, told the Report most of the pipelines are making a beeline for the Gulf Coast to serve LNG facilities in Texas and Louisiana… “Market dynamics favor a robust pipeline market in the long term, Greg Upton, executive director of LSU’s Center for Energy Studies in Baton Rouge, told the Report. That’s because U.S. oil and gas production is expected to grow for decades. “Globally, it’s going to be driven by the developing world,” Upton told the Report. “If we’re going to connect production all over the U.S. with markets all over the world, midstream assets are going to be part of that connection. So as long as those longer trends persist, there are going to be investments in these midstream assets to get product down to the Gulf Coast.” “…Tulane’s Smith told the Report environmental groups and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, or FERC, seem determined to disrupt new or expanded LNG export capability.”

Rogue Valley Times: Jordan Cove pipeline protestors to defend DOJ surveillance suit
Nick Morgan, 11/18/24

“Lawyers for a group of Southern Oregonians who demonstrated against the Jordan Cove pipeline project will appear in a Salem courtroom this week to defend their lawsuit over being monitored by an anti-terror center from at least the latter 2010’s into 2021,” the Rogue Valley Times reports. “Portland lawyer Jeffrey Rosenthal, working pro bono in cooperation with New York University’s Policing Project, will face the Oregon Attorney General’s office Thursday in Marion County Circuit Court to defend a lawsuit filed in December 2021 on behalf of plaintiffs that include community organizer and former Phoenix City Councilor Sarah Westover; Klamath tribal members Ka’ila Farrell-Smith and Rowena Jackson; and Oregon Women’s Land Trust president Rosemary Francis Eatherington. The Oregon Department of Justice earlier this summer filed a motion to dismiss the Southern Oregonians’ lawsuit nearly three years into the pending litigation. The local community organizers claimed in their still-pending suit that their rights were violated when a law enforcement data clearinghouse the DOJ operates known as the Oregon TITAN Fusion Center unlawfully kept tabs on the demonstrators. The plaintiffs in the case had organized peaceful demonstrations opposing the since-thwarted Jordan Cove natural gas pipeline; the NYU Policing Project argues the plaintiffs were within their constitutional rights… “Oregon TITAN Fusion is part of a national network of roughly 80 fusion centers that retain, analyze and distribute information on threat-related information between federal, state, local and tribal agencies, according to the NYU Policing Project suit… “The NYU Policing Project’s suit claims that the Oregon TITAN Fusion Center is “ultra vires,” meaning it operates without legislative accountability… “The Southern Oregonians aided by the NYU Policing Project claim in their 2021 civil rights suit claim that the Oregon TITAN Fusion Center routinely monitored them in investigations that lacked a criminal nexus in the 2010s through late 2021 — and thus claim the agency violated Oregon Revised Statute 181A.250. The state statute prohibits law enforcement agencies from collecting information about the political, religious or social views of an individual or group unless they have reasonable grounds to suspect the individual is involved in a crime.”

Reuters: TC Energy forecasts higher 2025 core profit on natgas, electricity demand
11/19/24

“TC Energy said on Tuesday it expects 2025 core profit to be in the range of about C$10.7 billion ($7.63 billion) to C$10.9 billion ($7.78 billion), higher than its 2024 forecast, due to rising demand for natural gas and electrification,” Reuters reports. “…For 2024, the Canadian pipeline operator expects core profit to be at the upper end of C$9.9 billion to C$10.1 billion, excluding its Liquid Pipelines segment. The company completed the spin-off of its Liquid Pipelines unit in October, as it looked to focus on natural gas and reduce debt. North America’s rising natural gas demand was driven by higher LNG exports, retiring coal plants and growing consumption in data centers associated with artificial intelligence operations, TC Energy said in its third-quarter earnings call. The company sees data center opportunities of more than two bcfd in North America, according to its investor presentation slides. It also announced four new growth projects aligned with increasing demand for natural gas and nuclear power generation, which would total to nearly C$1.5 billion ($1.07 billion) in capital expenditure.”

WASHINGTON UPDATES

Common Dreams: Campaigners Demand ‘Biden Make a Final Stand’ for Climate Before Trump Takeover
Brett Wilkins, 11/17/24

“With the clock winding down on President Joe Biden’s tenure and the dark cloud of Republican President-elect Donald Trump’s imminent administration looming, activists rallied Sunday in Washington, D.C. to demand that the Biden administration “use every tool possible to make progress on climate justice” while there’s still time,” Common Dreams reports. “Under the rallying call “Biden make a final stand, fossil fuels destroy this land,” members and allies of groups including the Green New Deal Network, 350.org, Center for Biological Diversity, Fridays for Future USA, Extinction Rebellion D.C., Sunrise D.C., Oil Change International, Food & Water Watch, and others gathered outside the headquarters of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)—which will be run by fracking champion Lee Zeldin if Trump’s nominee is confirmed by what will be a Republican-controlled Senate. “The stakes could not be higher. Donald Trump and his fossil fuel allies are about to take control of the White House, doubling down on dirty energy policies that are destroying our planet and our communities,” Food & Water Watch policy director Jim Walsh told attendees of Sunday’s protest. “We will not stand by idly and watch them put the profits of fossil fuel companies above the health and well-being of our communities.” “…In addition to calling on congressional Democrats to reject a permitting reform bill introduced earlier this year by Sens. Joe Manchin (I-W.Va.) and John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) that critics have linked to Project 2025, a conservative coalition’s agenda for a far-right overhaul of the federal government. Walsh called the proposed legislation—which has previously been derided as Manchin’s “dirty deal”—a “giveaway to the fossil fuel industry masquerading as some sort of bipartisan energy solution.” “In reality, this bill will clear the way for decades of pollution and climate chaos,” Walsh added. “It will poison communities for the profits of fossil fuel interests. This will do nothing except forward Donald Trump and the Project 2025 agenda.” Walsh also called on Biden to reject half a dozen permits related to the export of liquefied natural gas.”

Bloomberg: Trump’s Energy Shakeup Will Spare Carbon Capture
Jennifer A Dlouhy, 11/19/24

“…Carbon capture and storage has bipartisan support, with advocates touting it as an important tool for paring pollution,” Bloomberg reports. “Under outgoing President Joe Biden, the Environmental Protection Agency has put CCS at the center of efforts to curtail power-plant emissions. But greenlighting the infrastructure necessary to transport all that trapped carbon dioxide away from power stations and refineries — and then lock it underground — has proved anything but easy. The EPA has a backlog of about 150 applications for wells to store captured CO2, including some filed three years ago. The agency has only authorized two since a key CCS tax credit was expanded under Biden’s signature climate law a couple of years ago. Enter Trump. During his first term, the Republican’s EPA gave two states the lead role vetting CO2 storage wells within their borders (a feat only one additional state has managed under Biden), helping accelerate permitting and construction. What’s more, Trump’s new pick to lead the EPA, former Republican Representative Lee Zeldin of New York, has been vocal in his support for carbon capture… “Environmentalists “talk a good game about how important carbon capture is,” Tom Pyle, president of free-market advocacy group the American Energy Alliance, told Bloomberg… “In Pyle’s view, it could be “ironic to see how quickly the Trump administration can clear away the bureaucracy on this.”

E&E News: Biden inks billion-dollar climate deals to foil Trump rollbacks
Benjamin Storrow, Kelsey Tamborrino, Brian Dabbs, Jessie Blaeser, 11/19/24

“One of President Joe Biden’s signature climate initiatives is on the clock.The Department of Energy is racing to close $25 billion in pending loans to businesses building major clean energy projects across the country. The push is one of Biden’s last chances to cement his climate legacy before President-elect Donald Trump takes office next year under the promise of shredding Democratic spending programs,” E&E News reports. “The department’s Loan Programs Office emerged as one of Biden’s most potentially powerful tools for greening the economy, making billion-dollar deals to restart a nuclear power plant in Michigan, fund lithium mining in Nevada, and build factories for churning out electric vehicle components in Ohio and Tennessee. But it faces an uncertain future under Trump, who as president backed only one project under the program and proposed slashing the office’s budget… “The incoming Trump administration could rip up unfinished loans or put a moratorium on further action, some proponents of the office fear. “We are scared about it,” Nalin Gupta, founder and CEO of Wabash Valley Resources, which received a conditional commitment for a nearly $1.6 billion loan guarantee in September to install a carbon capture and sequestration system on an ammonia facility at the site of a former coal plant in Indiana, told E&E. The project — which supports a technology long embraced by Republicans — underwent initial review during Trump’s first term, giving the company some confidence the loan would be approved under the future White House. But Gupta added: “We have been on this journey for eight years, and we just got our conditional approval. We were almost celebrating, but I’ve learned each time I celebrate it lasts for this long before something comes up.”

E&E News: Manchin Signals Busy Lame Duck With 74-Bill Markup 
Garrett Downs, Marc Heller, 11/18/24

“Senate Energy and Natural Resources Chair Joe Manchin has rescheduled his mammoth, 74-bill markup for this week, giving the chamber a chance to pass a slew of natural resources legislation in the lame duck,” E&E News reports. “The committee was originally planning to hold the markup before the election but the Senate left early to campaign. While some of the bills are likely to see no action on the floor, it’s possible others could be incorporated into a broader package. Top on the list of priorities is S. 373, the ‘Reinvesting in Shoreline Economies and Ecosystems Act,’ from Sens. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), Bill Cassidy (R-La.) and 24 co-sponsors. The bill would create a revenue-sharing arrangement for offshore wind projects with states. Currently, the Treasury Department takes all revenues from offshore wind operating on federal waters. Under the bill, states adjacent to offshore wind projects would recoup up to 50 percent of revenues. NOAA would get 37.5 percent, and the remaining 12.5 percent would be directed to Treasury. States would be able to use their pot for coastal restoration.”

E&E News: Democrats Ask Biden To Clamp Down On Offshore Drilling 
Nicole Norman, 11/15/24

“A group of Democratic lawmakers want President Joe Biden to impose new restrictions on offshore drilling before the new administration takes office,” E&E News reports. “A letter led by House Natural Resources ranking member Raúl Grijalva (D-Ariz.) and Energy and Commerce ranking member Frank Pallone (D-N.J.) calls on Biden to put areas off limits in the Atlantic and Pacific oceans and eastern Gulf of Mexico. “As you cement your legacy to be the nation’s greatest climate president, we urge you to use your authority designated under 12(a) of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (OCSLA) to permanently withdraw unleased and at-risk areas of the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) from fossil fuel development,” the lawmakers wrote. The Biden administration used the law in 2023 to limit Arctic development. Then-President Donald Trump also protected some areas during his first term.”

Financial Times: Offshore Oil Is Back. At What Cost? 
Myles McCormick, Jamie Smyth, 11/17/24

“About 150 miles south-east of the US city of New Orleans, Shell’s newest oil platform looms above the choppy waters of the Gulf of Mexico,” the Financial Times reports. “Dubbed Vito, the structure embodies a new approach to offshore drilling both for the company — and the industry at large. “Vito represents the future of Shell in the Gulf of Mexico,” Ireti Omotoso, Shell’s general manager for US growth assets, told FT over the roar of compression equipment. “She is faster, leaner, creates less emissions and is technologically more advanced than earlier platforms,” he told FT. “She does a lot more for less.” Vito is part of a new generation of facilities being deployed by the industry as it cranks up spending on deepwater drilling in waters 150 metres below the surface, banking on the world remaining thirsty for hydrocarbons for years to come. The industry’s pitch to investors is that new technologies and efficiency gains can slash the hefty pricetag of deepwater drilling, while dramatically lowering emissions during the extraction process.”

E&E News: 4 things Trump can — and can’t — do to boost oil and gas
Mike Soraghan, Heather Richards, Carlos Anchondo, Shelby Webb, 11/19/24

“…The call also reflects how happy many members of the oil and gas industry are to see President Joe Biden heading for the exit, along with his methane fee, natural gas export pause and climate agenda,” E&E News reports. “…Here’s how several of the top issues for the oil and gas business might shake out. CAN: Roll back regulations. Trump is expected to immediately begin an effort to unravel Biden-era regulations on oil and gas development, as well as pass legislation in Congress to speed up permitting for fossil energy projects… “Kathleen Sgamma, president of the Western Energy Alliance in Colorado, told E&E the Trump administration will target methane rules… “Sgamma told E&E repealing the rules passed in the Inflation Reduction Act probably won’t be a high priority. Instead, the likely Republican-controlled Congress will be focused on permitting reforms that advance fossil fuel projects and updating the National Environmental Policy Act — longtime asks of both traditional and renewable energy industries… “CAN’T: Make companies drill more… “But don’t expect a traffic jam of oil rigs on Inauguration Day. Despite what Trump has said, U.S. oil and gas production is setting records… “CAN: Act faster on LNG permits. A second Trump administration is expected to make good on a campaign pledge to quickly issue permits for companies planning to ship liquefied natural gas overseas… “CAN’T: End U.S. refineries’ reliance on foreign oil. One of Trump’s campaign promises was to raise tariffs on foreign goods in order to help pay for domestic tax cuts. But he won’t be able to put tariffs on imported oil without causing gasoline prices to spike and causing issues in the U.S. oil refining industry.”

Wall Street Journal: A Battle Brews Over America’s West: Environmentalists Vs. ‘Cowboys For Trump’ 
Jim Carlton, 11/16/24

“Nick Nalder runs his cattle across the rugged high desert south of Reno, embodying an iconic image straight out of a cowboy movie. But like most Nevada ranchers, he confronts an insurmountable challenge: He doesn’t have enough private land to grow his herd,” the Wall Street Journal reports. “Farming and ranching aren’t easy vocations, yet perhaps nowhere do things get thornier than in Nevada, where the U.S. government controls more than 80% of the land—the highest percentage in the nation. It is here that some of America’s most contentious battles over public-land use unfold between ranchers, farmers, environmentalists and federal agencies. This tension appears set to escalate. Many ranchers like Nalder, 32, expect President-elect Donald Trump to give them a friendlier ear and broader land access than President Biden and other Democratic administrations… “Whatever short-term benefits ranchers might hope they get from relaxed enforcement of the law will get immediately tied up in court,” Aaron Weiss, deputy director of the Center for Western Priorities, a green group in Denver, told the Journal. “At the end of the day, they still are limited by the law even if Donald Trump doesn’t think so.”

Washington Post: These are the environmental rules that will likely outlive Trump
Nicolás Rivero, 11/18/24

“President-elect Donald Trump has vowed to dismantle much of President Joe Biden’s climate legacy — but there’s one set of environmental policies that will be hard to reverse,” the Washington Post reports. “Over the past four years, the Biden administration has set new energy efficiency standards for two dozen appliances, from air conditioners to microwaves. The rules would require companies to find ways to make dishwashers, dryers and other new appliances use less energy — for example, by adding better insulation or using more advanced parts. If all these rules take effect, the Energy Department says they will prevent the climate pollution equivalent of running 18 million cars or 22 coal power plants each year. They’ll also save the average American household $107 a year on utility bills and cut businesses’ energy spending by a collective $2 billion per year, according to a recent report from the Appliance Standards Awareness Project (ASAP) and the Public Interest Research Group. During his first term, Trump tried to undermine existing efficiency rules and made it harder for the Energy Department to add new ones… “But ultimately, not much changed: Companies kept making efficient appliances and Americans kept buying them, according to Andrew deLaski, ASAP’s executive director… “Experts told the Post Biden’s efficiency rules will probably survive Trump — but the president-elect can still make his mark by deciding not to raise the standards for the next four years.”

STATE UPDATES

KPLC: Vernon Parish joins other parishes in objecting to carbon capture
Theresa Schmidt, 11/18/24

“Vernon Parish Police Jury has decided to adopt a resolution objecting to carbon sequestration,” KPLC reports. “That’s until there is a better understanding of the potential negative or positive impacts to Vernon Parish and its residents… “The jury has asked the state to hold off issuing any permits for injection wells related to carbon capture in the parish.”

NOLA.com: Louisiana offshore carbon capture facility gets $26 million federal grant
Timothy Boone, 11/18/24

“A proposed Cameron Parish offshore carbon capture and storage facility has been awarded a $26 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy,” NOLA.com reports. “OnStream CO2 will use the grant to develop its GeoDura CO2 storage hub, which will store more than 250 million metric tons of carbon dioxide… “The storage facility near Monkey Island will handle carbon emissions from the Commonwealth liquified natural gas export facility in Cameron. OnStream also announced Monday that Enbridge, a pipeline company, has become a 45% equity partner. Enbridge will serve as the preferred carbon dioxide transportation provider, connecting GeoDura to industrial plants in Lake Charles and Port Arthur, Texas… “GeoDura said it expects to begin injecting carbon dioxide into the storage facility in 2028. The company said it is finalizing a sequestration permit for submittal to the Louisiana Department of Energy and Natural Resources.”

Boulder Reporting Lab: Colorado commission halts Draco fracking plan near Erie over concerns about proximity to residents, orders new site review
Por Jaijongkit, 11/17/24

“The Colorado Energy and Carbon Management Commission voted unanimously on Nov. 15 to indefinitely halt the proposed Draco Pad oil and gas project,” according to the Boulder Reporting Lab. “The plan would have allowed a fracking well pad to be built just outside the Town of Erie, less than half a mile from a residential neighborhood, with drilling extending 2.5 miles horizontally into Boulder County. The decision requires Extraction Oil & Gas, the developer, to evaluate an alternative location. The five-member commission’s decision followed two public hearings where commissioners heard comments — mainly from residents opposed to the project — and reviewed presentations from Extraction Oil & Gas and Weld County, which had approved the project. Commissioners ultimately decided Extraction had not sufficiently demonstrated that the impacts of the Draco Pad — particularly its close proximity to residential areas — were unavoidable… “I would be in favor of staying and requiring an additional analysis on alternative four,” said the commission’s chair, Jeff Robbins, noting that the site would allow Erie residents, the people most affected, a greater voice in the project.”

Associated Press: Alaska Political Leaders Hope To See Trump Undo Restrictions On Oil Drilling 
Becky Borher, 11/15/24

“President-elect Donald Trump promised repeatedly during his campaign to expand oil drilling in the U.S., which is good news for political leaders in Alaska, where oil is the economic lifeblood and many felt the Biden administration has obstructed efforts to boost the state’s diminished production,” the Associated Press reports. “A debate over drilling on federal lands on Alaska’s petroleum-rich North Slope will likely be revived in the coming months, particularly in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, which environmentalists have long sought to protect as one of the country’s last wild places. On Saturday, Trump named Chris Wright — a campaign donor, fossil fuel executive and vocal advocate of oil and gas development — to serve as energy secretary in his second administration. The question of drilling on the refuge’s coastal plain, as Trump sought to do during his first term, also divides Alaska Native communities. Some welcome the potential new revenue while others worry about how it will impact wildlife in an area they consider sacred.”

Alaska Beacon: Alaska scientists and policymakers look to hydrogen as power source of the future
Yereth Rosen, 11/15/24

“…Governments, industry and scientific institutions are now investigating how they might be able to switch from drilling for petroleum, which produces planet-warming carbon dioxide when burned, to drilling for zero-emissions hydrogen,” the Alaska Beacon reports. “There are good reasons for that, Geoffrey Ellis, the U.S. Geological Survey’s geologic hydrogen research leader, told the Beacon… “Shifting to renewable sources like solar, wind and geothermal energy is crucial to addressing climate change, but there is no way those types of energy can power big industrial users like manufacturers and agriculture, Ellis told the workshop attendees… “In contrast, the hydrogen in the ground accumulates when water encounters iron or radiation. Through a process known as serpentinization, the reaction with those other elements in the earth separates the water’s hydrogen from its oxygen – without human intervention. Initial estimates, Ellis said, are that the earth could hold about 5 million megatons of geologic hydrogen, or 5 billion tons. While much of that is in impossible-to-reach sites like the deep ocean, accessing just 2% of that would meet the anticipated global hydrogen demand for more than 200 years, he told the workshop attendees… “As he explains it, the physical characteristics that make Alaska prone to earthquakes and volcanic eruptions and rich with mineral deposits also signal potential for reserves of valuable hydrogen in the ground… “Any spot on the earth where the ocean floors have been pulled apart has the potential to hold geologic hydrogen, Myers said. One region of keen interest is the Midcontinent Rift, a geologic feature that runs from Lake Superior to Kansas in the U.S. Midwest. Exploratory drilling there has already begun.”

Colorado Public Radio: How A Second Trump Administration Might Reverse Drilling And Energy Restrictions On Public Lands In Colorado 
Ishan Thakore, 11/15/24

“Newly minted federal rules designed to protect greater sage grouse habitats by restricting drilling, mining and renewable energy projects on nearly 1,200 square miles of public land in Colorado could be rolled back under a second Donald Trump administration,” Colorado Public Radio reports. “On Nov. 8, the U.S. Bureau of Land Management, which administers land owned by the federal government, finalized updates to protect the habitat of the greater sage grouse on around 65 million acres of agency-managed land… “Greater sage grouse love the same lands where we have our [oil and gas],” Kathleen Griffin, the grouse conservation program manager for Colorado Parks and Wildlife, told CPR.”

Floodlight: Huge gas plant eyed to power mystery $5B Louisiana data center
Pam Radtke, 11/15/24

“In rural northeast Louisiana, known for its rice, sweet potato farms and poverty, an as-yet-to-be-named company has agreed to build a new data center with an investment of at least $5 billion,” Floodlight reports. “The development is being called a “godsend” and a “game changer” for the region, where one in five people lives in poverty. Next to the site, off Interstate 20 in Holly Ridge, electric utility Entergy plans to build a 1,500-megawatt natural gas plant to power the data center… “Over the last several months, concern has arisen that the construction of fossil-fueled power plants to provide power to the proliferation of U.S. data centers will slow progress on the nation’s climate change goals. “Entergy is proposing to add huge amounts of greenhouse gas emissions, with proposals to mitigate those emissions ‘in the future’ with largely unproven technologies,” Whit Cox, regulatory director of the Southern Renewable Energy Association, which has filed to intervene in Entergy’s request, told Floodlight. And a Louisiana utility consumer group questions whether the cost of the new plants will be passed onto residential customers. Details about the data center are cloaked in secrecy and non-disclosure agreements… “The utility is asking the Louisiana PSC to approve construction of the new power plant — where the primary customer will be the data center — within 10 months… “We see (the gas buildout) as a huge threat — we are at a moment where we need to be phasing out fossil fuels and not locking it in for decades longer,” Gudrun Thompson, energy program leader for the Southern Environmental Law Center told Floodlight earlier this year.​​ 

Energy News Network: Advocates make economic case for green steel production at Dearborn, Michigan plant
Kari Lydersen, 11/18/24

“Dearborn, Michigan, was at the heart of auto industry innovation during the days of the Model T Ford. Now clean energy and environmental justice advocates are proposing that the city play a lead role in greening the auto industry, through a transformation of the Dearborn Works steel mill to “green steel” — a steelmaking process powered by hydrogen and renewable energy with drastically lower emissions than a traditional blast furnace,” Energy News Network reports. “The blast furnace at Dearborn Works is due for relining in 2027, at an estimated cost of $470 million. Advocates argue that instead of prolonging the blast furnace’s life, its owner, Cleveland Cliffs, should invest another $2 billion dollars and convert the mill to Direct Reduced Iron (DRI) technology powered by green hydrogen (hydrogen produced with renewable energy). An October report by Dr. Elizabeth Boatman of the firm 5 Lakes Energy examines the economics and logistics of such a conversion, and argues that demand for cleaner steel is likely to grow as auto companies and other global industries seek to lower their greenhouse gas footprints. Starting in 2026, steel importers to the European Union will need to make payments to offset emissions associated with steel production. Worldwide, the auto industry is the second largest consumer of steel after construction, and “being able to pass on the price of a ‘green steel premium’ to its end consumers, the automotive industry is uniquely positioned to create demand for green steel without having to rely on public subsidies,” the European Union think tank CEPS said in a recent publication.”

EXTRACTION

Inside Climate News: The Tug-of-War on This Climate Super Pollutant Has Big Implications for the Future
Phil McKenna, 11/16/24

“What was billed as a “sprint to cut climate super pollutants” may soon slow to a jog. Top climate diplomats from the U.S., China and host country Azerbaijan gathered at COP29, the United Nations Climate Conference in Baku, this week to host a summit on methane and other “non-CO2” greenhouse gases,” Inside Climate News reports. “However, efforts to curb emissions of these climate super pollutants—greenhouse gases that on a pound-for-pound basis are far more effective at warming the planet than carbon dioxide—are likely to stall under President-elect Donald Trump… “Global consensus on the need to tackle non-CO2 greenhouse gases is stronger than ever,” U.S. climate envoy John Podesta said at the methane and non-CO2 summit on Tuesday. Podesta noted that 158 countries have now endorsed the Global Methane Pledge, a voluntary agreement to curb methane emissions launched by the U.S. and the European Commission in 2021… “On Tuesday, the U.S. also finalized an oil and gas Waste Emissions Charge that places a fee on large emitters of methane, oil and gas facilities whose emissions exceed 25,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent per year… “However, the American Exploration and Production Council, a group of 30 mostly independent oil and gas producers, is working to roll back the methane fee and other climate rules, according to internal documents obtained by The Washington Post… “The American Petroleum Institute, an industry group representing a wider swath of the oil and gas industry, released its own wish list for the Trump administration on Tuesday that included a repeal of the methane fee.”

Canada’s National Observer: Documents reveal Canada’s early efforts to save orcas from ‘catastrophic’ oil spills
Rochelle Baker, 11/18/24

“Fisheries and Oceans Canada has launched measures to try and protect endangered orcas on the West Coast from rising risk of oil spills, indicate federal documents obtained by Canada’s National Observer through access-to-information legislation. The fisheries department (DFO) has invested in vessels and acoustic gear, drafted an operating procedure for fishery officers, maintains community equipment caches and conducts training exercises led by a marine mammal response team that includes the use of underwater speakers to deter whales from entering a spill zone, the documents show. The information surfaced after prompts from environmental groups unable to find public information about the federal government’s plans to protect southern resident killer whales from potentially “catastrophic” oil spills in their critical habitat. Tanker traffic in the Salish Sea surged after the expanded Trans Mountain (TMX) pipeline came online in May. The legal charity Ecojustice filed a petition to the ministries of Environment and Climate Change Canada and Fisheries and Oceans Canada to see the status of promised measures to protect the estimated 72 remaining whales if crude oil shipped by supertankers pollutes their critical habitat in the Salish Sea… “The federal response to the petition, obtained by Canada’s National Observer, shows some progress has been made around key measures, but aspects are still incomplete, Margot Venton, nature program director with Ecojustice, told the Observer. However, no measure is going to eliminate the devastating impacts of a significant oil spill on the orcas, already on the edge of extinction, Venton stressed.”

TODAY IN GREENWASHING

The Narwhal: How Canada helped fossil fuel companies improve global ‘perception’ of the oilsands
Carl Meyer, 11/19/24

“As this year’s United Nations climate summit hits the halfway mark, newly obtained documents show how the Liberal government gave Canada’s oil and gas lobbyists a platform to polish the sector’s reputation at the same event in 2022,” The Narwhal reports. “Days later, the same government began a process of cracking down on misleading environmental messaging. Internal correspondence obtained by The Narwhal shows the Pathways Alliance, a group of Canadian oilsands companies, proposing to Environment and Climate Change Canada that it host a special event at the United Nations climate summit in 2022, aiming “to begin to change the international narrative of [the] oilsands.” The companies told Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government one of their “desired outcomes” of the event at the Canada Pavilion at the COP27 conference in Egypt was an “improved perception of the oilsands among international audiences.” And, documents show, their “first choice” of when to hold the event was during a day of the climate summit devoted to the theme of “decarbonization.” The lobbyists wanted to demonstrate “alignment” with Canada on emissions reduction, “showcase” their desire to achieve net-zero emissions and convey “Canada’s role in global energy security,” they told the government… “Around the time of the oilsands lobby’s event at the 2022 summit, dozens of civil society organizations called on Environment and Climate Change Minister Steven Guilbeault to reverse course, arguing the industry was greenwashing. But Guilbeault defended the influx of oil lobbyists, saying they “can have their voices heard just like everyone else.” Just days after the event, however, Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada launched consultations that would eventually lead to new provisions in competition law, putting the onus on companies to have evidence for environmental claims they make about their businesses or their products… “The documents raise questions about why the Environment Department allowed the oilsands lobby to control the message during the event in 2022, immediately before the Industry Department started the ball rolling on what would become anti-greenwashing rules that the oilsands companies said silenced them.”

OPINION

Energy News Network: Consensus-driven bill protects North Carolina from high power bills and spurs innovation
John Szoka is the CEO of Conservative Energy Network, a national network of state-based organizations focused on promoting clean energy innovation rooted in conservative values, 11/19/24

“It’s been three years since the North Carolina General Assembly passed House Bill 951, legislation known as the Energy Solutions for North Carolina Act. It was an historic occasion to get consensus across the aisle and across House and Senate chambers to pass this bill. It served as a compact with all North Carolinians that the appropriate planning and consideration would go into plotting out an energy future for our state that would keep power bills affordable and stable, accelerate innovation and economic development in clean energy technologies, all while significantly reducing emissions from the electric power sector,” John Szoka writes for Energy News Network. “…Keeping electric rates affordable is a central priority of the law. And whether or not you’re a proponent of clean energy as an ideology, this law is based on a business case: diversifying North Carolina’s energy mix to incorporate more modern power-generating technologies protects ratepayers from the unpredictable and volatile whims of global oil and gas markets. Looking through data from utility rate cases over the last several years, it’s simply a fact that natural gas market price spikes drove the overwhelming majority of increases we all saw on our monthly power bills. The more we can diversify our energy mix with technologies that come with no-fuel-cost sources like onshore and offshore wind, and solar with battery storage, the better off our wallets will be… “Intentionally diversifying those technologies into our energy mix via House Bill 951 was a common sense business decision for North Carolina’s economy.”