General
News
State, Federal Steps To Cut Buildings’ GHGs Include Gas Bans, Efficiency.
According to Inside EPA, “As state and federal officials start to focus on cutting greenhouse
gases from the building sector, several major California cities are taking an aggressive approach of banning natural gas hookups in new homes while the federal policy discussion is generally focused on more modest steps, such as boosting building and appliance
efficiency standards. ‘Reducing pollution from buildings is tied to the power sector and how we produce electricity,’ House Energy & Commerce Committee Chairman Frank Pallone (D-NJ) said during a Sept. 20 hearing on the topic -- part of a series of sector-based
queries into options to achieve a net-zero GHG economy by 2050. Pallone noted that energy use in residential and commercial buildings is responsible for nearly 40 percent of national GHGs, more than any other sector. He pointed to improving efficiency in a
range of appliances -- such as air conditioning, water heaters and kitchen appliances -- as a key step toward curbing emissions. He also touched on other options, including updated building energy codes or weatherization. The congressional hearing comes as
San Jose, CA, earlier this month became the seventh city in the Golden State to ban gas hookups in new housing construction, in favor of decarbonized electricity.” [Inside EPA,
9/23/19
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5 Things The Gas Industry Is Watching.
According to E&E News, “Natural gas supporters got a firsthand look at climate concerns
last week as they met in this flood-prone energy capital to make the case for an abundant fossil fuel. Gastech, an international conference and exhibition, offered a chance for industry and government leaders to talk about cutting emissions and the importance
of a fuel known to burn more cleanly than coal. But the remnants of Tropical Storm Imelda were in Houston last week, too. They pounded the area with rain and made many streets impassable (Greenwire, Sept. 20). The disruption was a real-world reminder that
pressure won’t soon recede on gas given worries about emissions that happen from gas fields all the way to power plants. Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner, a longtime Democrat, welcomed Gastech by noting the importance of gas in the energy mix — and the export
footprint in the Gulf Coast region. He said Houston is committed to fostering economic conditions to build the liquefied natural gas industry and to become a center for renewable energy. ‘We are in a time of energy transition when the world is seeking ways
to lower carbon emissions and increase energy diversification,’ Turner said. ‘And this means finding innovative ways to make traditional energy sources cleaner and more efficient, as well as focusing more on lower carbon and renewable energy sources such as
wind and solar.’” [E&E News, 9/24/19
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Green Group Moves Closer To Launching Satellite For Methane.
According to E&E News, “The Environmental Defense Fund has picked a contractor to build
a satellite that’s designed to spot and measure man-made methane emissions around the world. Future space observations — a first for an environmental group — will provide weekly information on sources of natural gas leaks and other methane sources. EDF announced
yesterday that the satellite, called MethaneSAT, will be built by Ball Aerospace, a veteran maker of space equipment with headquarters in Boulder, Colo. The orbiter is expected to launch in 2022. The satellite project was first revealed by EDF’s president,
Fred Krupp, in an April 2018 TED Talk, after a lengthy EDF investigation into the sources of methane emissions in the U.S. ‘I want real certainty that we can make a dent in this problem and live to see it,’ Krupp said then, noting that the cost of satellite
technology ‘is going down in price and up in precision.’ Just what the satellite will cost to design, launch and manage remains a mystery. Jon Coifman, a spokesman for the program at EDF, said: ‘We have not released budget or financials. Suffice it to say
it is a substantial investment, but one that would not have been possible even a few years ago.’” [E&E News,
9/24/19
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Bills Aim To Boost Appalachian Fortunes, Chemical Renaissance.
According to E&E News, “House Republicans are backing the push to keep the Appalachian
Regional Commission running and use the independent development agency to help build a politically charged petrochemical storage hub project in the region. Rep. David McKinley (R-W.Va.) introduced two bills last week that mirror legislation previously put
forward by Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.). H.R. 4434 would reauthorize the ARC, which serves 420 counties in 13 states along the Appalachian Mountains, through 2025. Congress has rebuffed attempts by President Trump to eliminate the 53-year-old agency.
Like Capito’s S. 2273, McKinley’s bill would increase ARC’s annual budget from $165 million to $180 million, reserving $20 million for broadband development. ‘At my rural broadband roundtable in western Maryland this month, I heard loud and clear that we need
more funding for rural broadband,’ said Rep. David Trone (D-Md.), a co-sponsor alongside fellow Appalachia lawmakers. McKinley’s second bill, H.R. 4433, does not have the same backing. The ‘Appalachian Regional Energy Hub Initiative Act,’ a companion to Capito’s
S. 2280, would mandate ARC to spend $5 million on building an ethane storage hub.” [E&E News,
9/24/19
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Interior Floated Delays To Enforcing Obama-Era Offshore Drilling Rules.
According to Politico, “The Interior Department considered using a regulatory loophole to free oil and gas companies from the drilling safety standards created after 2010’s disastrous
BP oil spill, according to agency emails obtained by POLITICO. The move, which would have waived the updated safety requirements for offshore drillers, appeared to draw qualms from some career employees at Interior’s Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement,
one of whom urged the agency’s top boss to ‘put it in writing.’ In the end, the agency issued hundreds of waivers to the Obama-era rules, though it contended they maintained the same levels of safety. Environmentalists called the revelation disturbing, since
it would have allowed the drillers to avoid measures that were designed to increase safety in the wake of the accident that killed 11 workers on the Deepwater Horizon in 2010. ‘It seems like the administration purposefully relied on a loophole to blow off
the public process following the BP Deepwater Horizon disaster,’ Oceana campaign director Diane Hoskins said after reviewing the emails. ‘Despite longstanding, systemic problems in offshore drilling safety, this administration is simultaneously working to
weaken key safety protections and radically expand offshore drilling.” [Politico,
9/24/19 (=)]
Chad Ellwood
Research Associate
202.448.2877 ext. 119