ENTEK wins $1.3 billion US Loan for EV Battery Plant
The U.S. Department of Energy's loans office said on Friday it has finalized a loan of $1.3 billion to ENTEK Lithium Separators to finance a plant in Indiana for making lithium-ion battery separators used mostly in electric vehicles.WHY IT'S IMPORTANTThe Loan Programs Office is racing to finalize billions of dollars in loans to companies developing cutting-edge technologies expected to help speed an energy transition and curb climate change.The loan was offered conditionally in July through the LPO's Advanced Technology Vehicles Manufacturing Loan Program…
Oil Edges to 2-Week High on Ukraine News
Oil prices edged up about 1% to a two-week high on Friday as the intensifying war in Ukraine this week boosted the market's geopolitical risk premium.Brent futures rose 66 cents, or 0.9%, to $74.89 a barrel by 11:39 a.m. EST (1639 GMT), while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude CLc1 rose 77 cents, or 1.1%, to $70.87.That put both crude benchmarks up over 5% for the week and on track for their highest closes since Nov. 7 as Moscow steps up its Ukraine offensive after Britain and the U.S. allowed Kyiv to strike deeper into Russia with their missiles."The…
Trump Energy Pick writes ESG report praising oil and gas, while downplaying climate worries
According to a report that he wrote as the CEO of oilfield service company Liberty Energy, Donald Trump's nominee to head the Energy Department believes fossil fuels will end world poverty. He says this is a bigger problem than the "distant threat" of climate change. Chris Wright stated in a February report entitled "Bettering Human Lives" that the energy transformation has not yet begun, and that while climate change is a problem, it's not the biggest threat to humanity. Wright, who founded a foundation to expand propane cook stoves for developing countries, believes that poverty is a greater threat and can be reduced with hydrocarbons.
Japan will take all necessary steps to ensure Sakhalin-2 LNG supplies from Russia.
Japan's Industry Minister Yojimuto announced on Friday that it will take every measure to ensure a steady supply of liquefied gas from the Sakhalin-2 Russian project in response to new U.S. Sanctions. Treasury Department announced that the United States had imposed new sanctions against Russia's Gazprombank, on Thursday. President Joe Biden is intensifying his efforts to punish Moscow for its invasion in Ukraine, before he leaves office at the end of January. Gazprombank, one of Russia's biggest banks, is owned in part by the Kremlin gas company Gazprom.
US Awards up to $2.2 Billion to Speed Clean-hydrogen Development
The U.S. Department of Energy announced on Wednesday that it had awarded up to $2 billion to centers in the Gulf Coast and the Midwest for the development of hydrogen, a new source of energy which is costly to produce with renewable power. Hydrogen supporters, such as the administration of Joe Biden believe that low carbon hydrogen can combat climate change by fueling industries like aluminum, cement and steel, along with long-haul transport. Most hydrogen produced today is made from fossil fuels, which emit unabated gases. This produces hydrogen at a fraction the price of clean hydrogen.
Edison CEO: US utilities want Trump and Republicans to save the inflation act
Pedro Pizarro said that the U.S. Utility Industry wants the incoming Trump Administration and the Republican-led Congress in Congress to maintain clean energy and EV Tax Credits in the Inflation Reduction Act. The 2022 IRA is a law that contains hundreds of billions in subsidies for clean power and was signed by outgoing president Joe Biden to combat climate changes. Donald Trump, the president-elect and climate skeptic who will be taking office, has pledged to repeal it. This would require Congress' support. Pizarro, a former board chair of the industry trade group Edison Electric Institute who was recently replaced…
The pledge of financing by the Development Bank gives COP29 an early boost
COP29 negotiators have welcomed a commitment by major development bank to increase funding for poor and middle-income nations struggling to combat global warming. This is a positive start to the two week summit. The World Bank and a group of lenders announced on Tuesday that they would increase the finance amount to $120 billion in 2030. This is a 60% increase over the amount of 2023. It's very helpful. Ryan added that this alone will not be enough. He said countries and companies should also contribute. Ding Xuexiang, vice premier of China, said that Beijing had already mobilized $24,5 billion to assist developing countries in combating climate change.
Biden officials ask EU methane regulations to be aligned with US rules to ease LNG flow, says letter
According to a letter obtained by the, President Joe Biden’s administration asked that the European Union ensure that liquefied gas imports meeting U.S. regulations for methane automatically meet Europe’s standards. The linking of U.S. methane and EU standards will protect the United States' LNG trade with Europe, while also securing Biden's rules on methane even if these are repealed in the future by Donald Trump's administration. We understand that the process will take some time. We would like to start discussions as soon possible to ensure a reliable and stable natural gas supply from the United States into Europe.
RWE buys back $1.6 billion in shares as the outlook for US offshore wind and hydrogen worsens
RWE, Germany’s largest utility, announced on Tuesday that it would purchase up to 1,5 billion euros ($1.6billion) in shares. The company cited weakening prospects in Europe for hydrogen and offshore wind, in response to Donald Trump’s election win. RWE has also bowed to investor pressure by launching a buyback that will begin in the fourth quarter of this year and last for 18 months. This is due to the fact that clean energy projects are not generating the returns they should. "We have strict requirements for the return on our investments and we review our capital allocation regularly." We reallocate capital to certain areas if the risk-return profiles change temporarily.
US oil industry calls on Trump to abandon Biden's climate policies
The U.S. Oil and Gas Industry on Tuesday called for President-elect Donald Trump's revocation of many policies implemented by President Joe Biden to combat climate change. They said the measures threatened jobs, consumer choices and energy security. The American Petroleum Institute, the nation's largest oil and gas trade association, has urged the incoming Trump administration to remove vehicle emission standards designed to encourage the auto industry to make more electric vehicles. It also urged Trump to lift the pause on liquefied gas export permits and work with Congress on repealing a fee for methane emissions during drilling operations.
US oil industry calls on Trump to abandon Biden's climate policies
The U.S. Oil and Gas Industry on Tuesday called for President-elect Donald Trump's revocation of many policies proposed by President Joe Biden to combat climate change. They said the measures threatened jobs, consumer choices and energy security. The American Petroleum Institute, the nation's largest oil and gas trade association, has urged the incoming Trump administration to remove vehicle emission standards designed to encourage the auto industry to make more electric vehicles. It also urged Trump to lift the pause on export licenses for liquefied gas facilities, and to work with Congress to eliminate a fee on drilling methane emissions.
As Biden's term ends, the US introduces a methane tax on gas and oil emitters.
The U.S. administration of President Joe Biden finalized on Tuesday a fee for large oil and gas companies to reduce emissions of this powerful greenhouse gas. However, the incoming Trump presidency is likely to scrap the fee. The methane tax is one of the last measures taken by the administration to combat the second most common greenhouse gas, after carbon dioxide. This gas tends to leak undetected into the atmosphere from drilling sites, gas pipes and other oil and natural gas equipment. The fee will be $900 per metric tonne of methane emissions in 2024. It will increase to $1200 in 2025 and to $1500 in 2026.
UN chief warns at COP29 that if you don't pay up, the climate will lead to disaster for humanity.
At the COP29 Summit on Tuesday, United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres urged world leaders to "pay up", in order to prevent climate-driven humanitarian disasters. He also said that time was running short to limit a destructive increase in global temperatures. Nearly 200 countries have gathered in Baku for the annual U.N. Climate Summit. This year, the summit is focused on raising hundreds and billions of dollars so that the world can transition to cleaner sources of energy while limiting the damage to the climate caused by carbon emission.
The US climate envoy said that work would continue despite Trump’s return
John Podesta, U.S. Climate Envoy, urged governments on Monday to believe in the promise of the United States to combat global climate change. He said Donald Trump could slow down, but not stop the transition away from fossil fuels, when he returns to the White House in January. The annual U.N. Climate Summit began Monday in Baku in Azerbaijan. Many country delegations were concerned that Trump's win in the U.S. Presidential election on November 5 would hamper progress in limiting planetary warming. Trump has pledged to remove the United States from international climate agreements…
After Trump's win, U.S. Governors have pledged to continue climate action.
After Donald Trump's election this week, Democratic Governors of Two U.S. States pledged to continue building programs on renewable energies and curbing climate changes. These comments are the first sign that Democratic Governors plan to continue their fight against climate change. Trump, who is a Republican and a climate change advocate, said that he could repeal the subsidies for electric cars, which are a key provision in President Joe Biden’s signature climate legislation, The Inflation Reduction Act. The IRA includes billions in subsidies for renewable energy including wind, solar, and batteries. It's unclear if Trump will also target them.
US prepares for second oil and Gas Auction in Alaska Refuge
Interior Department announced on Wednesday that the Biden administration had taken a major step toward holding the required sale of oil-and-gas leases in a wildlife refuge in Alaska by publishing a final environment review. The analysis presented a preferred scenario in which the agency offered 400,000 acres of land to drillers. This is the minimum permitted under a law passed in 2017 that required oil and gas leases sales within the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, including one before the end 2024. The Interior Department of U.S. president Joe Biden set in motion the analysis in 2021.
Who would be the best person to run Trump's energy policy?
Donald Trump, the president-elect of the United States, has pledged to overhaul U.S. Energy Policy. He aims to maximize oil and gas production in this country which is already at record levels by rolling back regulations and accelerating permits. Who will he select to lead the departments and agencies that are critical to completing this task? These are some names that have been considered. Two sources with knowledge of the matter say that Trump's second Energy secretary Dan Brouillette, and North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum, are both candidates to lead the U.S. Department of Energy during the next administration.
Sempra Port Arthur LNG Phase 2 is ahead of Cameron LNG, according to CFO
Karen Sedgwick, Sempra Infrastructure’s finance chief, said that the Port Arthur LNG Phase 2 project is ahead of Cameron LNG expansion. Sedgwick informed investors in a conference call that the Port Arthur project is moving faster because of a construction agreement that spans both phases with Bechtel. Port Arthur Phase 2 may receive its non-Free Trade Agreement Export Permit early next year, and the company can make a financial determination by the second quarter in 2025. Since signing a 20-year contract, the company has seen better terms. Sempra…
European clean energy stocks fall as Trump wins the presidency
After Donald Trump's election as president of the United States on Wednesday, shares in European clean-energy groups plunged. Investors were worried about a possible dismantling by the United States of its support for renewables. Trump pledged to cancel offshore wind projects via an executive order his first day of office, and roll back climate regulations that were implemented by President Joe Biden. This includes withdrawing from the Paris Agreement where countries commit to limit global heating and possibly undoing Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act which provides massive incentives and subsidies to clean energy technologies.
Orsted says US Green Energy Demand Will Grow Regardless of Election Results
Orsted said that the demand for green power will continue to grow in the United States, regardless of the person who is elected as president. However, the group also pointed out construction issues and increased costs at an offshore wind farm in the United States.The U.S. offshore industry is a young one, and it has already been affected by cancelled projects. Lease sales have also been put on hold. And there was a serious construction accident that occurred at the first major offshore project in the country.As part of the administration of President Joe Biden…
