Biden Administration spending climate cash quickly as Trump threatens cancel it
If Donald Trump wins the Nov. 5 presidential election, he has promised to cancel all funds that have not been spent from President Joe Biden’s climate law. Biden administration officials say that the majority of the grants will have been spent by January when a new President takes office. Targeting what is left would be a huge legal challenge. Biden Administration officials say that the administration has so far awarded $90 billion to climate, clean-energy, and other projects under the 2022 inflation reduction act.
"Green Energy" will drive the need for more Mining and Metals Production
Clean energy may mean less mining for coal, but it also means opening or expanding mines to unearth minerals such as cobalt for use in alloys and batteries, tellurium for solar cells and semiconductors, and germanium for transistors in electronic devices. That’s according to Dr. Michael Moats, professor and interim chair of materials science and engineering at Missouri University of Science and Technology, who says reducing…
US House Bill Seeks $8 Bln for Abandoned Oil and Gas Well Cleanup
A U.S House of Representatives Democrat introduced a bill on Thursday authorizing $8 billion to plug and clean up abandoned oil wells nationwide, a measure aimed at creating jobs for oil and gas workers and reducing climate-warming emissions.More than a century of oil and gas drilling has left behind millions of abandoned wells, many of which are emitting methane, a potent greenhouse gas, into the atmosphere. Oil and…
ENERGY: Oil Rises on Vaccine Optimism, U.S. Stimulus
Oil prices open March 2021 on a strong note, supported by optimism about COVID-19 vaccinations, a U.S. stimulus package and growing factory activity in Europe despite coronavirus restrictions.Brent crude was up 63 cents or 1% at $65.05 a barrel by 1150 GMT, and U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude jumped 62 cents or 1% to $62.12 a barrel. Both contracts finished February 18% higher."The three major supportive factors are the prevalent vaccine rollouts…
US Extends Offshore Wind Tax Credit
The American Wind Energy Association (AWEA) issued a statement in support of two bills introduced in the U.S. Senate this week, which would both extend the federal Investment Tax Credit (ITC) for offshore wind energy.The legislation comes at a critical time for offshore wind in America, as energy developers prepare to start construction on the first wave of large-scale projects.The Offshore Wind Incentives for New Development Act introduced by Senators Markey (D-MA)…
Bill Allowing US to Sue OPEC Drawing Renewed Interest
With oil prices hitting fresh four-year highs, long-dormant proposals to allow the United States to sue OPEC nations are getting a fresh look in Congress, though they were once considered a longshot to becoming law.A U.S. Senate subcommittee on Wednesday will hear testimony on the so-called No Oil Producing and Exporting Cartels Act, or NOPEC, which would revoke the sovereign immunity that has long shielded OPEC members from U.S. legal action.The bill would change U.S.
US Energy Companies Fume over Rejected Steel Tariff Exemptions
The U.S. Commerce Department recently granted a tariff exemption to oil major Chevron for its imports of 4.5-inch Japanese steel tubes for oil exploration.But the department rejected a similar request from Borusan Mannesmann Pipe to exclude 4.5-inch steel pipes imported from Turkey for casing used to line new oil wells.The reason: multiple U.S. steelmakers objected to Borusan's application, arguing they could supply the product, according to the department. Chevron drew no such objections.When U.S.
House Set to Debate Offshore Wind Energy Bills in US Waters
A U.S. House committee will kick off debate next week on three new bills aimed at boosting offshore wind energy leases in federal waters.The House Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources will hold a hearing on Tuesday on three bipartisan offshore wind proposals.One proposal would require the Interior Department to develop a leasing plan or schedule for federal offshore leases, a second would create a federal grant for educational or career programs for the offshore industry…
EU Divided On New US Sanctions against Russia
European Commission preparations to retaliate against proposed new U.S. sanctions on Russia that could affect European firms are likely to face resistance within a bloc divided on how to deal with Moscow, diplomats, officials and experts say. A bill agreed by U.S. Senate and House leaders foresees fines for companies aiding Russia to build energy export pipelines. EU firms involved in Nord Stream 2, a 9.5 billion euro ($11.1 billion) project to carry Russian gas across the Baltic, are likely to be affected.
House Repeals Obama Rule on Methane Emissions on Federal Lands
The U.S. House of Representatives on Friday repealed a rule put forth in the final days of the Obama administration that limited emissions of the potent greenhouse gas methane from oil and gas drilling on federal lands, in the latest move by Republican lawmakers to overturn regulation on the energy industry. The Senate is expected to vote next on repealing the rule, which was part of former President Barack Obama's efforts to curb climate change.
Ahead of EIA Data, Oil Slips on Rising U.S. Inventories
API data shows higher U.S. crude and products inventories; market looks for confirmation from U.S. government data. Oil prices fell on Wednesday after builds in U.S. inventories reinforced expectations that increasing shale output this year would reduce the impact of production cuts by OPEC and other major exporters. Benchmark Brent crude was down 1 percent or 54 cents a barrel at $54.90 by 1024 GMT. U.S. light crude was down 52 cents at $52.66.
Trump Advisors Aim to Free Indian Land Resources
Native American reservations cover just 2 percent of the United States, but they may contain about a fifth of the nation's oil and gas, along with vast coal reserves. Now, a group of advisors to President-elect Donald Trump on Native American issues wants to free those resources from what they call a suffocating federal bureaucracy that holds title to 56 million acres of tribal lands, two chairmen of the coalition told Reuters in exclusive interviews.
U.S. States Sought to Keep Exxon Climate Probe Secret
A pact that 15 U.S. states signed to jointly investigate Exxon Mobil Corp for allegedly misleading the public about climate change sought to keep prosecutors' deliberations confidential and was broadly written so they could probe other fossil fuel companies. The "Climate Change Coalition Common Interest Agreement" was signed by state attorneys general in May, two months after they held a press conference to say they would go after Exxon…
Bankrupt Wyoming Coal Giant Turns to Grass
A squad of about ten Peabody Energy Corp. miners clad in steel-toed boots and hard hats climbed into massive bulldozers on a recent morning, ready to create rolling hills of grass over former pits at the Rawhide coal mine in Wyoming. In the midst of a deep coal downturn and widespread layoffs, the staff that remains at Rawhide is spending more time in 2016 on landscaping than mining. "We're probably going to do four times the amount this year than we would normally do…
U.S. states, Rockefellers clash with U.S. House panel on Exxon climate probes
With many U.S. states proceeding with investigations of Exxon Mobil Corp's record on climate change, the attorney general of Massachusetts and investment funds of the Rockefeller family on Friday told a Congressional committee it lacked powers to oversee those probes. The pushback is the latest chapter in a high-stakes fight between the world's largest publicly traded oil company and a coalition of state attorneys general who have said they would go after Exxon to try and force action to tackle climate change.
U.S. Court Sets Aside Obama Administration Fracking Rules for Public Lands
A federal judge in Wyoming has set aside new regulations for hydraulic fracturing on public lands that were vehemently opposed by oil and gas producers. The U.S. Bureau of Land Management lacked Congressional authority to set the rules that cover the practice on federal and Indian lands, U.S. District Judge Scott Skavdahl in Wyoming ruled on Tuesday. Skavdahl had put the rules, which were issued in their final form in March 2015…
US House Opposes Carbon and Oil Taxes in Symbolic Votes
The Republican-controlled U.S. House of Representatives voted largely along party lines on Friday to reject any new taxes on carbon emissions and oil production. The two non-binding actions were intended to get Republicans on the record opposing higher taxes on fossil fuels amid industry concerns that they could become part of a new tax reform debate in 2017, according to aides and lobbyists. One resolution opposing a carbon tax as detrimental to the U.S.
U.S. House Passes Bill to Fund Government, Export Crude Oil
The U.S. House of Representatives on Friday overwhelmingly passed a $1.1 trillion spending bill to keep government agencies open and funded through September 2016 and lift the 40-year-old ban on U.S. crude oil exports. The bipartisan vote sends the bill to the Senate, where Republican and Democratic leaders have agreed to combine it with a package of tax breaks passed on Thursday. The Senate will then take up the combined package in a series of procedural and a final vote expected by early Friday afternoon.
US Congress Negotiators Struggle Over Oil, Solar, Wind Breaks
U.S. Congress negotiators on Tuesday continued to tussle over Republican demands that a 40-year-old oil export ban be repealed and Democratic calls that any such repeal be coupled with incentives for clean energy projects, a senior Senate Democratic aide said. The talks are part of an end-of-year, must-pass bill to fund the government through September 2016 and extend a series of tax breaks. Earlier on Tuesday, U.S. House…
The American Energy Story Obama Won't Tell the World
(Note: Kevin McCarthy is the majority leader in the U.S. House of Representatives. President Barack Obama is poised to repeat his history of weak-handed negotiations on the world stage when nearly 200 countries gather in Paris on Monday to consider an international response to climate change. According to the president, rejecting the Keystone XL oil pipeline and piling regulations on the fossil fuel and power industries…
