Bracewell PRG Energy Update: 2022 Energy Wrap Up, Mining EE Events / Dec 19 

Frank Maisano, Senior Principal, Policy Resolution Group. Bracewell LLC

Normally, I adopt the “Champ Kind” view of sportscasting: “No Soccer.” But after yesterday’s EPIC 2022 World Cup Final between the world’s two biggest heavyweights (France/Argentina) with the world’s two best players (Messi/Mbappé), how can you not smile. Yesterday’s game makes a strong case for the greatest game of all time, allowing for context, stakes, entertainment value, drama, narrative tension and superstar cast. So much action with two great teams and great players willing their team toward the win. It will be hard for US/Mexico/Canada to top this final game in 2026.

Happy holidays to all. We were lighting candles last night with the first night of Hanukkah and Christmas rolls up on Sunday. I hope you all have some time to enjoy family over the next couple of weeks as we roll into 2023.

Before we do that, a couple of interesting items. First off, congrats to our friend Vijay Shanker, husband of our Bracewell colleague Dee Martin, who was unanimously confirmed late Thursday night by the US Senate to be associate judge for the DC Court of Appeals.

Also, late last week, you may have missed a really important decision from the California PUC on hydrogen that was overshadowed by its big solar netmetering ruling. In that same meeting, the CPUC voted 5-0 to utilize clean renewable hydrogen as a decarbonization strategy for the natural gas system and hard-to-electrify industries, allowing Southern California Gas to proceed with an initial phase of the Angeles Link Project, which envisions a transmission pipeline dedicated for clean renewable hydrogen transport to serve hard to electrify uses in the Los Angeles Basin.

This week, Congress is still here trying to finalize funding to keep the government open. With Republicans taking over the House on Jan 3^rd, there isn’t much interest in cutting deals, so we’ll see how it plays out. My politically connected colleague Liam Donovan is tracking all the action and is ready to help. Liam mostly says look for legislative language today and if we don’t get it, there could be trouble in meeting Friday’s deadline.

We are also watching EPA for rules on Trucks (Wednesday?), the new WOTUS Update (maybe today?) and NAAQS/PM (perhaps Friday). As for trucks, remember, EV trucks are not likely to make a dent due to battery size, weight and range challenges; but hydrogen trucking could for both long-haul trucking and short-term point-to-point in ports/warehousing environments. Happy to discuss and find you experts.

As we run out the clock on 2022, events this week include Wednesday morning’s Bipartisan Policy Center event on the future of mining. BPC will hold a forum to look at domestic mining, its policy reforms, innovation and environmental stewardship, featuring a fireside chat with Interior DepSec Tommy Beaudreau. Following the chat, an expert panel, including SAFE’s Abby Wulf, will discuss innovative mining processes and steps to ensure a more environmentally and socially responsible industry. Also, tomorrow morning, BCSE, ASE and ACEEE will release their 2022 Energy Efficiency Impact Report which showcases and analyzes more than 50 different indicators to track the recent progress of energy efficiency issues.

With 2022 coming to a close, I added today a quick summary of 5 key energy storylines from 2022. Tell me what you think and what big stories I missed. I will offer some additions in my first update of 2023.

Let me keep doing that shopping and call with questions… See you in 2023!

5 Key Energy Issues in 2022

1. $5 Gas Prices & All the Twists/Turns – The biggest energy story of the year were gas price issues and the handwringing surrounding it. Let’s start at the beginning: Gas prices were already higher than 2020 because of the economy was recovering from COVID, industry was slow to boost production because of massive losses suffered in 2020/2021 and the new administration provided additional uncertainty early in 2021 because of regulatory action that undermined leasing/drilling/supply. With the COVID supply and demand hits, it was not a surprise that prices went up some. But the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 placed additional short-term pressures on prices. What happened after March though after things stabilized is just politics, baby. Republicans were attacking Biden for higher gas prices, while the Administration was doing whatever it could to prove that it wasn’t their fault (SPR releases, finger pointing at industry, investigations), consumers were mad and news media (especially TV) ran a 24-hr gas price story loop. While it was heated all summer (as it always is) because demand was high, supply was short and consumers fumed; by November, things had cooled off (as it always does). So many factors were/are involved with this, but here is the morale of the story: gas prices are never a good long-term political strategy because they are always going to change, drivers are always going to be mad, markets are complex and policymakers have little control over it.
2. Global Energy Security Takes Center Stage – 2022 has seen turbulence in energy markets, price volatility and energy insecurity across the world, which has had a huge impact on the US and Europe. The link between energy policy and national security was further well established this year but adding the specter of climate change has elevated the urgency of this debate and focuses attention on the multi dimensions of the energy-security nexus. What is also clear from past year: there is wide consensus among industry groups, political leaders, community officials, advocacy groups and security experts that we need to transition to a lower-carbon society. While the path/speed of this transition remains contested, look for pathways to be a major discussion point in 2023 that should garner bipartisan interest.
3. Offshore Wind Gusher – Offshore wind is making its name. There has been real progress on real projects in 2022. The US offshore wind energy industry continues to expand with a project pipeline of 40,083 MWs in various stages of development according to an NREL study. This represents a 13.5% increase between 2021 and 2022—meaning U.S. offshore wind energy could power about 13 million American homes.  Developers like Equinor and others are bringing 13 projects with more than 11,00 MWs online by 2026. And with these projects comes almost 100,000 new jobs. Meanwhile in California, the interior Department held is first ever lease sale for the Pacific and won $737M in bids which will be floating technology. NREL also estimates that the global capacity for floating offshore wind energy—wind turbines mounted to a floating foundation or substructure—more than doubled in 2021 from 26,529 MW to 60,746 MW.
4. Hydrogen Progress – At the beginning the year, we posited that this would be a big year for hydrogen, and it didn’t disappoint. Across all sectors of government and industry, hydrogen has stepped up to plate and delivered. The White House and DOE are driving the Hydrogen Hubs process, as well as Hydrogen Shot innovations with make announcements and progress. Congress supplemented that with new provisions in the 2022 Infrastructure law that includes $8 billion for Regional Clean Hydrogen Hubs that will create jobs to expand use of clean hydrogen; $1 billion for a Clean Hydrogen Electrolysis Program to reduce costs of hydrogen produced from clean electricity; and $500 million for Clean Hydrogen Manufacturing and Recycling Initiatives to support equipment manufacturing and strong domestic supply chains. It followed that up with the 2022 IRA Budget law which puts in place a 10-year production tax credit for “clean hydrogen” production facilities that will likely upend hydrogen economics. Yet, industry has also taken major steps forward this year. Air Liquide opened the largest liquid hydrogen production facility in Nevada in May sending clean hydrogen into the California transportation market, AES and Air Products announced they were going to build a bigger plant in Texas and the Angeles Link green hydrogen infrastructure project just got a huge green light for the Cal CPUC. Hydrogen has work to do, but it has arrived.
5. New Nuclear – Yes Virginia, there is a Santa! Well, it is finally happening. We have a new nuclear plant at Vogtle in GA. Yes, Plant Vogtle’s nuclear expansion has been fraught with overruns and delays but will produce enough electricity to power 500,000 homes. While we may not ever build a large-scale plant again, compact, next-generation reactors that can plug into existing transmission lines at shuttered coal plants could be the next wave that brings zero-emission electricity and high-paying jobs to communities worried about losing energy plants. The infrastructure law locks billions into this cause and has bipartisan support, so this year action has tee’ d up nuclear for a chance at a future resurgence.

FRANKLY SPOKEN 

“I think that the idea that financiers would tell companies in the United States not to increase production and to buy back shares and increase dividends when the profits are at all-time highs is outrageous. It is not only un-American, it is so unfair to the American public.”

US energy envoy Amos Hochstein described the refusal of the country’s shale investors to ramp up drilling as “un-American” in an interview with the Financial Times last Sunday. 

“Since his first day in office, President Joe Biden and officials like Hochstein have stymied energy production and investment. The administration has held only six lease sales on federal lands and waters and leased fewer acres than any other US government dating back to the end of World War II. Recently Biden issued a 5-year plan for offshore leasing in the Gulf of Mexico that may exclude any new lease sales entirely. A seemingly deliberate effort to slow approval of liquefied natural gas projects that would help address Europe’s energy crisis; the cancellation of pipeline projects and a failure to rescind tariffs on steel imports that are creating bottlenecks in supply chains.

Response to Hochstein from API’s Frank J Macchiarola in the Financial Times. 

ON THE PODCAST

Reams Joins Plugged In Podcast – Heather Reams, president of the nonprofit organization Citizens for Responsible Energy Solutions (CRES), joined former FERC chairman and host Neil Chatterjee and Breanne Deppisch on this week’s “Plugged In” podcast to discuss bipartisan approaches to fighting climate change—which she described as a “global issue that needs global solutions,” including from Republican lawmakers in the upcoming Congress. Reams, who led a delegation of Republican lawmakers to the COP27 conference in Egypt last month, said she is “optimistic” about how Republicans are going to engage in discussions on climate change and lowering emissions as they prepare to take over the House majority in 2023.

FUN OPINIONS

Landfill Gas Techs Reducing Methane, Creating RNG – In an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal, Archaea CEO Nick Stork and Joe Malchow write one man’s trash is another’s clean fuel.  Stork and Malchow say engineers are making renewable natural gas from methane and landfill operators’ ability to make use of excess gas has exploded in recent years. New facilities are being created to convert trash into renewable natural gas, molecularly identical to the gas that heats homes. The process cuts down greenhouse-gas emissions while creating a low-carbon energy source, and it supports energy independence by opening up vast quantities of previously untapped fuel.

FROG BLOG

Permitting Essential to Clean Energy Future – in an opinion blog in The Hill, Natural Gas Association of America Chairman Chad Zamarin writes when charting our energy future, it’s critical to consider how past successes can be replicated to help us meet our energy, security, climate, and reliability goals. But make no mistake — if we cannot reform energy permitting processes in this country, we will see the benefits of this valuable fuel disappear. At present, many of our existing pipelines in the U.S. are running at capacity. Additional takeaway capacity is needed to help move natural gas from where it is produced to where it is consumed quickly, safely, and affordably, and will provide the opportunity to move future fuel sources, such as hydrogen and carbon dioxide. New pipeline infrastructure is critical to advancing the energy and climate progress made over the past decade. But to build that infrastructure, we need a clear, consistent permitting process.

IN THE NEWS

Permit Reform Falls Short – The Senate rejected Sen. Energy Chair Joe Manchin’s bid to add permit reform to the Senate’ NDAA legislation 47-47 (needed 60) with 9 Dems & Sen. Sanders opposing and 7 Republicans supporting. Not voting: Barrasso, Blunt, Burr, Cruz, Hagerty, Tillis. While this doesn’t mean much for efforts next year, it certainly starts to mark where some stand. House progressives, who were standing in opposition, are less likely to be able to block effort as Republicans take control. This of course, sets the table to revisit in the senate next year where there is clearly interest in moving some kind of reform that will provide a boost to the clean energy transition.

Solar Net Metering Decision Creates Uncertain Results – The CPUC did what many expected and overhauled its rules for rooftop solar, slashing subsidies for new solar installations while providing incentives for customers to add battery storage to their systems. Commissioners approved a complicated new 260-page framework on a 5-0 vote, saying the changes will shift costs from non-solar users and promote grid reliability.

SEIA’s Sean Gallagher said: “The solar and storage industry remains concerned that the transition from net metering to the new net billing structure is too abrupt and threatens to slow the deployment of rooftop solar in California. While the proposal provides some support for schools and farms to invest in solar, the failure to adopt a more gradual transition to net billing risks putting solar out of reach for millions of residents across the state.”

CPUC ACTS TO ADVANCE UNDERSTANDING OF HYDROGEN’S ROLE AS DECARBONIZATION STRATEGY, SAN FRANCISCO, Dec. 15, 2022 – The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) today adopted two decisions to assess the feasibility and safety implications of utilizing clean renewable hydrogen as a decarbonization strategy for the natural gas system and hard-to-electrify industries.

The CPUC allowed Southern California Gas Company to proceed with an initial phase of feasibility studies for the Angeles Link Project, which envisions a transmission pipeline dedicated for clean renewable hydrogen transport to serve hard to electrify uses in the Los Angeles Basin.

Clean renewable hydrogen holds promise as a potential solution to decarbonize California’s energy future and bring economic opportunities and new jobs to the Los Angeles region. Clean renewable hydrogen will likely be needed to decarbonize hard-to-electrify industries such cement, chemicals, and shipping, as well as to potentially replace fossil gas fired generation, including power plants supplied by the Aliso Canyon Natural Gas Storage Facility. The feasibility studies approved today as part of the Angeles Link project will contribute more broadly to the understanding of hydrogen’s role in decarbonizing the State’s economy.

The CPUC directed SoCalGas to join the Alliance for Renewable Clean Hydrogen Energy Systems (ARCHES), California’s public-private partnership formed to accelerate the deployment of clean, renewable hydrogen projects and to apply for federal funding for a localized clean energy hydrogen hub. SoCalGas is not requesting CPUC approval of the Angeles Link Project or the recovery of any costs at this point, although SoCalGas may do so in future phases of this proceeding.

In a separate decision today, the CPUC ordered Pacific Gas and Electric Company, Southwest Gas Corporation, SoCalGas, and San Diego Gas & Electric to continue filing biomethane-related reports and to develop pilot projects to evaluate standards for the safe injection of renewable hydrogen into California’s pipeline system. The decision implements recommendations by an independent study commissioned by the CPUC and carried out by UC Riverside to design real-world hydrogen blending program to test the safety and operational impacts on the gas system, appliances, and local air quality. The pilots will be designed to ensure the long-term safety of the California pipeline system and specifically monitor for leakage, with input from expert and community-based stakeholders.

“These decisions will improve California’s understanding of the role clean, renewable hydrogen can play in our long-term decarbonization strategies,” said Commissioner Clifford Rechtschaffen.

The CPUC has taken numerous actions to facilitate the use of clean gaseous fuels, including biomethane. Assembly Bill 1900 (Gatto, 2012) established a procedure to ensure the safety of biomethane injected into California’s pipeline system and required the CPUC to order investor-owned utilities to provide access to any producer wishing to interconnect to the pipeline system for the purpose of delivering biomethane to California customers. The CPUC subsequently determined that biomethane could be safely injected into the pipeline system and adopted injection standards relating to human health and pipeline integrity. The CPUC also established a $40 million incentive program to facilitate interconnection of biomethane production facilities to the pipeline system, and issued numerous decisions intended to facilitate the injection of biomethane. On February 24, 2022, the CPUC established a Renewable Gas Standard for the utilities to meet by the end of 2030, as well as a cost-effective means of procurement and adopted provisions to achieve additional co-benefits.

The Angeles Link Project proposal voted on is available at docs.cpuc.ca.gov/PublishedDocs/Published/G000/M499/K891/499891989.PDF and documents related to the proceeding are available at apps.cpuc.ca.gov/p/A2202007.

The hydrogen blending proposal voted on is available at docs.cpuc.ca.gov/PublishedDocs/Published/G000/M499/K892/499892531.PDF and documents related to the proceeding are available at apps.cpuc.ca.gov/p/R1302008.

The CPUC regulates services and utilities, protects consumers, safeguards the environment, and assures Californians’ access to safe and reliable utility infrastructure and services. For more information on the CPUC, please visit www.cpuc.ca.gov.

SoCalGas Achieves Important Milestone in Advancing Proposed Angeles Link Green Hydrogen Infrastructure System 

California Regulator Determines:

• Angeles Link, “has the potential to decarbonize the state’s and the Los Angeles Basin’s energy use.”
• “Public interest is served if SoCalGas begins conducting a feasibility study of the Project immediately.”
• SoCalGas to join members of the Alliance for Renewable Clean Hydrogen Energy Systems (ARCHES) in support of the State of California’s application for historic federal funds to support regional hydrogen hubs

The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) has approved SoCalGas’ request to track costs for advancing the first phase of Angeles Link, a proposed green hydrogen pipeline system that could deliver clean, reliable, renewable energy to the Los Angeles region. As envisioned, Angeles Link could be the nation’s largest green hydrogen pipeline system and supports significantly reducing greenhouse gas emissions from electric generation, industrial processes, heavy-duty trucks, and other hard-to-electrify sectors of the Southern California economy. In a final decision, the CPUC declared, “the public interest is served if SoCalGas begins conducting a feasibility study of the Project immediately.” The agency also asked SoCalGas to join members of the Alliance for Renewable Clean Hydrogen Energy Systems (ARCHES) in support of California’s application for a share of $8 billion in available federal funds to support regional hydrogen hubs.

Proposed in February of this year, Angeles Link would serve hard-to-electrify industries like dispatchable electric generation, heavy duty trucking and industrial processes. As contemplated, Angeles Link would deliver green hydrogen in an amount equivalent to almost 25% of the natural gas SoCalGas delivers today. In serving those industries, Angeles Link’s green hydrogen could:

• Displace up to 3 million gallons of diesel fuel per day, or 1 billion gallons annually, and enable conversion of up to four natural gas power plants to run on clean renewable hydrogen.
• Eliminate nitrogen oxide (NO_x) and carbon dioxide (CO₂) equal to removing 3.1 million cars off the road annually.
• Generate billions of dollars in new clean energy investments in the LA Basin and create thousands of new union jobs.

Over time and combined with other future clean energy projects, Angeles Link could also help reduce natural gas demand served by the Aliso Canyon natural gas storage facility, facilitating its ultimate retirement, while continuing reliable and affordable energy service to the region.

Consensus Grows: Clean Renewable Hydrogen Key to Reaching California’s, Nation’s Climate Goals – There is growing recognition among experts and policymakers that a broad set of tools will be needed to achieve California’s climate and clean air goals by mid-century, including electrification, clean fuels like renewable natural gas and clean renewable hydrogen, and carbon management. The California Air Resources Board’s (CARB’s) recent Scoping Plan calls for scaling up, “new options such as renewable hydrogen for hard-to-electrify end uses” in its roadmap to decarbonize California. The federal government has also signaled that clean renewable hydrogen will play a key role in a clean-energy future, with billions of dollars in funding becoming available to develop clean renewable hydrogen hubs.

The Angeles Link project could extend California’s position as a leader on clean energy well into the future while potentially helping to attract billions of dollars in new investment and maintaining and creating thousands of skilled jobs.

Key Quotes

“California has some of the boldest climate and clean air goals in the nation. The proposed Angeles Link aligns SoCalGas’ scale, 150 years of expertise in service, and our highly skilled workforce with the clean energy and environmental policies that will shape this century,” said SoCalGas Chief Executive Officer, Scott Drury. “As the CPUC’s decision highlights, Angeles Link has the potential to support decarbonization for hard-to-electrify sectors of our economy, improve our air quality, bring new economic opportunities as well as sustain and grow skilled jobs to our region.”

“As the chair of the California Senate Select Committee on Hydrogen Energy, it is my goal to help California continue serving as a national and global leader in clean hydrogen development so we can reach our clean energy and zero emission vehicle goals,” said California Senator Bob Archuleta (D-Pico Rivera). “This decision on Angeles Link by the CPUC advances California’s leadership on hydrogen and better positions the state to secure billions in federal funding opportunities via ARCHES.”

“Green hydrogen is an important pathway to reach our goal of zero-emissions cargo operations at the Port,” said Port of Los Angeles Executive Director Gene Seroka. “The Port and our terminal partners have five active hydrogen demonstration projects and, ultimately, Angeles Link can play a key role in providing green hydrogen at the scale needed to achieve our zero-emissions and decarbonization goals by 2030.”

“This decision demonstrates that California is a clear leader in paving the way for clean energy infrastructure while ensuring good union jobs for members like Utility Workers Local 483 and our union brothers and sisters alike,” said Ernie Shaw, President UWUA Local 483, AFL-CIO.

“For the tens of thousands of skilled workers who build California’s natural gas system, green hydrogen represents real and meaningful opportunities to participate in the state’s clean energy transition,” said Rodney Cobos of the Southern California Pipe Trades Council. “California’s energy workers are among the most skilled and experienced in the nation, and it’s important that they are ready and prepared to build the hydrogen infrastructure that projects like Angeles Link will facilitate. That’s why we’re glad to see that studying workforce planning and training will be a critical component of Angeles Link’s next phase.”

“Green hydrogen looks promising as a form of long-duration energy storage that could enhance electric system reliability and as a fuel that can help California reach its net zero-carbon goals for industrial end uses that currently have no practical alternatives to the use of natural gas,” said Jan Smutny Jones of Independent Energy Producers. “Establishing the memorandum account is a critical first step toward determining whether green hydrogen can supplement or replace natural gas and reduce carbon emissions from end-uses that are hard to electrify.”

“The California Hydrogen Business Council is pleased with the California Public Utilities Commission decision to allow SoCalGas to begin incurring costs to study the feasibility of a purpose-built hydrogen pipeline,” said Katrina M. Fritz, Executive Director of the California Hydrogen Business Council. “A common carrier pipeline would ensure transparent market access for hydrogen producers at all scales. The growth of this market is a necessary pathway for California to achieve deep decarbonization, as outlined in the recent update to the California Air Resources Board 2022 Scoping Plan for Achieving Carbon Neutrality.”

“Hydrogen is creating the next infrastructure boom in the U.S.,” said Tracy Hernandez, Founding CEO of the Los Angeles County Business Federation (BizFed). “Estimates show green hydrogen alone could generate approximately $140 billion in revenue and support 700,000 jobs nationally by 2030. Angeles Link better positions Los Angeles to capture that revenue and benefit from those jobs.”

“A hydrogen infrastructure project of this scale could help catalyze the market for clean hydrogen in California and across the Western United States,” said Laura Parkan, Vice President, Hydrogen Energy Americas for Air Liquide N.A. “Our Nevada facility – currently the largest liquid hydrogen plant in the world – is already supplying the California transportation market, so a project of this scale will be another significant step forward for our hydrogen future.”

Projects like the Angeles Link are vital to broader adoption of zero emission technologies across the state,” said Craig Scott, Group Manager in Toyota’s Fuel Cell Solutions Group. “Securing reliable and affordable supplies of green hydrogen allows companies like Toyota to develop next generation hydrogen fuel cell technologies for use in a variety of applications, such as our fuel cell electric vehicle powertrain for heavy-duty transport.”

“Securing a reliable and affordable supply of green hydrogen into the Los Angeles region paired with more funding for zero emissions heavy-duty truck technology conversion would enable more truck fleet owners and operators to transition their vehicles,” said Matt Schrap, CEO of Harbor Trucking Association. “This decision by the CPUC to advance the Angeles Link is a crucial step towards making the transition a reality.”

“Angeles Link is a robust project that will significantly reduce the need for fossil-based natural gas and Aliso Canyon in Los Angeles,” said Kathryn Barger, who represents Los Angeles County’s Fifth District. “I support efforts to move feasible projects forward that reduce emissions and the need for Aliso Canyon without jeopardizing grid reliability – or the good jobs and important businesses – that depend on the natural gas system. Angeles Link is a win-win for Los Angeles businesses and residents.”

Growing Portfolio of Sustainability, Hydrogen Innovation – SoCalGas is a leader in sustainability, having announced its aim to have net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2045. It is the first large natural gas utility in the United States to do so. As part of SoCalGas’ net-zero strategy, the company is developing an industry-leading portfolio of clean fuels demonstration projects with collaborators from private industry, the US Department of Energy and California Energy Commission, and leading research institutions such as the University of California, Irvine, and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory. More than a dozen hydrogen pilot projects are already underway across the company.

In September, SoCalGas announced a proposed collaboration with the University of California, Irvine, to demonstrate how electrolytic hydrogen can be safely blended into existing natural gas infrastructure on the university’s campus – an important next step in establishing a statewide injection standard for renewable hydrogen.

SoCalGas is also constructing a clean renewable hydrogen microgrid as part of its [H2] Innovation Experience. The [H2] Innovation Experience is a proof-of-concept project for resilient, clean energy using an electrolyzer to convert solar energy to clean renewable hydrogen and a fuel cell to supply electricity to a home, neighborhood, or campus community – independent of the electric grid. Earlier this month, the project was awarded the U.S. Green Building Council – Los Angeles’ (USGBC-LA) Sustainable Innovation Award which recognized SoCalGas’ commitments to sustainability through projects that demonstrate exemplary performance. The project was also named a World-Changing Idea in North America by Fast Company in 2021.

Angeles Link – Phase One and Next Steps – The CPUC’s approval of SoCalGas’ Angeles Link memorandum account application allows the company to track costs of performing Phase One feasibility studies for the project. Phase One activities include preliminary engineering, design, along with studies of supply, demand, possible end users, pipeline configuration and storage solutions, environmental considerations, workforce planning and training, robust stakeholder outreach, and an analysis of project alternatives. For the latest information about Angeles Link, visit https://www.socalgas.com/angeleslink.

DOE Starts Repurchasing Oil for SPR – The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Petroleum Reserves announced that it will start repurchasing crude oil for the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR). This repurchase is an opportunity to secure a good deal for American taxpayers by repurchasing oil at a lower price than the $96 per barrel average price it was sold for, as well as to strengthen energy security. In October, the President announced a plan to replenish the SPR using updated authorities that allow for fixed-price purchases of crude oil. Relative to conventional purchase contracts that expose producers to volatile crude prices, this new approach, when used at scale, can give producers the assurance to make investments today, knowing that the price they receive when they sell to the SPR will be locked in place. The notice will pilot this new approach by starting with a purchase of up to 3 million barrels of crude oil.

ON THE SCHEDULE THIS WEEK

Groups Release 2022 Energy Efficiency Report – The Business Council for Sustainable Energy, the Alliance to Save Energy and the American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy release the 2022 Energy Efficiency Impact Report tomorrow at 9:00 a.m. in 106 Dirksen. The 2022 report showcases and analyzes more than 50 different indicators to track the recent progress of energy efficiency and points to critical and exciting opportunities ahead. It quantifies the impact of energy efficiency utilizing metrics related to public health, EV growth, public policy, and more.

BPC to Look at Mining Supply Chains – The Bipartisan Policy Center will hold a forum on Wednesday December 21^st at 10:00 a.m. to look at domestic mining, its policy reforms, innovation and environmental stewardship. The event will feature a fireside chat with Tommy Beaudreau, Deputy Secretary at the Department of the Interior, to discuss the Biden administration’s approach to domestic supply chain challenges and the Interagency Working Group on Mining Reform. Following the fireside, an expert panel, including SAFE’s Abby Wulf, will discuss innovative mining processes and steps to ensure a more environmentally and socially responsible industry.

IN THE FUTURE

Happy Holidays!!!! – Christmas Day, December 25^th

Happy New Year’s Day – January 1 

State of American Energy Set – The annual State of American Energy address from the American Petroleum Institute will be held on Wednesday, January 11, 2023, at 8:30 a.m. at Capital Turnaround.

Chamber’s State of American Business Address Set – The Chamber of Commerce will hold its annual State of American Business forum on Thursday January 12^th. The forum will cover a number of business issues including energy.

Moniz Featured in OEP Forum – OurEnergyPolicy is hosting a breakfast discussion on energy jobs on Thursday January 12^th at 8:30 a.m. at the National Press Club in DC featuring Energy Futures Initiative (EFI) Founder and former Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz and EFI Distinguished Associate David Foster.

USEA Energy Forum Set – The US Energy Assn holds its 19^th annual State of the Energy Industry Forum on Thursday January 26^th at the National Press Club. The event will feature CEOs from all Washington’s key top trade association heads on current policy drivers, objectives and priorities for the coming year.