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THE US AND POLAND: The Energy Department announced this morning a first-of-its-kind agreement for the U.S. to help coal-dependent Poland develop a nuclear power program.
Energy Secretary Dan Brouillette framed the “historic” deal as part of the Trump administration’s efforts to help European countries reduce their reliance on Russia for energy. The Trump administration has mostly focused on boosting exports of natural gas to Europe, but it is also looking to accelerate development of nuclear and renewables, Brouillette said.
“We’ll look back on this moment of time as Poland took a huge step towards its energy independence and we are proud to be their partner,” Brouillette told reporters on a call.
“Nuclear will provide a clean and reliable supply of electricity to the people of Poland, as well as enhance their energy diversity and security,” he added in a statement.
What the U.S. is contributing: The Polish government last month announced plans to spend $40 billion to build its first nuclear power plants as a way to transition from coal to cleaner sources.
But the partnership with the U.S. commits Poland to buying $18 billion in materials and technologies to construct the reactors from American companies Westinghouse, Bechtel, and Southern Company.
The U.S. government is not committing funding, but rather working over the next 18 months on a joint report on designing and implementing the program, as well as identifying potential financing. A senior Energy Department official said the U.S. envisions working with Poland for a century through the lifecycle of the nuclear plants, from engineering to decommissioning.
Poland will build six reactors at a minimum of 1,000 megawatts each, with the first of them becoming operational by 2033.
“Nuclear could be seen as an attractive option of domestically available, reliable supply of energy that allows Poland to decrease its reliance on fossil fuels and imports, including from Russia. The issue of course is money here so having a partner that is willing to invest is a key,” Anna Mikulska, a nonresident fellow in energy studies at Rice University’s Baker Institute, told Josh.
Appetite for large nuclear: Notably, Poland’s focus is on building traditional large light water nuclear projects that the U.S. has struggled to build domestically in recent decades, not the smaller reactors that are seen as the (potentially cheaper) future of the industry.
The senior Energy Department official told Josh there is “tremendous interest” in small reactors throughout Europe, but Poland needs a larger baseload energy source to replace power from aging coal plants.
What’s in it for Poland: Poland has been the only European Union member to refuse to commit to carbon neutrality by 2050, because of the time and money to transition off coal. Piotr Naimski, Poland’s secretary of state for strategic energy infrastructure, said in a statement the agreement with the U.S. is “not only about clean energy,” but also intended to help grow a “new industrial sector” in the country.
Welcome to Daily on Energy, written by Washington Examiner Energy and Environment Writers Josh Siegel (@SiegelScribe) and Abby Smith (@AbbySmithDC). Email [email protected] or [email protected] for tips, suggestions, calendar items, and anything else. If a friend sent this to you and you’d like to sign up, click here. If signing up doesn’t work, shoot us an email, and we’ll add you to our list.
BANK ON CLIMATE RISKS: Banks haven’t done enough to avoid substantial losses from global warming, according to the sustainability group Ceres, despite new net-zero emissions commitment and limitations on investments in fossil fuel projects.
The group recommends in a new report that banks should also assess and mitigate their exposure to industries that rely heavily on fossil fuels as inputs, including agriculture, manufacturing, construction, transportation.
This further accounting of risk would show that banks face losses of more than $100 billion, enough to trigger another financial crisis, the report warns.
“While there is growing interest in acting on climate risks from U.S. financial regulators, banks have an opportunity to act on these risks now, without waiting for policy or regulatory change,” said Steven Rothstein, managing director of the Ceres Accelerator for Sustainable Capital Markets.
NUSCALE GETS BIG BOOST: The Energy Department approved a $1.4 billion grant to help defray costs for a group of utilities that are the first in line to buy power from the small reactors produced by NuScale Power, Josh reported Friday.
The Utah Associated Municipal Power Systems, a group of small, community-owned utilities in six Western states, had previously indicated the group might pull out of the NuScale project unless it received the extra funding from the government.
The award, to be spread out over 10 years, is still subject to appropriations by Congress
LaVarr Webb, UAMPS’s spokesman, said the DOE award would be sufficient to reach the $55-per-megawatt-hour target price — competitive with buying power from a natural gas plant — the group has set in order for the reactors to be viable for members. Two of UAMPS’s members, the cities of Logan and Lehi in Utah, have withdrawn from the project, citing the increasing price tag, but Webb expects the agreement to proceed.
BONUS ON NUSCALE: The Oregon-based company has become the first beneficiary of a new policy by the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation enabling federal government funding of nuclear projects overseas. The DFC announced Friday it signed a Letter of Intent to support NuScale developing 2,500 megawatts of nuclear power in South Africa.
“If successful, NuScale would be the first U.S. nuclear energy IPP on the continent and would help support energy resilience and security in one of Africa’s leading economies,” the DFC said.
NEWSOM GOES BIG ON CLIMATE CHANGE: Gov. Gavin Newsom is using his executive authority to put California on a far more aggressive path to slash greenhouse gas emissions.
In just the last month, Newsom has made several major announcements on climate change, including requiring California to end sales of new gas-powered cars by 2035. The policies are earning him early praise from environmentalists who, though wishing he’d take a stronger stance on fossil fuels, say his actions are a down payment on what California must do to reduce its emissions to help slow global warming.
At the same time, Newsom’s climate push has made him a target for conservative critics, especially following the rolling blackouts in the state in August.
More on the politics and the practical hurdles in Abby’s story from over the weekend.
SPEAKING OF CALIFORNIA…WHIPLASH ON WILDFIRE AID: The Trump administration backtracked on rejecting federal aid to help California deal with the aftermath of some of the wildfires blazing in the state after California Republican lawmakers intervened.
The administration had earlier last week rejected a request from Newsom to declare a disaster declaration for six wildfires in the state, which would allow the federal government to take on some of the cost burden for cleaning up and rebuilding after the fires. The move followed threats from President Trump during campaign rallies to withhold wildfire aid to the state.
On Friday, however, California Republican Rep. Tom McClintock, who has wildfires burning in his northern California district, announced via Twitter that Trump would reverse the rejection.
KINDA LIKE A BIG DEAL: U.S oil major ConocoPhillips announced today it will buy Concho Resources for $9.7 billion, the largest energy deal since the price collapse. The combination forms what promises to be one of the top producers in the Permian Basin, rivaling Chevron and Occidental Petroleum, and signals the industry will continue to consolidate in the wake of the pandemic.
“The combination is remarkable,” said Robert Clarke, vice president of Lower 48 upstream at Wood Mackenzie in a note this morning. “The combination bodes well for the Permian’s longer-term outlook.”
Chevron made a similar bet on the Permian this summer, purchasing Noble Energy in a $5 billion all-stock transaction, which was previously the largest oil deal since the pandemic.
JUDGE RULES PENDLEY MOVES ARE INVALID: The same federal judge who ruled William Perry Pendley is illegally leading the Bureau of Land Management issued an order Friday invalidating three of Pendley’s decisions.
The latest order by Brian Morris of the United States District Court for the District of Montana invalidates three major land-use plans in Montana. Morris also warns Pendley to abide by his previous order, after Pendley has made numerous statements declaring he is still conducting his duties as he was previously.
Morris also said other Pendley decisions could be dismissed.
“Despite Federal Defendants’ disagreement with the exercise and apparent refusal to engage in such a search in good faith, it remains probable that additional actions taken by Pendley that should be set aside as unlawful,” Morris said.
Interior, which is appealing Morris’ first ruling, blasted his latest order. “The court’s erroneous ruling continues to disregard basic facts and misapprehend how authority is delegated within federal agencies,” Interior said.
ONE MORE TIME: Trump and Joe Biden will face off for the last presidential debate Thursday, and climate change is on the agenda. This time, the issue made the official list of six topics, which also include the coronavirus pandemic, American families, race in America, national security, and leadership.
The inclusion of climate change means the issue will have appeared in all three major debates this cycle, including both presidential debates and the vice presidential debate.
Trip down memory lane: Last month, when the candidates duked it out over climate on the debate stage, Biden sought to distance himself from the Green New Deal (as he’s done several times since then, too) under Trump’s badgering. Trump, meanwhile, sought to inflate his own climate and environmental record, touting that he’s given “big incentives” for electric cars, despite his administration’s repeated attempts to eliminate electric vehicle tax credits.
NEW LAWSUIT OVER APPLIANCE EFFICIENCY STANDARDS: A coalition of environmental groups, led by the Natural Resources Defense Council, sued Friday over Trump administration changes to Energy Department cost-benefit analyses for appliance efficiency standards.
The groups say the Energy Department’s changes are part of a broader Trump administration effort to make it more difficult to set stricter energy efficiency standards for appliances ranging from refrigerators to air conditioners to dishwashers. Environmental groups and several states are also suing the Energy Department’s “process rule,” which altered what steps the agency must go through to set efficiency standards.
The Rundown
New York Times A regulatory push by federal agencies to secure Trump’s legacy
Axios The pandemic is destroying energy efficiency
Wall Street Journal Automakers grapple with battery-fire risks in electric vehicles
Bloomberg Biden won’t ban fracking, but his clean grid would choke gas
Calendar
THURSDAY | OCT. 15
2 p.m. The Conservation Coalition and the Conservative Energy Network hold a virtual event releasing new polling on clean energy and climate.
