by wp_sysadmin | Nov 25, 2024 | Home, News
Solar Panels and Open Lands
Chris Edwards, The Cato Institute, November 6, 2024
In 2025, the new Congress and incoming Trump administration should reassess the sprawling 2022 Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), which handed out vast subsidies for green energy. One reason to reassess is that the cost of the law has ballooned from $390 billion over 10 years to more than $1 trillion.
The budget cost of green energy is not the only cost. In the effort to reduce CO2, the IRA subsidies for wind power, solar power, batteries, and electric vehicles are creating negative side effects, including harm to the environment.
One concern is the vast land area the Biden administration plans to cover with solar photovoltaic (PV) panels. In August, the administration proposed a Western Solar Plan, which “would make over 31 million acres of public lands across 11 Western states available for potential solar development.”
Many Americans have put PV panels on their homes and businesses, which seems like a good use of rooftop space on private properties. But do Americans know that the government is planning to smother a huge area of our Western public lands with metal and glass PV infrastructure?
Of the 31 million acres of Bureau of Land Management (BLM) lands, the administration proposes that PV panels cover 700,000 acres, which is 538,000 football fields. As I understand it, those acres will be bulldozed to set up the PV structures, thus pushing aside plants and animals. For example, a new PV project in the Mojave Desert in California threatens thousands of Joshua trees and habitat for desert foxes. The project’s power will be consumed a couple hundred miles away in Silicon Valley.
Huge PV installations could get in the way of animal migrations. One PV facility in Wyoming was constructed “across a primary pronghorn migration corridor. Thousands of the ungulates were forced off their natural migration path and onto the highway. PV facilities could also interfere with bird migrations: “Researchers hypothesize that birds confuse shiny solar panels for bodies of water when flying over the desert, a theory called ‘lake effect.’ Birds change their flight to land on the panels and can die when attempting to land.”
The Biden PV plan is supposed to mitigate damage to wildlife, but it seems likely that covering 700,000 acres with metal and glass boxes and support beams, and connecting them to vast new power lines, will cause environmental damage.
Covering huge swaths of open lands with PV structures also undercuts the aesthetic value of this shared resource of people in the West. Yet, strangely, numerous environmental groups support the Biden plan and include photos on their websites of PV infrastructure covering beautiful natural landscapes (such as here and here).
Some Western leaders are pointing out that BLM lands are supposed to be managed for multiple uses, yet solar PV structures monopolize the lands they cover. Other Westerners see the administration’s top-down solar plan as a threat to state sovereignty. The Salt Lake Tribune reported, “Feds want to open 1/10th of Utah for solar energy development. The state and environmentalists aren’t so sure.”
Solar power sounds green, and in many ways it is. But there is also a physical reality to it that is becoming more apparent as its negative footprint expands.
What is the best solution for solar power in the West? That should be for Westerners to decide. Most federal lands should be transferred to the ownership of state governments. They are better placed to make environmental and economic trade-offs for their residents than the distracted government in faraway Washington.
by wp_sysadmin | Nov 22, 2024 | Home, News
Second Trump Administration Will Benefit Environment
Diana Furchtgott-Roth, Director, Center for Energy, Climate, and Environment, November 19, 2024
Key Takeaways
- When Trump fulfills his campaign promises to increase U.S. oil and gas production…global emissions will likely decline rather than rise.
- Natural gas production has lowered U.S. emissions of CO2, which have declined as natural gas has substituted for coal use.
- The more natural gas is exported, the lower global emissions are. With Trump’s changes, natural gas will be able to travel to where it is needed.
At the 29th Conference of the Parties (COP29) in Azerbaijan, attendees are full of dire predictions that the world’s climate will worsen under President-elect Trump. But when Trump fulfills his campaign promises to increase U.S. oil and gas production and removes President Biden’s pause on new liquid natural gas exports, global emissions will likely decline rather than rise.
This is because exports of U.S. natural gas generally displace coal, reducing global CO2 emissions. Even Germany, Europe’s largest manufacturer, is using lignite coal (rather than the less-polluting bituminous coal) to deal with shortages of renewables now that it has closed its nuclear power plants and Russian gas is no longer available.
About 3 billion people in emerging economies lack electricity and running water and cook over wood and dung. Natural gas power plants would reduce particulates from wood and dung and make the air cleaner. Under President Biden, the World Bank does not make loans for fossil fuel power plants.
More U.S. gas for export will lower prices of Russian and Qatari gas, harming countries that are invading Ukraine and tied to Iran. Prices are set based on future production, and even announcements of energy production will weaken America’s enemies.
Natural gas production has lowered U.S. emissions of CO2, which have declined by a billion metric tons over the past 16 years as natural gas has substituted for coal use in the generation of electricity. Over the same period, CO2 emissions in China have risen by 5 billion metric tons.
Between 2022 and 2023 U.S. coal exports to Europe increased by 22% compared with the prior year. Because coal has more emissions than natural gas, it is surprising that Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm has not asked for a pause in coal exports, only on natural gas exports.
America’s natural gas exports to Europe have been soaring since 2022, when Russia decreased the flow of natural gas. According to the Energy Information Administration, America exported an average of almost 12 billion cubic feet per day of natural gas in 2023, more than any other country.
Europe is America’s biggest customer, and in a phone call to President-elect Trump, European Union President Ursula von der Leyen suggested that U.S. natural gas could replace Russian gas.
But even if America stopped all use of fossil fuels immediately, global temperatures would only be two-tenths of 1 degree Celsius by the year 2100, according to government models. This is because China, India, Africa, and Latin America are ramping up their use of coal to reach Western standards of living. China is home to large supplies of coal, but little natural gas, and uses its domestic coal supplies for generating electricity to power its global manufacturing capacity.
A second Trump administration will not only encourage production of natural gas but also faster permitting of pipelines and LNG terminals to move the natural gas from the interior of the country to the ports, and into export terminals to be shipped to Europe and Asia.
READ MORE
by wp_sysadmin | Nov 20, 2024 | Home, News
Quote of the Day: “From nuclear to solar to geothermal to oil & gas, Chris Wright has been a pioneer of American energy,” and “Chris Wright + Doug Burgum is literally the dream team.” Christopher Barnard, President, American Conservation Coalition
Trump Picks Oil and Gas Executive as New Energy Secretary
Daniel Proctor, Power, November 16, 2024
President-elect Donald Trump announced that Chris Wright, the CEO and founder of Denver, Colorado-based Liberty Energy, will lead the Department of Energy (DOE) in the new administration.
“I am thrilled to announce that Chris Wright will be joining my Administration as both United States Secretary of Energy, and Member of the newly formed Council of National Energy,” Trump wrote in a statement released Nov. 16. The newly-elected president wrote that Wright “has been a leading technologist and entrepreneur in Energy.”
Wright, who founded oilfield services company Liberty Energy in 2011 and also serves as executive chairman of Liberty Resources, a company focused on the Bakken shale play in North Dakota, “has worked in Nuclear, Solar, Geothermal, and Oil and Gas,” Trump’s statement read. “Most significantly, Chris was one of the pioneers who helped launch the American Shale Revolution that fueled American Energy Independence, and transformed the Global Energy Markets and Geopolitics.”
Wright in a post to social media platform X wrote: “I am honored and grateful for the opportunity from
@realDonaldTrump to serve our country as U.S. Secretary of Energy. My dedication to bettering human lives remains steadfast, with a focus on making American energy more affordable, reliable, and secure. Energy is the lifeblood that makes everything in life possible. Energy matters. I am looking forward to getting to work.”
DOE Oversight
The DOE has oversight over several federal government agencies, including the Loan Programs Office, which runs grant and loan programs to advance energy technologies, including electric vehicles (EVs) and renewable energy. The DOE also oversees the U.S. nuclear waste disposal, the nuclear weapons complex, and 17 national labs. Trump during his first term asked Congress for deep cuts in funding to several federal programs, including the DOE and the Environmental Protection Agency.
Trump on Saturday also said that Wright, in addition to his role as energy secretary, would serve on a newly formed Council of National Energy that would be led by Doug Burgum, the president-elect’s nominee for Interior Secretary. Trump has said the group would focus on cutting regulations and increasing investments to ramp up oil and gas production. The U.S. has led the world in oil and gas production each year since 2018, and has reached record levels of output during the Biden administration, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
Trump has said the Energy Council would include all agencies and departments involved in the production, regulation, and transportation of “ALL forms of American Energy.”
Wright, well-known in the U.S. oil and gas community and a previous speaker at LDC Gas Forums events—a group that is part of Access Intelligence, the parent of POWER—has a degree in mechanical engineering from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). He also completed graduate work in electrical engineering at University of California-Berkeley and MIT. He will need to be confirmed for the position by the U.S. Senate, although Trump has floated the idea of allowing recess appointments to his Cabinet and other positions to avoid Senate action. The U.S. Constitution’s recess appointments power allows a president to make a temporary appointment to a position that would normally require Senate confirmation while the Senate is in recess. Those recess appointments would last until the end of the upcoming session of Congress, which in this case would be 2026.
Wright if confirmed would replace Jennifer Granholm as head of the DOE. Granholm, a former governor of Michigan, was chosen as Energy Secretary by President Biden in 2021. Granholm has been a proponent of clean energy. In a September 2024 interview with TIME magazine, Granholm said since she took office in 2021, the DOE has hired about 1,000 new workers and created new leadership roles. Granholm said the changes helped the DOE implement 60 new programs, and support funding for thousands of energy-related projects.
Wright runs a foundation that has dispelled the conventional wisdom on human-caused climate change and promotes increased production of fossil fuels as a solution to many of the world’s problems. According to the Denver Business Journal, campaign contribution records from the Federal Elections Commission show that Wright and his wife, Liz Wright, gave $599,681 since Jan. 1 of last year to federal political action committees associated with Republican causes, the Republican National Committee and the Trump 47 Committee. FEC records show that $457,980 worth of contributions, or $228,990 in two identical contributions by each of the Wrights, were made in July and August of this year to the Trump 47 Committee Inc.
The Houston, Texas-based Energy Workforce & Technology Council (EWTC) in an emailed statement to POWER said it supported Wright’s nomination. “Chris Wright is a visionary leader who has consistently advocated for advancing American energy,” said Tim Tarpley, Energy Workforce president. “His groundbreaking Bettering Human Lives report brought to light the moral case for expanding American energy production to grow our economy and improve living standards of those across the country. As a dedicated member of the Energy Workforce & Technology Council, Chris has an unparalleled understanding of the challenges and opportunities facing the energy sector. There is no doubt that his expertise and leadership will make him an outstanding Secretary of Energy. EWTC looks forward to partnering with him to unleashing the full potential of American energy.”
Republican Sen. John Barrasso, who is expected to become chairman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, called Wright “an energy innovator who laid the foundation for America’s fracking boom … our country is desperate for a secretary [of energy] who understands how important American energy is to our economy and our national security. Wright will help ensure America remains committed to an all-of-the-above energy policy that puts American families first.”
Christopher Barnard, president of the American Conservation Coalition, also was among those applauding the choice of Wright. “From nuclear to solar to geothermal to oil & gas, Chris Wright has been a pioneer of American energy,” Barnard wrote on X. “Chris Wright + Doug Burgum is literally the dream team.”
by wp_sysadmin | Nov 18, 2024 | Home, News
Today’s Key Takeaways: New National Energy Council to promote U.S. energy dominance. AK political leaders look to Trump to remove barriers for oil drilling in Alaska. Americans voted to protect natural gas. American Pacific receives $10m for it’s Palmer project in Alaska. U.S. Supreme Court leaves Alaska campaign reporting requirements in place.
NEWS OF THE DAY:
‘Drill, drill, drill’: New energy council signals Trump to prioritize energy production
Jacob Fischler, Alaska Beacon, November 18, 2024
President-elect Donald Trump’s announcement Friday afternoon that his pick for Interior secretary, North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, would also coordinate a new council on energy policy is a sign the incoming administration will make energy production a core part of its domestic policy.
Few details of the new National Energy Council were available Friday, as activists and lawmakers processed the surprise 4 p.m. Eastern announcement. But the move likely reflects a focus by Trump and his next administration on energy production, including fossil fuels.
“They’re signaling ahead of time that this is one of their priority areas,” Frank Maisano, a senior principal at the energy-focused law and lobbyist firm Bracewell LLP, said in an interview.
Burgum “will be joining my Administration as both Secretary of the Interior and, as Chairman of the newly formed, and very important, National Energy Council, which will consist of all Departments and Agencies involved in the permitting, production, generation, distribution, regulation, transportation, of ALL forms of American Energy,” a written statement from Trump said.
“This Council will oversee the path to U.S. ENERGY DOMINANCE by cutting red tape, enhancing private sector investments across all sectors of the Economy, and by focusing on INNOVATION over longstanding, but totally unnecessary, regulation.”
Trump said the council’s objective to increase U.S. energy supply would benefit the domestic economy and allies overseas and help power “A.I. superiority.”
“The National Energy Council will foster an unprecedented level of coordination among federal agencies to advance American energy,” Burgum said in a written statement. “By establishing U.S. energy dominance, we can jumpstart our economy, drive down costs for consumers and generate billions in revenue to help reduce our deficit.”
OIL:
Alaska political leaders hope to see Trump undo restrictions on oil drilling
Becky Bohrer, Associated Press, November 16, 2024
President-elect Donald Trump promised repeatedly during his campaign to expand oil drilling in the U.S., which is good news for political leaders in Alaska, where oil is the economic lifeblood and many felt the Biden administration has obstructed efforts to boost the state’s diminished production.
On Saturday, Trump named Chris Wright — a campaign donor, fossil fuel executive and vocal advocate of oil and gas development — to serve as energy secretary in his second administration.
The question of drilling on the refuge’s coastal plain, as Trump sought to do during his first term, also divides Alaska Native communities. Some welcome the potential new revenue while others worry about how it will impact wildlife in an area they consider sacred.
READ MORE
GAS:
API | Americans Also Voted to Protect Access to Natural Gas
Mark Green, American Petroleum Institute, November 14, 2024
Under-noticed after last week’s election were a couple of clear signs that, even in the bluest of states, Americans don’t take kindly to government trying to mandate and restrict their energy choices.
In Washington state, voters passed Initiative 2066, requiring the state’s utilities to provide natural gas service to any person or business requesting it.
Meanwhile, voters in Berkeley, California – the first U.S. city to try to ban natural gas altogether – rejected a proposed tax on using natural gas in new buildings. The measure was seen as a way to discourage natural gas use in new buildings after a 2019 ban passed by the city council was struck down by a federal court.
Both results align with trends seen in the presidential election. In Michigan, the Biden administration’s rules, effectively pushing Americans toward buying electric vehicles, was an important issue. In Pennsylvania, 62% of those participating in exit interviews said hydraulic fracturing, or “fracking,” was a key factor in their vote.
Washington’s Initiative 2066 also bans the state’s Utility and Trade Commission from approving multi-year rate plans that require or incentivize terminating natural gas service.
Brian Heywood, founder of Let’s Go Washington, which led the fight for approving Initiative 2066:
“We fought for Washington’s rural communities that couldn’t survive the freezing winters and grid blackouts without natural gas. We fought for small businesses who could not afford to retrofit their buildings to electric. We fought for Washingtonians tired of being forced to comply with policies that make their lives more difficult from a legislature that has proven they aren’t listening to citizens.”
The initiative also prevents state and local governments and their agencies from banning, restricting, or discouraging natural gas appliances in homes and businesses, like restaurants.
Berkeley’s proposed natural gas tax received less than one-third of the vote last week. Opponents said businesses and nonprofits would be harmed. Beth Roessner, Berkeley Chamber of Commerce CEO:
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MINING:
American Pacific Receives US$10 Million and 100% Interest in the Palmer VMS Project in Alaska
Newsfile, November 18, 2024
Vancouver, British Columbia–(Newsfile Corp. – November 18, 2024) – American Pacific Mining Corp. (CSE: USGD) (FSE: 1QC) (OTCQX: USGDF) (“American Pacific” or the “Company“) announced today that it has entered into an agreement (the “Purchase Agreement“) with Constantine North Inc. (“CNI“) and Dowa Metals & Mining Alaska Ltd. (“Dowa“) to acquire Dowa’s interest in Constantine Mining LLC (the “Dowa Interest“), the holder of the Palmer VMS Project (“Palmer” or the “Project“). Pursuant to the terms of the Purchase Agreement executed November 15th, 2024, CNI, a wholly-owned subsidiary of American Pacific, will acquire the Dowa Interest from Dowa and Dowa will pay US$10,000,000 to American Pacific in exchange for providing Dowa with an option to acquire up to 50% of the zinc concentrate produced at the Project for the initial year of production and each subsequent year of production at the Project and the provision of certain indemnities in the Purchase Agreement. The completion of the transactions contemplated by the Purchase Agreement are subject to customary conditions precedent in favour of American Pacific, CNI and Dowa. Following the acquisition of the Dowa Interest, American Pacific will have consolidated a 100%-interest in the Project.
American Pacific would like to thank Dowa for its collaborative approach to work at Palmer over the years. Given the differing corporate priorities of Dowa and American Pacific, the Company is pleased to have regained 100%-ownership and control of Palmer.
Warwick Smith, American Pacific’s Chief Executive Officer stated:
“This is a transformative transaction for American Pacific. American Pacific receives a significant injection of capital and 100%-control of a Project that has an established mineral resource with significant exploration upside throughout the district.”
“An updated mineral resource estimate (MRE) is underway, and this transition consolidates ownership and provides a clear path forward with a renewed focus on advanced exploration and resource expansion, which we believe will create significant value for a Project that currently includes a small fraction of the known VMS showings in the current MRE.”
Following the closing, American Pacific is expected to have more than CDN$16 million in cash and two 100%-controlled flagship assets in the Madison Project in Montana and Palmer in Alaska. The transaction is expected to close during the fourth quarter of 2024.
POLITICS:
U.S. Supreme Court leaves in place Alaska campaign disclosure rules voters approved in 2020
Associated Press, November 18, 2024
The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday left in place disclosure rules for campaign contributions that Alaska voters approved in a 2020 ballot measure.
The justices did not comment in rejecting arguments from donors who challenged as unconstitutional the disclaimers that are required for ads and the reporting required for contributions greater than $2,000 that are given to or received by third-party groups.
Lower courts also had allowed the rules to remain in place. They were part of a ballot measure that overhauled Alaska’s elections system and was passed by voters in 2020. Provisions of the measure calling for open primaries and ranked choice voting in general elections were challenged previously in state courts and upheld.
by wp_sysadmin | Nov 4, 2024 | Home, News
Today’s Key Takeaways: Eni leaves Alaska. China signs 15-year LNG deal with TotalEnergies. Pogo’s Fantastic Achievement. Oil executives give millions to Trump campaign.
OIL:
Eni Concludes $1B Sale of Offshore Oil and Gas Assets in Alaska
Offshore Energy, November 4, 2024
Italian energy giant Eni has completed the sale of its Nikaitchuq and Oooguruk assets upstream offshore assets in Alaska to Hilcorp for $1 billion.
The transaction, which received the approval of all relevant authorities, is in line with Eni’s strategy focused on the rationalization of the upstream activities by rebalancing its portfolio and divesting non-strategic assets.
Eni acquired 70% and operatorship of the Oooguruk oil field in Alaska, increasing its interest to 100% back in 2019.
The Oooguruk oil field, located in the Beaufort Sea approximately 5 kilometers off Alaska’s North Slope coast, has been in production since 2008.
Eni is also the operator with full working interest in the Nikaitchuq oil field, located approximately 13 km North-East of Oooguruk. Nikaitchuq has been in production since 2011.
Eni will continue to be present in the United States in the upstream of Gulf of Mexico as well as in energy transition projects in the renewables, biofuels, and magnetic fusion.
GAS:
China’s Sinopec signs agreement for 15-yr LNG deal with TotalEnergies
Chen Aizhu, Reuters, November 4, 2024
China’s state oil and gas major Sinopec Corp said on Monday it has signed Heads of Agreement to buy from TotalEnergies (TTEF.PA), opens new tab two million metric tons of liquefied natural gas a year for 15 yrs starting 2028.
The deal, signed in Shanghai at the China International Import Expo, is a step forward from a strategic alliance the companies agreed in May, Sinopec said in a statement.
MINING:
Pogo on pace to top 280k oz gold in 2024
Shane Lasley, October 25, 2024
Despite a five-week shutdown, the Alaska mine produced 56,000 oz gold in Q3; now positioned for 300,000 oz/yr production.
Northern Star Resources Ltd. Oct. 24 reported that, despite the mill being down for more than a month for maintenance and repairs, its Pogo Mine in Alaska produced 56,131 oz of gold during the third quarter.
Over the first nine months of this year, Pogo poured 206,641 oz of gold, putting the company’s only operation outside of Australia on pace to top 280,000 oz in 2024.
The third-quarter shutdown at Pogo was preplanned to carry out a normal relining of the mill, plus a major rebuild of one of the motors. Given this scheduled downtime, the company only expected the high-grade underground mine in Alaska to produce 50,000 oz of gold during the third quarter of calendar year 2024 and the first quarter of Northern Star’s fiscal year 2025.
During an Oct. 24 call with investors and analysts, Northern Star Managing Director and CEO Stuart Tonkin commended its Alaskan team for the “fantastic achievement” of successfully completing the major mill rebuild and still delivering a strong quarter of gold production.
READ MORE
POLITICS:
ELECTION COUNTDOWN – OIL INTERESTS GIVE MILLIONS TO TRUMP CAMPAIGN: High-profile oil and gas executives such as Harold Hamm of Continental Resources, Kelcy Warren of Energy Transfer Partners, and Jeffery Hildebrand of Hilcorp Energy Co. contributed more than $15 million to former President Donald Trump’s campaign, the New York Times reports.
The New York Times said oil and gas interests have given around $75 million to the Trump campaign, the Republican National Committee, and other affiliated groups.
Trump has promised to lower energy costs and accelerate fossil fuel production. “We will drill, baby, drill, which will lead to a large-scale decline in prices,” Trump said. The Trump campaign has not met the goal of raising $1 billion, but the oil industry remains a top donor.
From the Washington Examiner, Daily on Energy, November 2, 2024
