Another week and more action.  The Playoffs are heating up all over, but maybe not as much as the political temperature at the IRS.   Talk about warming…this heat from this will likely raise the temperature way more than crossing the 400 PPM threshold ever could.

With hockey and basketball playoffs rolling into the second round (of course less tonight’s Game 7s with the Caps/Rangers and Bruins/Leafs), we in Baltimore will also take a break from the NCAA lacrosse playoffs on Saturday to look at the second jewel of Horseracing’s Triple Crown: the Preakness Stakes.  Speaking of that, the visit last week from Canadian auto parts industrialist and Pimlico racetrack owner Frank Stronach attracted attention with a pieces on his plans for Pimlico and his views for the future of the global auto industry.

There are a number of hearings this week in Congress, but the three most important items appear to be the full Senate Confirmation of DOE Secretary nominee Ernest Moniz, tomorrow’s first Senate Energy natural gas forum and finally, the Senate Environment Committee vote on Gina McCarthy.  EPW hopes to vote on the nomination of McCarthy to head EPA at noon on Thursday after Republicans successfully blocked a committee vote last week.  We also expect movement Wednesday on electric reliability legislation sponsored by Rep. Pete Olsen that improves coordination between FERC, DOE, and EPA on emergency run orders for power facilities.

Finally, I am closing today with another thing we at Bracewell are working on.  For those of you following the recent controversy over the Mickey Mantle “corked bat” that is being promoted by an auction house, you can’t always believe what you hear.   The Mantle Family says the bat is a fraud.   Forget loan guarantees or the IRS, this would be a subject for some great Congressional hearings.

Call with questions…

Frank Maisano
(202) 828-5864
c. (202) 997-5932

IN THE NEWS

Markey Issues Report Blasting Drillers in Gulf – In the “I’m sure you missed it category” because it was released late Friday, House Natural Resources Committee Democrats released a report saying oil companies continue to rack up safety violations in the Gulf of Mexico three years after the Deepwater Horizon disaster.   What planet they are we aren’t exactly sure, but most of the things cited don’t rise to the level of fury the report portrays.  Our experts can address the topic if you are interested.

OTC Last Week – With Offshore Technology rolling in Houston last week, the Chronicle’s Fuel Fix ran a bunch of great opinion pieces on OTC subjects.  A couple that I saw that were interesting including a piece by Alstom CEO Pierre Gauthier that discussed how regulatory certainty impacts innovation;  a piece on the changing offshore energy workforce and its challenges by Hercules CEO John Rynd; a piece by Helix’s Cameron Wallace on offshore drilling in new markets in the Caribbean and a good piece by Norwegian minister of petroleum and energy Ola Borten Moe on international industry growth.

Manufacturing Initiative Taking Shape – DOE said last week that the Administration is launching competitions to create three new manufacturing innovation institutes with a Federal commitment of $200 million across five Federal agencies—Defense, Energy, Commerce, NASA, and the National Science Foundation. To build off the initial success of a pilot institute headquartered in Youngstown, Ohio, the President announced in the State of the Union that his Administration would move forward and launch three new manufacturing innovation institutes this year. The President will continue to call on Congress to act on his proposal for a one-time $1 billion investment to create a network of 15 manufacturing innovation institutes across the country.  The President’s manufacturing agenda starts with his vision for a National Network for Manufacturing Innovation (NNMI). The President’s FY14 Budget includes a $1 billion investment at the Department of Commerce to create the NNMI, a model based on approaches that that other countries have successfully deployed. Each institute would serve as a regional hub designed to bridge the gap between basic research and product development, bringing together companies, universities and community colleges, and Federal agencies to co-invest in technology areas that encourage investment and production in the United States. This type of innovation infrastructure provides a unique ‘teaching factory’ that allows for education and training of students and workers at all levels, while providing the shared assets to help companies, most importantly small manufacturers, access the cutting-edge capabilities and equipment to design, test, and pilot new products and manufacturing processes.

New Study Helps Utilities Evaluate Solar – A new report from DOE’s Sandia National Laboratories, EPRI and Georgia Tech offers a new methodology to help utilities better evaluate how PV affects distribution system operations. “Time Series Power Flow Analysis for Distribution Connected PV Generation” demonstrates how quasi-static time series (QSTS) simulation and high time-resolution data can be used to capture and assess the time-dependent aspects of power flow on a distribution circuit—which include the interaction between the daily changes in load and PV output and the effect on distribution control systems—while accounting for PV variability and differences in plant size and location. Distributed solar photovoltaic (PV) systems often must undergo an interconnection study process before they can be connected to the power grid. These system-impact studies can be both costly and time-consuming, and they often fall short when it comes to accurately assessing the potential grid impacts of differences in PV system size and location, as well as the inherent variability of PV plant output.

Interior Appoints Climate Panel – The Department of the Interior (DOI) announced the 25 members appointed to the new Advisory Committee on Climate Change and Natural Resource Science. The panel – composed of representatives from federal, tribal, state and local government, academia, nongovernmental organizations, and the private sector – will advise the DOI about its recent climate change adaptation science initiative. Matthew Larsen, associate director for climate and land-use change at the U.S. Geological Society, and David Behar, director of the climate program at the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission, will serve as co-chairs.

GOING ON THIS WEEK

Vilsack, Jewell to Discuss Fire Season Outlook – Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and Interior Secretary Sally Jewell will host a media conference call today at 1:00 p.m.to provide an outlook for the 2013 fire season and outline the federal government’s efforts to ensure collaboration in protecting Americans from wildfire. They will be joined by Chief Ernest Mitchell, US Fire Administrator from FEMA’s U.S. Fire Administration.

CleanTech Conference Set – The 6th Annual CleanTech Conference and Showcase, co-located at the TechConnect World Conference, will be held today through Wednesday at the Gaylord National Hotel & Convention Center.  The conference includes presentations from over 4,000 technology developers, investors and partners along with hundreds of showcasing technologies from around the world.

Gore to Address US-India Summit – The 4^th US-India Energy Partnership Summit will occur in Washington today and tomorrow, focusing on the collaboration between the US and India.   The event will focus on stimulating technology, development and trade and is organized by The Energy and resources Institute-North America and Yale University.  Former VP Al Gore will be the Keynote speaker.  It brings together leading researchers and policymakers from both the countries to find ways to a sustainable future. Last year, stakeholders discussed how the U.S. and India could improve collaboration on clean technologies.   The summits have formed the basis of MoUs on clean energy between the Indian and the US governments in the recent past. The fourth U.S.-India Partnership Summit to be held in May 2013.

Murphy to Headline Climate Discussion – The Center for National Policy will hold a forum tomorrow at 9:00 a.m. featuring Connecticut Sen. Christopher Murphy on climate change.  Murphy will be joined Andrew Light of the Center for American Progress to discuss the effects of climate disruptions and how to effectively confront the threat.

McKinley, Welch Host High-Performance Building Forum – U.S. House of Representatives High Performance Building Caucus will host a briefing on advancing the building industry tomorrow at 9:30 a.m. in B-369 Rayburn.  Buildings are a key aspect of the nation’s economy and serve all citizens through the homes they live in, the schools or workplaces they visit daily, the healthcare facilities that keep them healthy, and the retail stores that facilitate trade. As required in its authorizing legislation, the National Institute of Building Sciences Consultative Council produces an annual report of findings and recommendations aimed at improving the built environment. As Congress struggles to balance numerous priorities, the Consultative Council recommendations reflect deliberations by leaders from across the buildings industry to improve building performance, implement effective codes and standards, increase resilience to hazards, and support multidisciplinary research and development.  Reps. David McKinley and Representative Peter Welch, co-Chairs of the High Performance Building Caucus, will speak.

Coons, Pascual to Discuss Africa Issues – The CSIS Africa Program will host a session tomorrow at 9:00 a.m. in the Kennedy Caucus Room (SR-325) to examine how new political trends in Africa might influence geopolitical and governance dynamics on the continent; how the U.S. private sector is responding; and how the U.S. government might work with African governments and civil society to amplify development and growth opportunities. In a closing keynote, Senator Coons will offer his perspective on how U.S. engagement with Africa can maximize the many areas of common interest and mutual benefit that the continent’s current growth surge and promising energy future afford.   Sen. Chris Coons and Ambassador Carlos Pascual will discuss.  Chevron Africa and Latin America Exploration and Production President Ali Moshiri and Ambassador Daniel Ohene Agyekum of Ghana will also speak.

Senate Energy Planning Three NatGas Forums – The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee’s leaders will hold three round-table discussions starting tomorrow at 10:00 a.m. in 216 Hart to explore the issues of domestic gas production, proposed exports and whether the country’s pipelines can meet growing demand.  They will discuss the next applications for natural gas, the adequacy of the nation’s pipeline infrastructure and the use of gas in the transportation sector.  Among the witnesses tomorrow will be our friends Dr. Kathryn Clay, INGAA President Don Santa and National Association of Convenience Stores field expert John Eichberger.  On Tuesday, May 21^st, a forum on “domestic supply and exports will focus on estimates of how much gas the United States has and how production may expand if the federal government allows exports of liquefied gas to move forward.  The last forum on Thursday, May 23^rd will look at best practices and environmental concerns.

Senate Ag to Mark Up Farm Bill – The Senate Agriculture Committee will mark up the farm bill tomorrow and Wednesday at 10:00 a.m. in 328A Russell.

Forum to Look at Korean, US Renewable Policy – This Global America Business Institute and ACORE, with support from the Korea Institute of Energy Research will host U.S. and Korean experts for a half day Roundtable on Wednesday at SEIU to explore opportunities for cooperation between the United States and Korea, specifically in clean and renewable energy policies and forecasts, as well as technology development and global trends. Speakers include the Federation of American Scientists, Green Strategies, KIER, and many others.

Arctic Council Meeting Set – Diplomats from eight Arctic nations, including Secretary of State John Kerry, will meet Wednesday to discuss impacts and challenges of the region as thawing increases use of its waterways by commercial shipping traffic and develops its resources.

Senate Enviro Committee to Look at EPA Budget – With the ongoing battle over the nomination of Gina McCarthy to head the agency, the Senate Environment Committee will discuss budget issues for FY 14 on Wednesday at 10:00 a.m. EPA Acting Administrator Bob Perciasepe will testify.

Forum to Tackle Global Oil, Gas Resources Issues – The Global Economy and Development at Brookings will host a discussion on Wednesday at 10:00 a.m. to look at concerns about oil, gas and minerals for the public good. Brookings Nonresident Senior Fellow Daniel Kaufmann, president of Revenue Watch, will present the index findings, followed by a panel discussion on resource governance with Carlos Pascual, special envoy and coordinator for International Affairs, Bureau of Energy Resources, U.S. State Department, and Brookings Senior Fellow George Ingram with the Global Economy and Development program. Brookings Visiting Fellow Tamar Manuelyan Atinc will moderate the discussion. After the program, the panelists will take audience questions.

Lanard to Address ACORE Forum on Offshore Wind – ACORE will host a forum on Wednesday at 12:00 p.m. on offshore wind’s prospects, featuring our friend Jim Lanard of the Offshore Wind Development Coalition.  For several years it has seemed that the U.S. offshore wind industry is poised to take-off. But daunting obstacles have stood in the way of expeditiously turning the promising vision of an offshore wind industry into reality. State-level hurdles, such as obtaining approvals from a state public utility commission, can slow the project development process. Financing can be hard to obtain because offshore projects have no U.S.-based historical risk profile, particularly if a utility or the company supplying the turbines for the project is not a co-investor. Public dissent and skepticism about the cost of offshore wind to taxpayers is a new challenge. But proponents and developers of offshore wind power are persevering and advancing their projects. How will these challenges be addressed? Has the time for offshore wind power finally arrived? Lanard and a panel of experts will answer this and other questions, as well as provide insight as to when we may realistically see the U.S. offshore wind industry become a reality.

DOE Forum to Look at Solar Penetration Forums – DOE’s SunShot Systems Integration Subprogram will present a live webinar Wednesday at 2:00 p.m. providing an overview of the DOE/CPUC High Penetration Solar Forum.” Hosted by the Energy Department’s SunShot Initiative, the webinar will provide information on the results of the second High Penetration Solar Forum hosted by the Energy Department and the California Public Utilities Commission in February in San Diego, California. Topics covered will include an overview of the Energy Department’s and CPUC’s ongoing grid integration awards as well as future efforts.

Approps to Look at DOE Budget – The Senate Appropriations Committee’s Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development will hold a hearing Wednesday at 2:30 p.m. in 192 Dirksen to examine the proposed funding request and budget justification for fiscal year 2014 for the Department of Energy.  DOE Acting Secretary Dan Poneman will testify.

Jewell To Discuss Indian Energy Issues – The Senate Indian Affairs Committee will hear from Interior Secretary Sally Jewell on Wednesday at 2:30 p.m. Energy production on tribal lands is likely to be at issue.

Commerce to Look at Advanced Vehicles – The U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation will hold a hearing on Wednesday at 2:30 p.m. looking at advanced vehicle technology and its implications.  The hearing will explore the safety benefits, potential risks, and policy implications from the development and implementation of advanced vehicle technologies. These include advanced driver assistance systems such as adaptive cruise control and lane-keeping systems, partially and fully self-driving vehicles, vehicle-to-vehicle communication, as well as communications and entertainment devices for drivers.

Forum to Present Energy Trust Barometer – Edelman and The Energy Collection will hold a presentation and forum on Wednesday at 4:30 p.m. at the University Club to discuss its Trust Barometer project.  Following the insights from the Trust barometer, our friend Paul Bledsoe will moderate a panel to explore energy policies.

Report, Forum to Look at Climate Adaption, Mitigation Conflicts – The Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars will host an event on Thursday at 9:00 a.m. on the conflict potential of climate change adaptation and mitigation.  Amid the growing number of reports warning that climate change threatens security, one potentially dangerous—but counterintuitive—dimension has been largely ignored. Could efforts to reduce our carbon footprint and lower our vulnerability to climate change inadvertently exacerbate existing conflicts? How do we insure mitigation and adaptation strategies do not create new conflicts?  How can policymakers anticipate and minimize these potential risks?  More ambitiously, can these efforts actually help build peace?  Backdraft: The Conflict Potential of Climate Mitigation and Adaptation—the latest edition of the ECSP Report—gathers leading environmental security experts to analyze these underexplored aspects of responding to climate change. Could a transition to the “green economy” create conflicts over newly strategic minerals? Could mitigation initiatives such as REDD+ trigger disputes over land rights, carbon ownership, and financial benefits? How can policymakers ensure that geoengineering technology or adaptation measures do not trigger unintended impacts? How can we more accurately forecast future climate security flashpoints? Join us in a discussion of Backdraft with presentations by contributors Geoff Dabelko and Stacy VanDeveer and discussion by ClimateWire Deputy Editor Lisa Friedman. Roger-Mark De Souza, the Wilson Center’s new Director of Population, Environmental Change, and Security, will moderate.

House Energy Panel to Look at EPA Budget – The House Energy & Commerce Committee’s Subcommittees on Energy & Power and Environment & the Economy will hold a hearing on Thursday at 10:00 a.m. in 2125 Rayburn  looking at the proposed 2014 budget for EPA.

House Small Biz to Look at Keystone, Jobs – The House Small Business Committee’s Subcommittee on Agriculture, Energy and Trade will hold a hearing Thursday at 10:00 a.m. in 2360 Rayburn looking at the Keystone XL pipeline and small business job growth.  The purpose of the hearing is to review economic benefits to small businesses and rural communities where construction of the Keystone XL pipeline will take place.  Witnesses will include AFL-CIO’s Brent Booker, Secretary Treasurer, Building and Construction Trades Department, Department, Ellicott Dredges President and CEO Peter Bowe (testifying for NAM), Mat Brainerd of Brainerd Chemical Company and MIT Christopher Knittel, Co-Director of MIT’s Center for Energy and Environmental Policy Research.

House Oversight to Look at Oil, Gas Restrictions, Impacts – The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee’s Subcommittee on Energy Policy, Health Care and Entitlements will hold a hearing Thursday at 10:30 a.m. in 2154 Rayburn looking at constraints on oil and gas production on Federal Lands and Waters.  Tommy Beaudreau will testify.

House Energy to Discuss Legislation on Regs – The House Energy’s Subcommittee on Environment and the Economy will hold a legislative hearing Friday at 10:00 a.m. to examine three legislative proposals: the Reducing Excessive Deadline Obligations Act, the Federal and State Partnership for Environmental Protection Act, and the Federal Facility Accountability Act. These three bills seek to modernize existing federal law and increase state authority for certain environmental regulations. The legislative proposals incorporate ideas learned from past subcommittee hearings, including one February 15^th which featured State environmental officials.

Friday, May 17

Forum to Look at New, Efficient Housing – The National Association of Home Builders and ASHRAE will be the lead sponsors for a luncheon briefing Friday at 11:30 a.m. in B-338 Rayburn looking at how high-performance homes can save money, save resources and create jobs.  Voluntary, above code programs are gaining in popularity as a means to construct homes that use resources more efficiently.  The ICC 700 National Green Building Standard achieves those goals by targeting energy efficiency, water efficiency, resource efficiency, operations/maintenance and building owner education, site/lot design, preparation and development, and indoor air quality.  The ICC 700 focuses on high-performance building and housing affordability. Missouri builder, Matt Belcher, will showcase the latest developments in energy efficient design and Mark Levin, from developer Balfour Beatty Communities, will highlight military housing projects which will save government dollars, while guaranteeing high-quality living standards for military families.

FUTURE EVENTS

Whirlpool Exec to Headline EE Global –The Energy Efficiency Global Forum 2013 will be held at the Walter Washington Convention Center on May 20^th and 21^st where thought Leaders from across the energy and economic spectrums  will discuss barriers, solutions and action plans to issues facing our environment, economy and future.  One prominent issue addressed at EE Global 2013 is increasing energy productivity through investment, modernization, and education.  These three pillars are central to the Alliance’s recently unveiled Energy 2030 policy recommendations, which call for a doubling of U.S. energy productivity by 2030.  The policy recommendations included in Energy2030 were developed by the Alliance Commission on National Energy Efficiency Policy, an influential group of leaders in energy and environmental policy from the business, government, academic, and nonprofit sectors.  Speakers will include Jeff Fettig, Chairman & CEO of Whirlpool Corporation, during the opening plenary session, and many others.

DOE Peer Review to Look at Projects – The US Department of Energy Bioenergy Technologies Office 2013 Project Peer Review process will be held Monday – Thursday, May 20-23 at the Hilton Alexandria Hotel.  The forum will provide an opportunity for external experts from industry, academia, and government to review the projects in the Office’s portfolio. Approximately 218 projects will be reviewed across nine technology areas.  Unlike in previous years, all reviews will take place in concurrent sessions during the week of the review. Monday morning will open with a series of high-level plenary sessions designed to provide reviewers and attendees with an overview of each key technology area. Each of the subsequent mornings will open with another plenary session focused on other cross-cutting issues important to the program before attendees will break into their respective review sessions. These plenary sessions will cover cost competitive cellulosic ethanol, the new technology pathways the Office is focusing on, and the update to the Billion-Ton Study.  Results from the project peer review will be used by the Bioenergy Technologies Office to monitor progress and accomplishments of DOE-funded projects and develop overall recommendations for the focus of each technology area, and the overall outlook and strategic direction for the Office.

State Highway Officials to Discuss Extreme Weather – The American Assn of State Highway & Transportation Officials (AASHTO) will hold a national symposium on the impacts of extreme weather on transportation on Tuesday and Wednesday, May 21-22 at the L’Enfant Plaza Hotel.  State departments of transportation (DOTs) continue to face challenges in maintaining a resilient and sustainable transportation system in the face of increasing extreme weather events. This two-day symposium for state DOTs will provide an opportunity for DOT Staff from a broad range of disciplines to convene and discuss the implications of extreme weather events on transportation infrastructure and operations.

Senate Energy Committee Natural Gas Forum, Part II – Featuring EIA’s Adam Sieminski, American Chemistry Council CEO Cal Dooley, Cheniere Energy’s Pat Outtrim, expert Charles Ebinger Huntsman Corporation CEO Peter Huntsman, ICF International’s Harry Vidas and Industrial Energy Consumers of America head Paul Cicio, among others.

Sierra Club Lawyer to Discuss Strategies – The Woman’s National Democratic Club will host Josh Stebbins, Managing Attorney of the Sierra Club’s Environmental Law Program, on Tuesday, May 21^st at 11:30 a.m.  Stebbins will discuss strategies to address climate change and reduce the public health and environmental impacts of our energy use. ELP’s work aims to counter all major sources of greenhouse gasses, from electricity generation and vehicle usage to raw fuel extraction of coal, oil, and natural gas.

EPRI Expert to Discuss New EE/DR Study – ICF will continue its energy breakfast meeting on Thursday May 23^rd hosting expert Omar Siddiqui, Director of Energy Utilization of the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), to preview EPRI’s new study of energy efficiency potential for the years ahead. Energy efficiency (EE) and demand response (DR) are often the first choice for providing new energy “supplies.” Siddiqui will discuss how EE and DR can address the challenges of providing reliable, affordable, and environmentally responsible services to electricity customers by using advanced technology.  The presentation will also examine the benefits of focused research, testing, and demonstration programs to facilitate a market and to promote the adoption of technologies for EE, DR, and electrification.

DC Bar to Discuss NatGas Drilling – On May 23^rd, the D.C. Bar’s Environment, Energy, and Natural Resources section will convene a panel of distinguished attorneys at Noon to discuss these issues. In particular, the panel will discuss what the new rules will entail, how they might impact the environment and industry, and whether fracking regulations should be made by the federal government or left to the states.  This brown bag luncheon program is sponsored by the Environment, Energy and Natural Resources Section, in cosponsorship with the Administrative Law and Agency Practice Section, Courts, Lawyers and the Administration of Justice Section, Real Estate, Housing and Land Use Section, Bar Association of the District of Columbia, Energy Bar Association, Hispanic Bar Association of D.C., Women’s Bar Association of D.C. and Women’s Bar Association of D.C’s Environmental Law Forum.   Speakers will include former EPA enforcement official Adam Kushner, Interior’s Richard McNeer and Sierra Club’s Craig Seagall.

Senate Energy Natural Gas Forum Part III – On Thursday, May 23^rd at 10:00 a.m.  will look at shale development’s best practices and environmental concerns.  Witnesses will include BLM, Texas Railroad Commission Chairman Barry Smitherman, Anadarko VP Clay Bretches, Baker Hughes Chief Legal and Governance Officer Alan Crain, Environmental Defense Fund’s Mark Brownstein, Halliburton’s Marc Edwards, NRDC’s Amy Mall, Noble Energy CEO Charles Davidson and Sierra Club’s Deb Nardone, among others.

JHU Forum to Look at Climate – The Johns Hopkins Washington, DC Center will host a forum on Thursday, May 23^rd at noon featuring a presentation by Thomas D. Peterson, President and CEO, Center for Climate Strategies.  The CCS Security and Investment Project provides a comprehensive leadership strategy for the emerging energy economy and the trend to safer and more sustainable approaches. It details how past progress in the US has been made through combined actions by localities, states, and national agencies to meet climate, energy, and economic goals. It also points to specific new actions in each economic sector that can do more to reach future goals in these areas now.

RFF Forum to Look at Housing Efficiency Value – Resources for the Future will Hold a forum on Thursday, May 23 at 12:00 p.m. looking at whether energy efficiency is capitalized in home prices.  The forum will look at evidence from three cities.  One oft-cited explanation for underinvestment in residential energy efficiency is that homeowners do not expect to occupy their homes long enough to realize benefits that offset their investment costs. This is problematic because homeowners may not believe that the energy efficiency features of a home will be capitalized in the selling price. In this paper, RFF looks for evidence of such capitalization using data from real estate multiple listing services in three metropolitan areas: the Research Triangle region of North Carolina; Austin, Texas; and Portland, Oregon. Realtors participating in the MLS services in these regions have agreed to report a set of “green” characteristics on home listing sheets, including certifications such as Energy Star and, in Portland and Austin, local certifications.  Presenters include RFF’s Margaret Walls and Karen Palmer.

CHP Forum Set – The US Combined Heat and Power Assn will host its Spring CHP Forum on Thursday, May 23^rd at the University Club of Washington.  It has been a staple of the combined heat and power industry for the past few years. Impending legislation and the fight for clean energy brings currency to this Forum, and attendees focus on the challenges facing this field.

Webinar to Look at Military Biofuel Use – DOE will present a live webcast titled “Biomass and the Military” on Wednesday May 29^th at 12:30 p.m.  The Energy Department’s Bioenergy Technologies Office staff members will discuss the joint efforts between the Energy Department and U.S. Navy to use biopower and biofuels in military vehicles. The webinar will provide an overview and recent updates on the plans and goals laid out by the Defense Production Act and the Innovative Pilot- and Demonstration-Scale funding opportunity. Both funding projects will develop novel processes and provide extensive opportunities to prepare for eventual commercialization, helping the Energy Department meet its goals of creating reliable, sustainable, domestic biofuels to increase U.S. energy independence.

AWC Expert to Address EnergyOcean Conference – The 10^th Annual EnergyOcean International Conference and Exhibition will be held on June 10^th to 12^th in Providence/Warwick , RI.  Hundreds of industry stakeholders representing every aspect of the offshore renewable energy industry will unite for EnergyOcean International’s technical program which offers the latest in offshore ocean energy technological advances, updates on what is happening in the industry, along with regulatory issues and policy.  Among the speakers will be our friend Kris Ohleth of the Atlantic Wind Connection, who will address challenges to permitting offshore transmission systems.

RFF to Focus on Ice Sheets on the Move – While it will actually be the second Wednesday, Resources for the Future will hold its First Wednesday Seminar on Wednesday, June 12^th at 12:45 p.m.  on ice sheets.  The ice sheets covering Antarctica and Greenland pose both the largest risk and uncertainty for sea level rise, which is considered to be one of the greatest hazards from future climate change. Together, the two regions contain enough ice to increase sea level by over 60 meters. Predicting the effect of climate change on the ice sheets is challenging because of poorly understood processes and multiple, complex feedbacks among the ice sheets and the rest of the climate system. Policymakers urgently need numbers for future sea level rise and, in particular, an understanding of the uncertainties that come with such predictions. Recently, new initiatives for science-based uncertainty quantification have been launched, revealing mounting concern for ice sheet instability. Panelists at this First Wednesday Seminar will characterize the state of the science, methods for quantifying uncertainty, and the potential consequences of abrupt sea level rise.  RFF’s Roger Cooke will moderate a panel that includes Willy Aspinall and Jonathan Bamber of the University of Bristol, RFF’s Carolyn Kousky and Princeton’s Christopher Little.

Congressional Renewable Expo Set – The 16^th Annual Congressional Renewable Energy & Energy Efficiency EXPO + Forum will be held on Wednesday – June 12^th from 9:30 am – 4:30 pm in the Cannon Caucus Room.  Speakers will be announced as we get closer.

Public Power Conference Set for Nashville – The 2013 APPA National Conference, public power’s largest annual gathering, will be held in Nashville, TN, June 14^th through 19^th.  At conference, utility leaders and policymakers explore innovative ideas, developing trends and new technologies; learn about the national issues influencing our industry; and connect with hundreds of utility board and city council members, mayors, utility executives, senior managers, and industry partners.  The program features leading political, economic, business and public policy thinkers and public power leaders addressing the critical issues shaping our industry’s future, to help you think strategically about your utility’s future.

EIA Conference Set For DC – The 2013 EIA Energy Conference will be held on June 17-18^th at the JW Marriott in Washington, DC.  The conference has become a premier forum for addressing energy issues in the United States and around the world.  The conference will explore current and future challenges facing domestic and international energy markets and policymakers.  Session topics include a global natural gas outlook; renewable, storage, and grid integration; and many other topics.

Aspen Clean Energy Conference Set – The Aspen Institute’s Energy and Environment Program is hosting its 4^th annual Aspen Institute Clean Energy Forum in Aspen, CO on June 20-23^rd.  The co-chairs for the Forum are Roger Ballentine, President, Green Strategies, and Andy Karsner, CEO, Manifest Energy.  The objective of this Forum is to highlight and further develop new ideas that merge the collective desire for a clean energy future with current systemic political, technical and economic realities.

Reid, Wellinghoff to Address Geothermal Summit – The National Geothermal Summit will be held on June 26-27^th at the Grand Sierra Resort and Casino in Reno, NV.  The event will feature Keynote remarks by Ashley Carrigan, State Director, Senator Dean Heller’s Office, Karen Edson of California ISO and FERC Chair Jon Wellinghoff.  There will also be a video Keynote Address by Senator Harry Reid.

The post Energy Update Week of May 13 appeared first on Policy Resolution Group.

And down the stretch they come… Orb, running away from a muddy field, took the first leg of the Triple Crown, the 139^th Running of the Kentucky Derby.  The win gives native Kentuckian and Hall of Fame trainer Shug McGaughey his first Derby victory.  Most experts think that Orb may be the one who can win all three as he has speed and the stamina to handle fast paces, longer distances and difficult conditions (like Saturday’s big field and weather).   And Frac Daddy was nobody’s daddy on Saturday fading to 16^th, only slightly better that Promised Land’s showing at the box office.  We have not seen a Triple Crown Winner since Affirmed and Seattle Slew went back to back in 1977-78.  There have been 12 since that have won the first two but failed to win the Belmont.  Bonus points to those who can name them without looking on Wikipedia…and yes, last year’s I’ll Have Another was one of the 12.

Speaking of the Derby, we at Bracewell Giuliani’s Policy Resolution Group are proud to announce that former Louisville Congresswoman and former Consumer Product Safety Commissioner Anne Northup will be joining the Bracewell PRG team tomorrow (See Below).

So how do you follow up nabbing Churchill Downs’ former Congresswoman and the two most exciting minutes in sports?  You move on to the next race at the Preakness, just two weeks away.  And since I’m always ready to help, join us for lunch on Thursday where Pimlico trackowner Frank Stronach will be in DC to speak at the Cosmos Club at Noon, hosted by the Executive Council on Diplomacy and former Wisconsin Rep. Toby Roth.   Stronach will discuss his recent book, The Magna Man, his inspirational story of business triumph and innovation.  He is also expected to discuss a little horseracing and gaming, also both under his Magna purview.

Congress returns this week with important business on the hearing docket. Tomorrow, new Interior Secretary Sally Jewell, fresh off a trip to a Gulf of Mexico Oil rig, will return to the Senate Appropriations Committee for a budget talk.  As well, the Senate Energy Committee holds a legislative hearing on helium issues that were just passed by the House last week and will vote Wednesday on energy efficiency legislation authored by Sens. Jeanne Shaheen and Rob Portman, among other items.  The House Energy Committee will tackle exporting LNG also tomorrow with former Sens. Dorgan and Bennett Johnston testifying.    Other action includes House Science on Keystone issues tomorrow, Resources on “impediments to public recreation on public lands tomorrow and the Interior fracturing rule on Wednesday.   And EPA’s Bob Perciasepe will face House appropriators Wednesday to discuss the EPA budget request.

On Thursday, there will be action in the Senate Environment Committee when they expect to vote on EPA nominee Gina McCarthy despite a number of concerns still being raised by Republicans.  As well, Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack goes before Senate Ag Approps and House Energy tackles grid reliability.

In the Windy City last night, AWEA launched its annual WINDPOWER event which runs through Wednesday. Iowa Governor Terry Branstad will speak today at the world’s premiere wind energy trade show.

Finally, Friday was the 90^th birthday of our good friend Texas Rep. Ralph Hall from Rockwall.  On Christmas Day 2012, Hall became the oldest person ever to serve in the U.S. House, surpassing the record of North Carolina Rep. Charles Stedman, who died in office in 1930 at age 89 years, 7 months and 25 days.  Hall was first elected in 1980 at the age of 57 and he is still rolling along as sharp as ever, running his two miles and doing his pushups daily.  Congrats Congressman, Sen. Strom Thurmond’s record is next…

See you on Thursday at the Cosmos Club for Stronach event.  Call with questions or requests to chat with Anne Northup.

Frank Maisano
(202) 828-5864
c. (202) 997-5932

IN THE NEWS

Northup to Join Bracewell’s PRG Team – Former Kentucky Congresswoman Anne Northup has joined Bracewell Giuliani’s Policy Resolution Group (PRG).  Northup, who most recently served as a Commissioner on the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), will bring the knowledge and experience she has gained over her years of public service to her new role as a strategist and advisor for the firm’s clients, particularly those in the consumer products, health, international trade, energy, environment, and manufacturing sectors.   Northup joins PRG after serving for the past three years as a CPSC Commissioner where she was known for her advocacy on behalf of small business.  She served as a Commissioner during the implementation of the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA) and worked to craft rules that balanced the costs to business with  the need to protect children from real risks.  Prior to her time as a CPSC Commissioner, she represented the third congressional district of Kentucky in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1997-2006 and also the  Kentucky House of Representatives from 1987-1996.  As a Member of Congress, Northup served on the House Appropriations Committee, the powerful committee that considers all federal spending bills.   Northrup joins former Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison and for Senate HELP staff Director Frank Macchiarola as recent additions to the Bracewell PRG team.   See the full release with comments from Segal, Northup, Rudy Giuliani and BG Managing Partner Mark Evans.

Jewell Visits Rigs in Gulf – Newly-installed Interior Secretary Sally Jewell visited an offshore drilling rig and production platform in the Gulf of Mexico Friday.  Our friend, Jen Dlouhy had the play-by-play.  The visit capped a two-day visit to the Department’s regional offices that oversee oil and gas development in federal waters where Jewell met with Interior employees, praised their professionalism and commitment to their mission and highlighted safe and responsible energy development and Gulf Coast restoration.  Jewell was accompanied by BSEE Director Jim Watson, which included seeing first-hand drilling operations onboard the ENSCO 8502 rig, approximately 120 miles southeast of New Orleans, LA.  She observed a cementing operation for a production well and was briefed on development plans for the area.

Marshall Study Hits Carbon Tax – A new report from economist Jim DeLong for the George Marshall Institute on Carbon taxes says the political and economic forces and consequences make a carbon tax bad policy.  DeLong presented five reasons to reject carbon taxes:

lack of effect on temperature, lack of specificity about future energy sources and political pressures and practical problems, among others.  A panel discussion followed the release and featured Marshall’s Bill O’Keefe, Heritage’s David Kreutzer and Scott Segal.  Each discussed political and practical challenges of implementing a carbon tax.

USDA, EPA Releases Stinging Health Report – In case you missed it on Thursday firing up for the Caps game, USDA and EPA released a comprehensive scientific report on honey bee health. The report states that there are multiple factors playing a role in honey bee colony declines, including parasites and disease, genetics, poor nutrition and pesticide exposure.  The decline in honey bee health is a complex problem caused by a combination of stressors.  In October 2012, a National Stakeholders Conference on Honey Bee Health, led by federal researchers and managers and Penn State, convened to synthesize the current state of knowledge regarding the primary factors that scientists believe have the greatest impact on managed bee health.  An estimated one-third of all food and beverages are made possible by pollination, mainly by honey bees. In the United States, pollination contributes to crop production worth $20-30 billion in agricultural production annually. A decline in managed bee colonies puts great pressure on the sectors of agriculture reliant on commercial pollination services. This is evident from reports of shortages of bees available for the pollination of many crops.

Yale360 Buzzing on Bees, Too – And it’s not just USDA and EPA.  Last Week, the European Commission decided to ban neonicotinoids because of concerns about their impact on bees and other pollinators.  Our friends at Yale360 have much more on Neonicotinoids  (say that fast three times) and the urgent task of uncovering the causes of the loss of bees as one of every three bites of food eaten worldwide depends on pollinators.

Job Numbers In Oil, Gas Continue to Drive Economy – Not that this is anything new, but the stronger-than-expected April rebound in job creation sees much of its roots in the energy sector.  And with recent dramatic discoveries of vast U.S. oil and gas reserves, the new jobs and economic opportunities are helping to lift the American economy out its long funk.  The Labor Department’s report that payrolls expanded by 165,000 jobs last month and the unemployment rate declined to a four-year low of 7.5% does not represent explosive job growth by any measure. But, unconventional oil and gas production have created more than 1 million jobs already with 800,000 more expected by 2015. As of 2012, unconventional energy employed 360,000 people directly, 537,000 workers indirectly as suppliers, and another 850,000 people providing services and goods to the first two groups – more than 1.7 million jobs in all. By 2015, the number of overall jobs supported by unconventional energy should expand by nearly 50% to 2.5 million; and, by 2020, another 20% to 3 million jobs.

States Urge EPA to Reject Methane Standard – Officials from 13 states urged EPA to reject calls to directly regulate methane emissions from oil and natural gas wells.  In a letter last week, the states said EPA declined to directly regulate methane from oil and natural gas facilities when it issued new source performance standards for oil and natural gas facilities in 2012. The letter, signed by 13 energy producing states, was sent to the EPA after several northeastern states threatened to sue the agency for not taking over regulatory responsibility of oil and gas production. The Clean Air Act provides states, not the federal government, with primary regulation responsibility. The letter was written by Oklahoma Attorney General E. Scott Pruitt and also signed by attorneys general from Alabama, Arizona, Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, Texas, West Virginia, and Wyoming, as well as Indiana’s environment commissioner.  The states also urged EPA not to employ its backdoor “sue and settle” tactic to regulate hydraulic fracturing and oil production.

McCarthy Says No Low Carbon Fuels Standard – While this may not come as a shock considering she is answering tons of Republican questions regarding her nomination, EPA nominee Gina McCarthy said the agency is not considering a national low-carbon fuel standard, one of the favorite topics of many in the environmental community.  While that is great, it is only one small and overly-drastic regulation on fuels that EPA is considering.  As well, it is considerably more far-fetched than other more front-and-center gasoline regs like to the Tier III sulfur rules (which were recently proposed) and the constant chaos of the current EPA biofuels program.   California has instituted an LCFS calling for a 10% reduction by 2020.  Yet they wonder why they have the highest gas prices in the nation.

TX Transmission Developer to Look for NM Wind – Clean Line Energy announced it was acquiring Power Network New Mexico, which together with the state-owned New Mexico Renewable Energy Transmission Authority (RETA), is jointly developing the Power Network transmission project.  The Power Network, which is also referred to as the Central New Mexico Collector System, is a proposed 200-mile, 345 kilovolt alternating current transmission line with a 1.5GW capacity.  The grid link is specifically designed to take renewable power from east-central New Mexico and deliver it to markets in the western United States.  The project is separate, but complements another of Clean Line Energy’s larger transmission projects, called the Centennial West Clean Line project. This 3.5GW link will transfer renewable electricity generated in New Mexico and Arizona to California. Clean Line Energy Partners is responsible for several wind-related grid upgrades in Texas, including the Plains and Eastern Clean Line, a 3.5GW 750-mile high voltage direct current transmission line connecting northern Texas with markets in the mid-south/southeastern US.

GOING ON THIS WEEK

WINDPOWER 2013 – The American Wind Energy Association’s annual WINDPOWER Conference & Exhibition will be held today through Wednesday in Chicago, IL.  The event is one of the world’s premiere wind energy trade shows, combining education, an exhibition, and networking. Pre-session workshops provide newcomers to the industry an opportunity to learn more about wind technology, proper deployment, and the industry as a whole.  Iowa Governor Terry Branstad will be the Keynote Speaker.

OTC Set for Houston – The Offshore Technology Conference will be held today through Thursday at Houston’s Reliant Park.  Founded in 1969, OTC is the world’s foremost event for the development of offshore resources in the fields of drilling, exploration, production, and environmental protection.  OTC promotes and furthers the advance of scientific and technical knowledge of offshore resources and environmental matters.  Each year, OTC attracts more than 80,000 attendees from more than 110 countries and 2,500 exhibiting companies.  OTC is sponsored by 13 industry organizations and societies, who work cooperatively to develop the technical program. OTC also has endorsing and supporting organizations.

Forum to Look at American Competitiveness – The Information Technology and Innovation Foundation will host a distinguished panel of experts tomorrow for a Capitol Hill briefing on the past, present and future of the America COMPETES Act.  It will include a discussion of ITIF’s recently released report 25 Policy Recommendations for the 2013 America COMPETES Act Reauthorization, which offers a series of reforms designed to revamp the U.S. innovation system and spur additional investment in science and technology.  Event speakers include Rob Atkinson, President of ITIF, Scott Doron, Director of the Southern Technology Council, Kathleen Kingscott, Director of Strategic Partnerships for IBM Research, and Phillip Singerman, Associate Director of the National Institute of Standards and Technology.

House Energy Panel to Look at NatGas Exports – The House Energy and Commerce subcommittee on Energy will hold a hearing tomorrow on the economic benefits of liquefied natural gas exports.  Those testifying include formers Sens. Byron Dorgan and Bennett Johnston, as well as WRI’s James Bradbury, Michael Breen of the Truman National Security Project, Mike Halleck of the Columbiana County Board of Commissioners and our friend Amy Jaffe of the UC-Davis.

Indian Ambassador to Address AEI NatGas Export Forum – As the House tackles this issue at a hearing, AEI will hold a forum tomorrow at 10:00 a.m. on natural gas exports.  U.S. natural gas production has increased sharply because of recent technological advances in hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling. As a result, domestic natural gas prices have fallen substantially below international prices and are projected to stay low. This creates an opportunity for US gas producers to export significant quantities of gas profitably. But critics fear that such exports would reduce domestic supplies and raise domestic prices, harming US consumers. They therefore argue that gas exports should be limited or prohibited. This event will explore the policy arguments from both perspectives and feature a luncheon address by Indian Ambassador Nirupama Rao, who has been an advocate for US natural gas exports.  Other speakers include Charles River’s Ken Ditzel, NERA’s David Montgomery and our friend Wally Tyner of Purdue.

Senate Energy to Look at Helium Legislation – Tomorrow at 9:30 a.m., the Senate Energy Committee will hold a hearing on helium legislation.  It will follow actions in the House last week that passed legislation to privatize the supply.  Helium is currently used in medical, computer and energy applications.  Air Liquide expert Dave Joyner and Interior’s Tim Spisack will be among those testifying. The Committee will also vote on energy efficiency legislation authored by Sens. Jeanne Shaheen and Rob Portman and several other bills on Wednesday.

House Resources to look at Interior NatGas Regs, Public Lands – The House Natural Resources Committee will hold a hearing Wednesday at 10:00 a.m. that will explore the recent Department of Interior Department efforts on regulating natural gas drilling and hydraulic fracturing.  Tomorrow, a Resources panel will look at impediments to public recreation on public lands.

House Science Looking at Keystone Science – Also tomorrow, the House Science Committee’s energy and environment panels hold a joint hearing on scientific and environmental issues with the Keystone XL pipeline.  Witnesses include North Dakota Industrial Commission’s Lynn Helms,  Brigham McCown of United Transportation Advisors, NRDC’s Anthony Swift and Chip Knappenberger of the Cato Institute’s Center for the Study of Science.

BLM Budget in House Approps Panel’s Focus – The Appropriations Committee’s Interior-EPA panel holds a hearing on the Bureau of Land Management’s budget tomorrow at 10:00 a.m.  BLM’s Neil Kornze will testify.

Jewell Headlines Senate Interior Approps – The Senate Appropriations Committee’s Subcommittee on Interior, Environment will host new Interior Secretary Sally Jewell tomorrow at 10:30 a.m. on the Fiscal Year 2014 Budget Request for the Department of the Interior.   Joining Jewell will Deputy Secretary David Hayes, Policy office head Rhea Suh and Budget office Head Pam Haze.

Forum to Look at Climate, Food Issues – The Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars will hold an event tomorrow at Noon looking at climate change, food security, and human mobility.  Shifts in rainfall patterns, increasing temperatures, and other impacts of climate change are threatening agricultural productivity and food security in many parts of the world. Adapting to these changes is increasingly difficult for small-holder farmers and other vulnerable populations. Many farmers are already struggling to grow enough food or secure sufficient income to feed and nourish their families, especially in countries where rapid population growth is putting pressure on the environment. How do these challenges shape household decision-making about staying in place or moving?  Kevin Henry will share highlights from CARE and the United Nations University’s “Where the Rain Falls” project, an eight-country study on the complexities of changing rainfall patterns and their effects on food security and human mobility. Stephanie Hanson will share perspectives from One Acre Fund’s work with women small-holder farmers in East Africa, and Susan Bradley will discuss activities and lessons learned from USAID’s Feed the Future Initiative.

JHU Forum to Feature International Energy Experts – The Johns Hopkins University’s SAIS will hold a forum tomorrow at 4:30 p.m. with Aldo Flores-Quiroga, secretary general for the International Energy Forum, and David Jhirad, director of the Energy, Resources and Environment Program.  The pair will discuss energy achievements and prospects.

Forum to Look at CHP, District Energy – The Environmental and Energy Study Institute will hold a briefing on Wednesday at 9:30 a.m. in 562 Dirksen looking at how District Energy, Combined Heat and Power and Microgrids can make local energy supply more reliable and more resilient in the face of more frequent severe weather events that have caused electricity supply disruptions and serious economic losses. This briefing will provide a technology overview, showcase relevant case studies, review related pending legislation, including The Local Energy Supply & Resiliency Act of 2013 and The Master Limited Partnerships Parity Act, and discuss key policy drivers to accelerate industry growth as called for in Executive Order 13624, Accelerating Investment in Industrial Energy Efficiency. Speakers will include International District Energy Association CEO Robert Thornton, Princeton’s Ted Borer, Veolia Energy North America CEO William DiCroce and Ever-Green Energy CEO Ken Smith.

House Approps Panel to Host EPA’s Perciasepe – The House Appropriations Committee’s Subcommittee on Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies will convene a budget hearing on Wednesday at 1:00 p.m. looking at the EPA budget request. Bob Perciasepe will testify.

DOE to Host Webinar on Energy Efficiency – The Energy Department will present a live webcast on Wednesday at 2:00 p.m. Looking at partnering with utilities to on energy efficiency initiatives.  The webinar will showcase resources to help local and state governments determine the best partnership candidates and the type of partnership most likely to succeed. Speakers will provide details on the ratepayer-funded energy efficiency program industry, including the types of organizations that administer efficiency programs and common program offerings. The City of San José, California will be featured as a case study; attendees will learn about San José’s experience implementing the Silicon Valley Energy Watch program in partnership with Pacific Gas & Electric.

Segal, Others Judge Debate on Nuclear Power at CSIS –The Center for Strategic and International Studies’ Abshire-Inamori Leadership Academy (AILA) and Nuclear Energy Program will host a public debate on the future of nuclear energy in the United States.  This past year, hundreds of university students around the country spent countless hours researching, strategizing, and debating U.S. energy policy.  CSIS brings the two highest-rated teams—representing Georgetown and Northwestern—to debate about whether the United States should commit to revitalizing its nuclear power industry.  The event will also feature senior experts to serve as guest “judges” to provide feedback and commentary. The distinguished panel of experts includes David Banks, Senior Fellow and Deputy Director of the Nuclear Energy Program at CSIS, Scott Segal, Founding Partner of the Policy Resolution Group at Bracewell & Giuliani LLP, and Tom Lawler, Principal at Lawler Strategies. This event is made possible with support from the Policy Resolution Group at Bracewell & Giuliani LLP, the Southern Company and the Nuclear Energy Institute.

RI Project to Hold Town Meeting – The Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management has scheduled a public hearing on Wednesday on Block Island for the Deepwater Wind Farm and Transmission System project.  Representatives of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management will attend the meetings.  The meeting will be at the New Shoreham (Block Island) Town Hall.

House Energy Panel to Look at Grid Reliability – The House Energy Committee’s panel on Energy and Power will hold a hearing on Thursday at 9:30 a.m. in 2123 Rayburn looking at grid reliability challenges in a shifting energy resource landscape.

Senate Ag Approps to Hear from Vilsack – The Senate Appropriations panel on Ag will hold a hearing on the agriculture budget Thursday at 10:00 a.m. in 124 Dirksen.   Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack will testify along with USDA Budget Officer Michael Young, USDA Inspector General Phyllis Fong, USDA Assistant Inspector General for Audit Gil Harden and USDA Assistant Inspector General for Investigations Karen Ellis.

RFF Forum Will Look at PACE Programs – Resources for the Future will hold a forum on Thursday at 12:00 p.m. on Property-Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) programs.  These programs offered property-secured loans to homeowners for residential clean energy investments. This analysis uses difference-in-differences models and synthetic counterfactual models to estimate the effect of three California PACE programs on residential photovoltaic installations. We find that PACE financing increases solar installations by approximately 3.8 watts per owner occupied household per quarter, a 108% increase over the mean watts per owner-occupied household. Because PACE financing carries equal or higher interest rates relative to alternative financing mechanism, we argue that PACE programs can address market barriers and help address the energy-efficiency gap. Lori Bennear, Assistant Professor at the Nicholas School of the Environment at Duke University will present.

Stronach to Address DC Forum on Book – The Executive Council on Diplomacy will host a roundtable with Canadian Auto parts magnate Frank Stronach at the Cosmos Club on Thursday at Noon.  Stronach will discuss his recent book, The Magna Man, his inspirational story of business triumph and innovation. Founder and former CEO of Magna International, Stronach came to Canada from Austria with a few dollars in his pocket, a lot of hustle and a hunger to succeed. In a few short years, he went from washing dishes to starting up his own tool and die shop in a rented garage, working long hours and sleeping on a fold-up bed next to his machines. He would build that small shop into Magna International Inc., one of the world’s biggest auto parts manufacturers, with 115,000 employees in 26 countries.  In the Book, Canada’s greatest industrialist tells the remarkable story for the first time of how he overcame hardship and heartache to climb to the top of one of the world’s most competitive industries. And along the way, he shares the formula behind his company’s spectacular success: the unique business philosophy he created known as Fair Enterprise. It’s a can’t-fail formula that has fuelled the company’s unstoppable growth and allowed Magna to share billions of dollars in profits with its employees, managers, shareholders and society.

Carnegie-Mellon Forum to Look at Managing Renewables – Carnegie Mellon University’s Scott Institute for Energy Innovation will host a policy briefing on Friday at 12:30 p.m. in B-338 Rayburn about how to manage renewable energy sources like wind and solar power, which do not produce a consistent amount of power, so they can be better integrated into the nation’s power grid.  CMU’s Scott Institute will release a new policymaker guide that summarizes research by the RenewElec project at a congressional staff briefing. Most states have a renewable portfolio standard — a policy designed to require or encourage electricity producers within a given jurisdiction to supply a certain minimum share (typically 15 to 30 percent) of their electricity from designated renewable sources. The three-year RenewElec project comes to the conclusion that reaching a 20 to 30 percent renewable portfolio standard is possible, but not without changes in the management and regulation of the power system.  The expert panel includes Jay Apt, principal investigator for the RenewElec Project and a professor of technology at the Tepper School of Business and the Department of Engineering and Public Policy (EPP); Paulina Jaramillo, executive director of the RenewElec Project and an assistant research professor in EPP; Stephen Rose, an EPP Ph.D. graduate; and moderator Deborah Stine, associate director for policy outreach at the Scott Institute.

FUTURE EVENTS

CleanTech Conference Set – The 6th Annual CleanTech Conference and Showcase, co-located at the TechConnect World Conference, will be held Sunday to Wednesday, May 12-15th at the Gaylord National Hotel & Convention Center.  The conference includes presentations from over 4,000 technology developers, investors and partners along with hundreds of showcasing technologies from around the world.

Gore to Address US-India Summit – The 4^th US-India Energy Partnership Summit will occur in Washington on May 13^th and  14^th and will focus on the collaboration between the US and India.   The event will focus on stimulating technology, development and trade and is organized by The Energy and resources Institute-North America and Yale University.  Former VP Al Gore will be the Keynote speaker.  It brings together leading researchers and policymakers from both the countries to find ways to a sustainable future. Last year, stakeholders discussed how the U.S. and India could improve collaboration on clean technologies.   The summits have formed the basis of MoUs on clean energy between the Indian and the US governments in the recent past. The fourth U.S.-India Partnership Summit to be held in May 2013.

McKinley, Welch Host High-Performance Building Forum – U.S. House of Representatives High Performance Building Caucus will host a briefing on advancing the building industry on Tuesday, May 14^th at 9:30 a.m. in B-369 Rayburn.  Buildings are a key aspect of the nation’s economy and serve all citizens through the homes they live in, the schools or workplaces they visit daily, the healthcare facilities that keep them healthy, and the retail stores that facilitate trade. As required in its authorizing legislation, the National Institute of Building Sciences Consultative Council produces an annual report of findings and recommendations aimed at improving the built environment. As Congress struggles to balance numerous priorities, the Consultative Council recommendations reflect deliberations by leaders from across the buildings industry to improve building performance, implement effective codes and standards, increase resilience to hazards, and support multidisciplinary research and development.  Reps. David McKinley and Representative Peter Welch, co-Chairs of the High Performance Building Caucus, will speak.

Forum to Look at Korean, US Renewable Policy – This Global America Business Institute and ACORE, with support from the Korea Institute of Energy Research will host U.S. and Korean experts for a half day Roundtable on Wednesday May 15^th at SEIU to explore opportunities for cooperation between the United States and Korea, specifically in clean and renewable energy policies and forecasts, as well as technology development and global trends. Speakers include the Federation of American Scientists, Green Strategies, KIER, and many others.

Lanard to Address ACORE Forum on Offshore Wind – ACORE will host a forum on Wednesday, May 15^th at 12:00 p.m. on offshore wind’s prospects, featuring our friend Jim Lanard of the Offshore Wind Development Coalition.  For several years it has seemed that the U.S. offshore wind industry is poised to take-off. But daunting obstacles have stood in the way of expeditiously turning the promising vision of an offshore wind industry into reality. State-level hurdles, such as obtaining approvals from a state public utility commission, can slow the project development process. Financing can be hard to obtain because offshore projects have no U.S.-based historical risk profile, particularly if a utility or the company supplying the turbines for the project is not a co-investor. Public dissent and skepticism about the cost of offshore wind to taxpayers is a new challenge. But proponents and developers of offshore wind power are persevering and advancing their projects. How will these challenges be addressed? Has the time for offshore wind power finally arrived? Lanard and a panel of experts will answer this and other questions, as well as provide insight as to when we may realistically see the U.S. offshore wind industry become a reality.

Forum to Present Energy Trust Barometer – Edelman and The Energy Collection will hold a presentation and forum on Wednesday May 15^th at 4:30 p.m. at the University Club to discuss its Trust Barometer project.  Following the insights from the Trust barometer, our friend Paul Bledsoe will moderate a panel to explore energy policies.

Senate Energy Planning Three NatGas Forums – The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee’s leaders will hold three round-table discussions in May to explore the issues of domestic gas production, proposed exports and whether the country’s pipelines can meet growing demand.  The committee will hold three public forums over a seven-day period starting on Thursday, May 16^th when the committee will hold a forum on infrastructure, transportation, research and innovation.  They will discuss the next applications for natural gas, the adequacy of the nation’s pipeline infrastructure and the use of gas in the transportation sector.  On Tuesday, May 21^st, a forum on “domestic supply and exports will focus on estimates of how much gas the United States has and how production may expand if the federal government allows exports of liquefied gas to move forward.  The last forum on Thursday, May 23^rd will look at best practices and environmental concerns.

Report, Forum to Look at Climate Adaption, Mitigation Conflicts – The Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars will host an event on Thursday, May 16 at 9:00 a.m. on the conflict potential of climate change adaptation and mitigation.  Amid the growing number of reports warning that climate change threatens security, one potentially dangerous—but counterintuitive—dimension has been largely ignored. Could efforts to reduce our carbon footprint and lower our vulnerability to climate change inadvertently exacerbate existing conflicts? How do we insure mitigation and adaptation strategies do not create new conflicts?  How can policymakers anticipate and minimize these potential risks?  More ambitiously, can these efforts actually help build peace?  Backdraft: The Conflict Potential of Climate Mitigation and Adaptation—the latest edition of the ECSP Report—gathers leading environmental security experts to analyze these underexplored aspects of responding to climate change. Could a transition to the “green economy” create conflicts over newly strategic minerals? Could mitigation initiatives such as REDD+ trigger disputes over land rights, carbon ownership, and financial benefits? How can policymakers ensure that geoengineering technology or adaptation measures do not trigger unintended impacts? How can we more accurately forecast future climate security flashpoints? Join us in a discussion of Backdraft with presentations by contributors Geoff Dabelko and Stacy VanDeveer and discussion by ClimateWire Deputy Editor Lisa Friedman. Roger-Mark De Souza, the Wilson Center’s new Director of Population, Environmental Change, and Security, will moderate.

Whirlpool Exec to Headline EE Global –The Energy Efficiency Global Forum 2013 will be held at the Walter Washington Convention Center on May 20^th and 21^st where thought Leaders from across the energy and economic spectrums  will discuss barriers, solutions and action plans to issues facing our environment, economy and future.  One prominent issue addressed at EE Global 2013 is increasing energy productivity through investment, modernization, and education.  These three pillars are central to the Alliance’s recently unveiled Energy 2030 policy recommendations, which call for a doubling of U.S. energy productivity by 2030.  The policy recommendations included in Energy2030 were developed by the Alliance Commission on National Energy Efficiency Policy, an influential group of leaders in energy and environmental policy from the business, government, academic, and nonprofit sectors.  Speakers will include Jeff Fettig, Chairman & CEO of Whirlpool Corporation, during the opening plenary session, and many others.

EPRI Expert to Discuss New EE/DR Study – ICF will continue its energy breakfast meeting on Thursday May 23^rd hosting expert Omar Siddiqui, Director of Energy Utilization of the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), to preview EPRI’s new study of energy efficiency potential for the years ahead. Energy efficiency (EE) and demand response (DR) are often the first choice for providing new energy “supplies.” Siddiqui will discuss how EE and DR can address the challenges of providing reliable, affordable, and environmentally responsible services to electricity customers by using advanced technology.  The presentation will also examine the benefits of focused research, testing, and demonstration programs to facilitate a market and to promote the adoption of technologies for EE, DR, and electrification.

DC Bar to Discuss NatGas Drilling – On May 23^rd, the D.C. Bar’s Environment, Energy, and Natural Resources section will convene a panel of distinguished attorneys at Noon to discuss these issues. In particular, the panel will discuss what the new rules will entail, how they might impact the environment and industry, and whether fracking regulations should be made by the federal government or left to the states.  This brown bag luncheon program is sponsored by the Environment, Energy and Natural Resources Section, in cosponsorship with the Administrative Law and Agency Practice Section, Courts, Lawyers and the Administration of Justice Section, Real Estate, Housing and Land Use Section, Bar Association of the District of Columbia, Energy Bar Association, Hispanic Bar Association of D.C., Women’s Bar Association of D.C. and Women’s Bar Association of D.C’s Environmental Law Forum.   Speakers will include former EPA enforcement official Adam Kushner, Interior’s Richard McNeer and Sierra Club’s Craig Seagall.

Webinar to Look at Military Biofuel Use – DOE will present a live webcast titled “Biomass and the Military” on Wednesday May 29^th at 12:30 p.m.  The Energy Department’s Bioenergy Technologies Office staff members will discuss the joint efforts between the Energy Department and U.S. Navy to use biopower and biofuels in military vehicles. The webinar will provide an overview and recent updates on the plans and goals laid out by the Defense Production Act and the Innovative Pilot- and Demonstration-Scale funding opportunity. Both funding projects will develop novel processes and provide extensive opportunities to prepare for eventual commercialization, helping the Energy Department meet its goals of creating reliable, sustainable, domestic biofuels to increase U.S. energy independence.

AWC Expert to Address EnergyOcean Conference – The 10^th Annual EnergyOcean International Conference and Exhibition will be held on June 10^th to 12^th in Providence/Warwick , RI.  Hundreds of industry stakeholders representing every aspect of the offshore renewable energy industry will unite for EnergyOcean International’s technical program which offers the latest in offshore ocean energy technological advances, updates on what is happening in the industry, along with regulatory issues and policy.  Among the speakers will be our friend Kris Ohleth of the Atlantic Wind Connection, who will address challenges to permitting offshore transmission systems.

Congressional Renewable Expo Set – The 16^th Annual Congressional Renewable Energy & Energy Efficiency EXPO + Forum will be held on Wednesday – June 12^th from 9:30 am – 4:30 pm in the Cannon Caucus Room.  Speakers will be announced as we get closer.

Public Power Conference Set for Nashville – The 2013 APPA National Conference, public power’s largest annual gathering, will be held in Nashville, TN, June 14^th through 19^th.  At conference, utility leaders and policymakers explore innovative ideas, developing trends and new technologies; learn about the national issues influencing our industry; and connect with hundreds of utility board and city council members, mayors, utility executives, senior managers, and industry partners.  The program features leading political, economic, business and public policy thinkers and public power leaders addressing the critical issues shaping our industry’s future, to help you think strategically about your utility’s future.

EIA Conference Set For DC – The 2013 EIA Energy Conference will be held on June 17-18^th at the JW Marriott in Washington, DC.  The conference has become a premier forum for addressing energy issues in the United States and around the world.  The conference will explore current and future challenges facing domestic and international energy markets and policymakers.  Session topics include a global natural gas outlook; renewable, storage, and grid integration; and many other topics.

Reid, Wellinghoff to Address Geothermal Summit – The National Geothermal Summit will be held on June 26-27^th at the Grand Sierra Resort and Casino in Reno, NV.  The event will feature Keynote remarks by Ashley Carrigan, State Director, Senator Dean Heller’s Office, Karen Edson of California ISO and FERC Chair Jon Wellinghoff.  There will also be a video Keynote Address by Senator Harry Reid.

The post Energy Update Week of May 6 appeared first on Policy Resolution Group.

Northup joins PRG after serving for the past three years as a CPSC Commissioner where she was known for her advocacy on behalf of small business.  She served as a Commissioner during the implementation of the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA) and worked to craft rules that balanced the costs to business with  the need to protect children from real risks.  Prior to her time as a CPSC Commissioner, she represented the third congressional district of Kentucky in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1997-2006 and also the  Kentucky House of Representatives from 1987-1996.

As a Member of Congress, Northup served on the House Appropriations Committee, the powerful committee that considers all federal spending bills. She served on several subcommittees including Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education; Transportation, Treasury, HUD and Independent Agencies; and Military Quality of Life and Veterans Affairs.  She focused on health and infrastructure issues, and programs for at-risk youth.  Representing Kentucky, she also focused on energy and environmental issues and has strong working  relationships with the coal, oil and gas industries.

“As both a former legislator and regulator, Anne Northup brings a unique perspective to the Policy Resolution Group,” said PRG head Scott Segal.  “She is a perfect fit for two of our largest practice areas – energy and environment, and consumer product safety  – and will also help us expand our practices in other areas including healthcare and international trade.  As when she served in Congress, Congresswoman Northup will also be a strong advocate for Kentucky-based companies in Washington, DC.”

“We welcome Congresswoman Northup to Bracewell & Giuliani,” said Bracewell & Giuliani name partner Rudy Giuliani.  “She built a reputation in Congress as a highly respected leader who worked to create a better environment in the U.S. for economic growth and commerce, and at the CPSC as a Commissioner who protected children from real risks of harm while understanding the costs to businesses of unnecessary regulations.”

“Congresswoman Northup strengthens the firm’s already outstanding advocacy capabilities in Washington, DC,” said Mark C. Evans, Managing Partner of Bracewell & Giuliani.  “She is highly respected nationally and will be a tremendous asset for our PRG team as well as attorneys throughout the firm.”

“I am very excited to join Bracewell & Giuliani’s Policy Resolution Group, which has built an outstanding reputation in Washington for advocacy and strategic communications work,” said Northup.  “PRG has one of the top consumer products advocacy and strategic communications practices in Washington.  I am equally excited to contribute to the firm’s other practice areas and look forward to working with my new colleagues.”

Northup graduated from Saint Mary’s College in 1970 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics and Business.  She has received numerous legislative awards, including the prestigious “Adam Smith Award,” which is presented annually to one federal elected official who exhibits an exemplary commitment to economic freedom.

Formed in 2011, the Policy Resolution Group at Bracewell & Giuliani helps clients around the world navigate our complex federal landscape, creating and implementing successful strategies to achieve our clients’ government relations objectives.  PRG provides counsel and services in Legislative and Regulatory Affairs, Information Gathering and Political Analysis, Strategic Communications and Legal Representation.  PRG Founding Partners include Scott Segal, former EPA Congressional Affairs head Ed Krenik, Bracewell partner and lobbyist Dee Martin, and strategic communications experts Frank Maisano and Paul Nathanson.

The post Bracewell Giuliani’s Policy Resolution Group Welcomes Former Congresswoman / CPSC Commissioner Anne Northup to the Firm appeared first on Policy Resolution Group.

Well, I hope everyone has recovered from Saturday night’s White House Correspondents Dinner.  It is always a good time and is Washington’s version of Red Carpet time and pre- and after-parties.  While the real stars are the political and media folks in the crowd, other star sightings included Kevin Spacey, Matthew Perry, Amy Poehler, Homeland Actress Claire Danes, Veep and former Seinfeld star Julie Louis-Dreyfus, Nashville stars Connie Britton and Hayden Panettiere, New Normal/Hangover star Justin Bartha and Hangover co-star Ed Helms, Modern Family star and Baltimore native Julie Bowen and Olivia Munn, among many others; directors Jeffrey Katzenberg and Steven Spielberg; musicians John Legend, Katy Perry, Jon Bon Jovi and Psy (I really hate to group Psy into this category) and NY Giant receiver Victor Cruz and Louisville hoopster Kevin Ware.

This year, I missed the event due to a weekend field hockey trip to Dartmouth, which I’ve concluded is one of the most beautiful places on earth (when it is sunny and 75 which is what the coach told the girls it is always like).  Did you know the Appalachian Trail cuts right across the Dartmouth campus (in fact right behind the field hockey complex)?  If Mark Sanford had only known.  Wouldn’t mind heading up there for a few years to watch the kid play, but I suspect the tuition bills would be ugly, even with some scholarships.

Either way, this week we’re ready for a recess on Capitol Hill, the beginning of the “real” hockey season (16 wins to Lord Stanley’s Cup) and Saturday’s first Jewel of the triple crown, the 138^th running of the Kentucky Derby.  As the Press Secretary to Hal Rogers in the mid ‘90s, it was always my task to prepare the Derby Pool for members.  Since then, I’ve always been a Churchill/mint juleps enthusiast/expert.  While the favorites for the “Run for the Roses” include Verrazano (who cost only slightly more than what it takes in tolls to get across his namesake bridge in a month), Orb and Revolutionary (wouldn’t it be that if somebody finally won a Triple Crown), my favorite is probably Frac Daddy.  Here’s hoping he performs better than Matt Damon’s Promised Land.  Others to watch include Oxbow who has Gary Stevens in the saddle and is running well, Normandy Invasion (Who could go against that name) and Vyjack, who was supposed to challenge in the Wood but underperformed and will look to bounce back.   The final Line and Post positions will be determined Wednesday.  Everybody sing: “The Sun shines bright…you know the rest.

As for the playoffs, it seems the two hottest teams are Washington and Detroit.  I wouldn’t want either in the first round.  The Blackhawks have to the favorite given the way they ripped up the lock-out-shortened 48 game season, but that doesn’t necessarily hold for the second season.  Along with Pittsburgh, the two will have to guard against having played too well and clinched division/playoffs too early.  That’s what happened last year when The LA Kings went on a hot streak to barely make the playoffs and rode it all the way to the Cup.  The action kicks off tomorrow with St. Louis/LA, Chicago/Minnesota and Anaheim/Detroit.

Despite the recess, there are still some goo events around DC.  On Wednesday My colleague Jeff Holmstead will address The American Foundry Society on EPA issues while on Friday my colleague Scott Segal will be a panelists in carbon tax issues at the George Marshall Institute.  Tomorrow, CSIS will host Saudi Oil minister Ali al-Naimi to hear his views on the dynamic changes taking place on the global energy scene and FERC Commissioner Tony Clark addresses the Natural Gas Roundtable.

Finally, EPA Tier III fuel standard hearing is in Chicago today, as is the National Academy of Sciences 150^th annual meeting (President Obama is speaking) here in DC, so let us know if you need resources.

Call with questions

Frank Maisano
(202) 828-5864
c. (202) 997-5932

IN THE NEWS

AWEA Names Kiernan New CEO – The American Wind Energy Association (AWEA) today announced that Tom Kiernan has been named as the organization’s new Chief Executive Officer. Kiernan has served as President of the National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA) since 1998. On May 28, he will officially take the helm at AWEA, the national trade association representing American wind power interests and over 1,200 companies across the U.S. and around the world.   During Kiernan’s tenure, NPCA increased its members and supporters from 300,000 to over 800,000, its field program from 7 to 23 offices, and its net assets from under $5 million to over $60 million. “Tom Kiernan does a great job of marrying policy and business and will thus be a very effective leader for AWEA,” said Cathy Zoi, Chief Strategy Officer at C3 Energy and former Assistant Secretary of Energy for Efficiency and Renewables.  Before heading NPCA, Kiernan served as President of the Audubon Society of New Hampshire and was a senior-level official in the EPA’s Office of Air and Radiation under President George H.W. Bush, where he won the Gold Medal for his role in achieving consensus with businesses and environmentalists on a $450-million pollution-control project at Grand Canyon National Park. He has also held positions with the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality and with Arthur Andersen & Company.

What Are they Saying About Kiernan – Several high-profile Republicans praised the AWEA decision to put Kiernan in its top spot:  Christie Todd Whitman, former New Jersey Governor and Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), said: “I have known Tom Kiernan for many years and know that he will be a great leader for AWEA. We will miss him at NPCA.”  Sen. Rob Portman (R-OH) also indicated his support: “Tom is a proven and passionate leader, and will be a great addition to AWEA.”   Former Secretary of the Interior Dirk Kempthorne commented: “I have known Tom Kiernan for years. Tom works hard for causes he believes in. By choosing Tom as their CEO, the American Wind Energy Association successfully recruited an effective advocate who will advance their clean power agenda.”

SAFE Analysis Finds Global Oil Market Manipulated – A new report authored by economists Andrew Morriss and Roger Meiners and published by Securing America’s Future Energy (SAFE)says the global oil market is significantly influenced by un-free forces such as a producers’ cartel and as a result is not a free market, says.  The report, “Competition in Global Oil Markets: A Meta-Analysis and Review,” was released today at an event at the Cato Institute in Washington, DC.  For a summary of key highlights, please click here.   The members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) control the world’s largest and most accessible petroleum resources, and have undertaken a collaborative effort to maximize their collective profits through output restrictions over the past four decades. In this academic analysis, Morriss and Meiners provide an overview of the many market failures which exist in the global oil market, and a comprehensive literature review which presents a consensus: the international market for oil is not free.  Key findings of the paper include 1) OPEC has at times successfully forced oil prices higher than a free market would dictate; 2) OPEC’s market manipulation harms the U.S. economy and directly costs Americans money by causing higher gasoline prices; 3) The “non-free” nature of the oil market causes increased price volatility, which is particularly problematic for U.S. businesses.  Andrew P. Morriss is the D. Paul Jones, Jr. and Charlene A. Jones Chairholder in Law & Professor of Business, University of Alabama School of Law.  Roger E. Meiners is the Goolsby-Rosenthal Chair in Economics and Law, Department of Economics, University of Texas at Arlington.

Hansen Receives Journalism Award for NatGas Article – Our friend and Platts Inside Energy Managing Editor Brian Hansen was named the winner of one of journalism’s most prestigious honors – the Society of Professional Journalists’ (SPJ) Sigma Delta Chi award for public service in newsletter journalism – for his 2012 enterprise reporting about conflicts between private landowners and the oil and gas companies that drill on their properties.  In selecting Hansen for its award, the SPJ recognized his documentation of how landmen, who work on behalf of oil and gas companies, sometimes negotiate leasing agreements that allegedly deprive poor, elderly or unsophisticated landowners of their fair share of drilling royalties.  The award-winning coverage  — which took nearly a month to complete — proved difficult to report because landowners, oil and gas companies and local officials were reticent to discuss issues clouded by pending litigation. Hansen had to piece together some accounts using court records and other information.  In the article “Sometimes, Oil and Gas Leasing Can Get Ugly,” published in Platts’ Inside Energy and Gas Daily in September 2012, Hansen detailed the case of a North Dakota landowner who alleged that an oil and gas company misrepresented its intentions and ability to drill a sufficient number of wells on her valuable Bakken Shale property, causing her severe financial and legal hardship.  A sidebar to the piece looked at the vagaries of oil and gas leases, illustrating how some Louisiana landowners benefited to the tune of $152 million due to a technical stipulation in their contract, while some Pennsylvania residents saw little financial gain because of the unfavorable terms of their agreements.  Hansen, a nine-year veteran of Platts, will receive the Sigma Delta Chi medal at the SPJ awards banquet on June 21 at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C.

Browner Highlights Existing Power Plant Rules – Our friends at POLITICO dug up and interview Friday with the Chicago Maroon, (click through to the article to see a pict of the recent UC forum  with our friend and Chic Trib enviro reporter Mike Hawthorne listening intently to Browner) a student newspaper at the University of Chicago, where former Obama energy adviser Carol Browner predicted the administration plans to move ahead with emissions regulations for existing power plants.  The administration has remained quiet on potential rules for existing power plants, but many enviros have been foreshadowing the move as the next logical step for the administration.  Of course, for anyone that uses electricity, this would probably not be that great of an idea, especially in the short-term.

GOING ON THIS WEEK

USDA Kicks Off G8 Ag Conference – Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, along with Bill Gates, and U.S. Chief Technology Officer Todd Park, today kicked off a two-day international open data conference at World Bank, saying that data “is among the most important commodities in agriculture” and sharing it openly increases its value.  Secretary Vilsack announced the launch of a new “virtual community” as part of a suite of actions, including the release of new data, that the United States is taking to give farmers and ranchers, scientists, policy makers and other members of the public easy access to publicly funded data to help increase food security and nutrition.  The virtual Food, Agriculture, and Rural data community launched today on Data.gov-the U.S. Government’s data sharing website-to catalogue America’s publicly available agricultural data and increase the ability of the public to find, download, and use datasets that are generated and held by the Federal Government. The data community features a collection of more than 300 newly cataloged datasets, databases, and raw data sources related to food, agriculture, and rural issues from agencies across the U.S. Government. In addition to the data catalog, the virtual community shares a number of applications, maps and tools designed to help farmers, scientists and policymakers improve global food security and nutrition.

President to Address NAS 150^th Meeting – The National Academy of Sciences’ 150th annual meeting is being held today and tomorrow. President Barack Obama is speaking to attendees today.   Also, during the annual meeting, the Academy elects new members, inducts members elected in 2012, and presents awards recognizing excellence in science.

JHU to Host Panel on Offshore Energy – Johns Hopkins DC Center will host a forum today at Noon to provide an overview of the leasing and regulatory frameworks for offshore oil and gas, as well as renewable energy resources. In addition, the presenter will discuss the new National Ocean Policy initiative and its linkages with offshore energy regulation.  Offshore energy is increasingly becoming a significant part of the U.S. energy mix. Oil production in the Outer Continental Shelf, managed by the federal government, now accounts for roughly one-fourth of the annual U.S. domestic supply. Moreover, significant interest has emerged for harnessing offshore wind resource along the East Coast, wave energy off the West Coast and the Pacific islands, and ocean currents off Florida.  The presenter, Dr. Amardeep Dhanju, is a senior ocean policy analyst with the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, where he is coordinating the National Ocean Policy initiative. Dr. Dhanju joined BOEM in 2010 as a Knauss Sea Grant fellow, subsequently continuing on a contract. He holds a Ph.D. in Marine Studies from University of Delaware where his research focused on policy and regulatory issues related to offshore wind power development in the US.

Former EOM Exec to Talk Energy Mergers, Acquisitions – Johns Hopkins will also hold a forum today at 12:30 p.m. in Room 500 of the Bernstein-Offit Building with Lucio Noto, managing partner at Midstream Partners, LLC and former vice chairman of ExxonMobil.  Noto will discuss lessons learned from mergers and acquisitions in the energy business.

WCEE to Host State Dept Green Initiative Director – The Women’s Council on Energy and the Environment (WCEE) continues its Brown-bag Luncheon Series today at Noon at Wright Talisman with a forum featuring Donna M. McIntire, Chief of Energy & Sustainable Design at the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Overseas Buildings Operations. McIntire will discuss sustainability and energy improvements at U.S. embassies and consulates around the globe and describe the program objectives, scope of efforts, and successful implementation.

UVA To Host Six Transportation Sects for Conference – The University of Virginia’s Miller Center will hold a transportation conference this afternoon at the National Press Club’s Holeman Lounge. Six former U.S. transportation secretaries will be among the participants in the conference, which will examine the role of the president in articulating and advocating a national transportation vision.  The secretaries, who served under every president from Ronald Reagan to George W. Bush, will take part in a group interview during which they will discuss how past presidents developed and sold their transportation policies. Secretaries taking part will include James Burnley, who served under Reagan; Samuel Skinner and Andrew Card, who served under George H.W. Bush; Rodney Slater, who served under Bill Clinton; and Norman Mineta and Mary Peters, who served under George W. Bush.  They will be interviewed by a team that includes scholars who are part of the Miller Center’s acclaimed Presidential Oral History Program. The Center has or is conducting the oral histories of the administrations of every president from Jimmy Carter to George W. Bush.  At 4:30 pm, the group interview will be followed by a conversation about presidential leadership between Jim Oberstar, former chairman and ranking member of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, and Gov. Gerald L. Baliles, director and CEO of the Miller Center.  Baliles served as Virginia’s 65^th governor and is credited with greatly improving the state’s transportation infrastructure in 1986, the last time the Commonwealth had made any significant improvements until the 2013 session of the General Assembly.

LaHood to Speak at GWU – The George Washington University International Affairs Society will host Secretary of Transportation Ray Lahood today at 6:45 p.m. for a discussion on International Cooperation and Transportation. Specifically, the Secretary will be discussing international cooperation and lessons learned from international partnerships during his tenure.

Forum to Look at Caspian Sea Oil, Gas Issues – The Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, the Global Europe Program and the Kennan Institute will host a forum tomorrow at 10:00 a.m. on the race to build the Southern Energy Corridor to bring Caspian natural gas to Europe is in its final stages.  The Shah Deniz consortium in Azerbaijan is set to once and for all decide the long-pending “Nabucco question”.  Experts from Baku’s Center for Strategic Studies and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan gather to discuss these questions at a roundtable discussion.  Speakers include Elman Abdullayev, spokesman and communications manager at the Ministry of  Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan; Farhad Mammadov, the director of the Center for Strategic Studies in Baku, Azerbaijan and the co-founder of the public union “IRELI” and Gulmira Rzayeva, a leading research fellow at the Center for Strategic Studies in Baku, Azerbaijan. The roundtable discussion will be moderated by Alexandros Petersen, advisor to the Wilson Center’s Global Europe Program and author of The World Island: Eurasian Geopolitics and the Fate of the West.

Saudi Oil Minister to Address CSIS – The CSIS Energy and National Security Program will host His Excellency Ali al-Naimi at a forum in Washington tomorrow to hear his views on the dynamic changes taking place on the global energy scene. Now in his 18^th year as Saudi Arabia’s Minister for Petroleum & Mineral Resources, Minister Naimi  possesses a unique and long-term global perspective on energy markets, the impacts of technology, and the opportunities and challenges that lie before us. In his remarks, the Minister will examine the relationship between oil and economic growth, the impact of recently developed unconventional resources in the United States, and the transformation underway in Saudi Arabia. His remarks will be followed by a question/answer session. Frank Verrastro, Senior Vice President and the James R. Schlensinger Chair for Energy & Geopolitics at CSIS, will moderate. John J. Hamre, President and CEO at CSIS, will provide introductory remarks.  His Excellency Minister Ali Ibrahim Al-Naimi has been Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources for the kingdom of Saudi Arabia since August 1995. Prior to being appointed Minister, he had served as chief executive officer of Saudi Aramco for seven years. Minister Naimi has spent his career in energy exploration and production, beginning in 1947 as a foreman with Saudi Aramco, and progressing through the ranks as an assistant superintendent, superintendent and manager, before moving into the Exploration Department in 1953.

FERC’s Clark to Address NatGas Roundtable – The Natural Gas Roundtable will host FERC Commissioner Tony Clark as its guest speaker at tomorrow’s luncheon at the University Club.  Commissioner Tony Clark is serving his first term on the Commission, having been nominated by President Obama and sworn in on June 15, 2012. Commissioner Clark formerly served as a member of the North Dakota Public Service Commission.

Forum to Look at Green Revolution in China – The Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars will host a forum tomorrow at 2:00 p.m. on the green revolution in China.  Drawing on his chapter in the recently published china dialogue book “China and the Environment: The Green Revolution,” Liu Jianqiang will relate the role that NGOs, news media and community leaders played in forming an environmental movement opposing a dam on the Tiger Leaping Gorge. This project on the upper Yangtze River has received considerably less attention than the grassroots opposition to the Nujiang dams, but is an equally insightful example of growing citizen activism against large dams.   Judith Shapiro will set the stage for Liu Jianqiang’s discussion, drawing on her book China’s Environmental Challenges to talk about civil society and environmental justice trends in China. She will also highlight the traditional and evolving role of China’s engaged environmental journalists, such as Binyan Liu, Lihong Shi, Zhinong Xi.

Renewable Forum To Look at Caribbean – ACORE will host the 3^rd Annual Renewable Energy Finance Forum – Latin America and the Caribbean (REFF-LAC) tomorrow and Wednesday in Miami, Florida.  The forum will feature presentations from entrepreneurs, technology start-ups, and project developers that promote their projects to members of the financial services community, venture capitalists, private equity investors, and renewable energy experts.

NY Conference to Address Energy Research – The 7^th annual Advanced Energy 2013 returns to New York City tomorrow and Wednesday at the Jacob Javits Center.  The Advanced Energy Conference – New York State’s largest advanced energy event – has joined with energy conferences from across the state to create The New York State Partnership of Energy Conferences. This groundbreaking initiative provides an unprecedented opportunity to learn, share and network.  The conference attracts thousands of participants from industry, government and academia, and has brought them together with innovators and leaders from every area of energy research.

Holmstead to Address AFS on Climate Rules – The American Foundry Society (AFS) is hosting their annual Government Affairs Conference on Wednesday at the J.W. Marriott Hotel in Washington, D.C.  My colleague Jeff Holmstead will address over 80 owners and plant managers on what they can expect from EPA in the next 12 to 24 months, including new regulations to limit greenhouse gas emissions at existing power plants.  Of particular interest to these manufacturers is the upcoming ozone rule.

DOE Webinar to Look at Solar, State/Local Roles – The Energy Department will present a live webcast on Wednesday at 2:00 p.m. looking at solar finance for residential and commercial customers and roles of State and Local Government.  The webinar will provide an overview of how residential and commercial solar projects are financed and the various roles that state and local governments can play to support the deployment of solar projects within their jurisdictions.

Forum on E15 Set – The Iowa Renewable Fuels Association, American Coalition for Ethanol, and The Auto Channel will host a forum on Thursday at 9:30 a.m. in Capitol Visitors Center’s Congressional Meeting Room South on the E15 blend wall issue.  The forum will consist of a panel of experts in the fields of renewable fuels, automotive and vehicle technology, fuel retailing and consumer advocacy to discuss important issues regarding E15 fuel, the so-called E10 blend wall, and the RFS.  Speakers Include Marc J. Rauch of the Auto Channel, Ron Lamberty of the American Coalition for Ethanol and Monte Shaw of the Iowa Renewable Fuels Assn.  I expect we’ll get the straight story from this group, don’t you?

Forum Features Levi Book – The New America Foundation will host our friend Michael Levi on Thursday at 12:15 p.m. to discuss his latest book on American energy policy and independence.  In his latest book, The Power Surge, Levi, a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, attempts to cut through the polarized and inflated claims of the energy wars with on-the-ground reporting about what is really happening in the energy world. Ultimately, he argues, there are right ways to pursue both options, and it is time that we embrace a most-of-the-above energy future.  Our friend Steve LeVine hosts.

Spectra Expert to Address Houston Petro Club – The Petroleum Club of Houston will hold its May monthly meeting on Thursday featuring experts from Spectra Energy and Hart Energy as they share the latest intelligence on energy issues.  Companies across the energy industry value chain are investing to realize the benefits of U.S. and Canadian unconventional oil supply gains. Oil producers want to capture the best prices across multiple basins; refiners seek to minimize their greatest expense – crude oil; midstream operators are working on innovative solutions to meet new market needs across North America. Speakers Duane Rae of Spectra Energy Liquids and Hart Energy Integrated Oil & Gas Research Director Greg Haas will address U.S. and Canadian crude producers, refinery and midstream officials are responding to the challenge.

DOE to host Webinar on Transportation Energy Futures Study – The Energy Department will present a live webcast on Thursday at 1:00 p.m. focused on the results and conclusions of the recent Transportation Energy Futures Study.  The webcast will outline the key results and conclusions from the Energy Department’s Transportation Energy Futures study, which highlights underexplored opportunities to reduce the U.S. transportation sector’s petroleum use and greenhouse gas emissions. The study finds that a combination of strategies has the potential to cut both petroleum use and greenhouse gas emissions by more than 80% by 2050.  Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary Mike Carr will introduce the study and provide context on EERE’s transportation energy strategy. In his role with EERE, Mike provides leadership direction on cross-cutting activities in EERE’s portfolio. In particular, he is using his experience in policy development to help ensure that EERE does its best to inform federal policy-making and legislative activities related to renewable energy and energy efficiency technologies.  He will be joined by Austin Brown, Ph.D., the senior analyst in the Washington, D.C. office of the National Renewable Energy Laboratory who served as co-lead on the Transportation Energy Futures study.  Brown planned the study and coordinated the inputs of dozens of researchers and experts.

Segal to Discuss Carbon Tax at Marshall Forum – On Friday, the George C. Marshall Institute will release a new study considering efforts to create a national carbon tax at a forum at The Capitol Hill Club at 8:30 a.m.   Authored by James DeLong of the Convergence Law Institute, the study summarizes the political and economic forces that undermine the case for a carbon tax.  DeLong presents five reasons to reject carbon taxes:
lack of effect on temperature, lack of specificity about future energy sources and political pressures and practical problems, among others.  A panel discussion will follow and feature Marshall’s Bill O’Keefe, Heritage’s David Kreutzer and Segal.

Wilson Forum to Look at China, Canada US Water Issues – On Friday, the Canada Institute/China Environment Forum will host a forum to look at examining the water footprint of energy development within Canada, the United States, and China and how energy trade among these three countries is being shaped by water constraints. Every country depends on a sustainable supply of water and energy and these two resources are inextricably linked.  The production of all energy sources uses water but coal, oil sands, biofuels, and shale gas have particularly large water footprints. Absent tight regulations these sources of energy can also create serious water pollution.  Conversely, water treatment and distribution require considerable energy—for example the state of California uses nearly 20% of its energy to clean and transfer water. China, Canada, and the United States face significant obstacles in their efforts to provide clean, affordable energy. China is heavily dependent on coal, which according to research by the Wilson Center and Circle of Blue, accounts for 20 percent of the country’s water use, exacerbating pressure on the country’s already vulnerable water resources.  Speakers for the event will include China Environment Forum Director Jennifer L. Turner,  Qingwei Sun of Greenpeace China, Michael Hightower of the Sandia National Laboratories and Brock University’s Steven Renzetti.

FUTURE EVENTS

WINDPOWER 2013 – The American Wind Energy Association’s annual WINDPOWER Conference & Exhibition will be held May 5^th through 8^th in Chicago, IL.  The event is one of the world’s premiere wind energy trade shows, combining education, an exhibition, and networking. Pre-session workshops provide newcomers to the industry an opportunity to learn more about wind technology, proper deployment, and the industry as a whole.  Iowa Governor Terry Branstad will be the Keynote Speaker.

RFF Forum to Look at Ecological Loss – Resources For the Future’s Center for the Management of Ecological Wealth (CMEW) and the National Science Foundation’s Socio-Environmental Synthesis Center (SESYNC) will hold a forum on Monday, May 6^th at 9:30 a.m. addressing ecological loss and the promise and limits of ingenuity.  In the past, innovation has alleviated many of the problems associated with “limits to growth” (examples include innovations in food production and mineral extraction). But for issues such as biodiversity and deforestation the picture is less optimistic. And although innovation can often address natural resource limits, what are the ultimate social, economic, and environmental effects of these innovations? This conversation has philosophical and psychological dimensions as well. A distinguished and diverse group of historians, ecologists, economists, psychologists, and entrepreneurs to elaborate on these issues.  They include Susan Clayton of the College of Wooster, Columbia Business School’s Geoffrey Heal, Peter Kahn of the University of Washington’s HINTS Lab, Northwestern’s Joel Mokyr and Bill Shireman of Future 500. The Nature Conservancy CEO Mark Tercek and former EPA assistant administrator for water Tracy Mehan will also join.

OTC Set for Houston – The Offshore Technology Conference will be held on May 6^th through 9^th at Houston’s Reliant Park.  Founded in 1969, OTC is the world’s foremost event for the development of offshore resources in the fields of drilling, exploration, production, and environmental protection.  OTC promotes and furthers the advance of scientific and technical knowledge of offshore resources and environmental matters.  Each year, OTC attracts more than 80,000 attendees from more than 110 countries and 2,500 exhibiting companies.  OTC is sponsored by 13 industry organizations and societies, who work cooperatively to develop the technical program. OTC also has endorsing and supporting organizations.

Senate Energy to Look at Helium Legislation – On May 7^th at 9:30 a.m., the Senate Energy Committee will hold a hearing on helium legislation.  It will follow actions in the House last week that passed legislation to privatize the supply.  Helium is currently used in medical, computer and energy applications.

RI Project to Hold Town Meeting – The Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management has scheduled a public hearings on Wednesday May 8^th on Block Island for the Deepwater Wind Farm and Transmission System project.  Representatives of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management will attend the meetings.  The meeting will be at the New Shoreham (Block Island) Town Hall.

DOE to Host Webinar on Energy Efficiency – The Energy Department will present a live webcast on Wednesday, May 8^th at 2:00 p.m. Looking at partnering with utilities to on energy efficiency initiatives.  The webinar will showcase resources to help local and state governments determine the best partnership candidates and the type of partnership most likely to succeed. Speakers will provide details on the ratepayer-funded energy efficiency program industry, including the types of organizations that administer efficiency programs and common program offerings. The City of San José, California will be featured as a case study; attendees will learn about San José’s experience implementing the Silicon Valley Energy Watch program in partnership with Pacific Gas & Electric.

RFF Forum Will Look at PACE Programs – Resources for the Future will hold a forum on Thursday, May 9^th at 12:00 p.m. on Property-Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) programs.  These programs offered property-secured loans to homeowners for residential clean energy investments. This analysis uses difference-in-differences models and synthetic counterfactual models to estimate the effect of three California PACE programs on residential photovoltaic installations. We find that PACE financing increases solar installations by approximately 3.8 watts per owner occupied household per quarter, a 108% increase over the mean watts per owner-occupied household. Because PACE financing carries equal or higher interest rates relative to alternative financing mechanism, we argue that PACE programs can address market barriers and help address the energy-efficiency gap. Lori Bennear, Assistant Professor at the Nicholas School of the Environment at Duke University will present.

Stronach to Address DC Forum on Book – The Executive Council on Diplomacy will host a roundtable with Canadian Auto parts magnate Frank Stronach at the Cosmos Club on Thursday, May 9^th at Noon.  Stronach will discuss his recent book, The Magna Man, his inspirational story of business triumph and innovation. Founder and former CEO of Magna International, Stronach came to Canada from Austria with a few dollars in his pocket, a lot of hustle and a hunger to succeed. In a few short years, he went from washing dishes to starting up his own tool and die shop in a rented garage, working long hours and sleeping on a fold-up bed next to his machines. He would build that small shop into Magna International Inc., one of the world’s biggest auto parts manufacturers, with 115,000 employees in 26 countries.  In the Book, Canada’s greatest industrialist tells the remarkable story for the first time of how he overcame hardship and heartache to climb to the top of one of the world’s most competitive industries. And along the way, he shares the formula behind his company’s spectacular success: the unique business philosophy he created known as Fair Enterprise. It’s a can’t-fail formula that has fuelled the company’s unstoppable growth and allowed Magna to share billions of dollars in profits with its employees, managers, shareholders and society.

CleanTech Conference Set – The 6th Annual CleanTech Conference and Showcase, co-located at the TechConnect World Conference, will be held Sunday to Wednesday, May 12-15th at the Gaylord National Hotel & Convention Center.  The conference includes presentations from over 4,000 technology developers, investors and partners along with hundreds of showcasing technologies from around the world.

Gore to Address US-India Summit – The 4^th US-India Energy Partnership Summit will occur in Washington on May 13^th and  14^th and will focus on the collaboration between the US and India.   The event will focus on stimulating technology, development and trade and is organized by The Energy and resources Institute-North America and and Yale University.  Former VP Al Gore will be the Keynote speaker.  It brings together leading researchers and policymakers from both the countries to find ways to a sustainable future. Last year, stakeholders discussed how the U.S. and India could improve collaboration on clean technologies.   The summits have formed the basis of MoUs on clean energy between the Indian and the US governments in the recent past. The fourth U.S.-India Partnership Summit to be held in May 2013.

Forum to Present Energy Trust Barometer – Edelman and The Energy Collection will hold a presentation and forum on Wednesday May 15^th at 4:30 p.m. at the University Club to discuss its Trust Barometer project.  Following the insights from the Trust barometer, our friend Paul Bledsoe will moderate a panel to explore energy policies.

Senate Energy Planning Three NatGas Forums – The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee’s leaders will hold three round-table discussions in May to explore the issues of domestic gas production, proposed exports and whether the country’s pipelines can meet growing demand.  The committee will hold three public forums over a seven-day period starting on Thursday, May 16^th when the committee will hold a forum on infrastructure, transportation, research and innovation.  They will discuss the next applications for natural gas, the adequacy of the nation’s pipeline infrastructure and the use of gas in the transportation sector.  On Tuesday, May 21^st, a forum on “domestic supply and exports will focus on estimates of how much gas the United States has and how production may expand if the federal government allows exports of liquefied gas to move forward.  The last forum on Thursday, May 23^rd will look at best practices and environmental concerns.

Webinar to Look at Military Biofuel Use – DOE will present a live webcast titled “Biomass and the Military” on Wednesday May 29^th at 12:30 p.m.  The Energy Department’s Bioenergy Technologies Office staff members will discuss the joint efforts between the Energy Department and U.S. Navy to use biopower and biofuels in military vehicles. The webinar will provide an overview and recent updates on the plans and goals laid out by the Defense Production Act and the Innovative Pilot- and Demonstration-Scale funding opportunity. Both funding projects will develop novel processes and provide extensive opportunities to prepare for eventual commercialization, helping the Energy Department meet its goals of creating reliable, sustainable, domestic biofuels to increase U.S. energy independence.

AWC Expert to Address EnergyOcean Conference – The 10^th Annual EnergyOcean International Conference and Exhibition will be held on June 10^th to 12^th in Providence/Warwick , RI.  Hundreds of industry stakeholders representing every aspect of the offshore renewable energy industry will unite for EnergyOcean International’s technical program which offers the latest in offshore ocean energy technological advances, updates on what is happening in the industry, along with regulatory issues and policy.  Among the speakers will be our friend Kris Ohleth of the Atlantic Wind Connection, who will address challenges to permitting offshore transmission systems.

Congressional Renewable Expo Set – The 16^th Annual Congressional Renewable Energy & Energy Efficiency EXPO + Forum will be held on Wednesday – June 12^th from 9:30 am – 4:30 pm in the Cannon Caucus Room.  Speakers will be announced as we get closer.

Public Power Conference Set for Nashville – The 2013 APPA National Conference, public power’s largest annual gathering, will be held in Nashville, TN, June 14^th through 19^th.  At conference, utility leaders and policymakers explore innovative ideas, developing trends and new technologies; learn about the national issues influencing our industry; and connect with hundreds of utility board and city council members, mayors, utility executives, senior managers, and industry partners.  The program features leading political, economic, business and public policy thinkers and public power leaders addressing the critical issues shaping our industry’s future, to help you think strategically about your utility’s future.

EIA Conference Set For DC – The 2013 EIA Energy Conference will be held on June 17-18^th at the JW Marriott in Washington, DC.  The conference has become a premier forum for addressing energy issues in the United States and around the world.  The conference will explore current and future challenges facing domestic and international energy markets and policymakers.  Session topics include a global natural gas outlook; renewable, storage, and grid integration; and many other topics.

The post Energy Update Week of April 29 appeared first on Policy Resolution Group.

Happy Earth Day all…I hope you are doing something fun.  We here at Bracewell are celebrating the way we always do because every day is Earth Day for us.

It was such a crazy week with Boston, I won’t add much to it other than to say my friend and former Bracewell colleague in Austin, TX Eric Groten, after last week’s update, chided for missing world’s oldest marathon: “what? no mention of the Boston Marathon.”  Eric’s wife was running the Marathon at the time and was about 18 miles in when the Update hit his inbox.  I quickly told him I would mention it and results this week.  Of course, shortly thereafter, all hell broke loose.  Eric’s wife finished in 3:47 and they were fortunate to be cleared out of the area prior the chaos.

While we saw the incredible events unfold in front of us over the next few days, lost in the aftermath were the results of the 117^th edition of the marathon.  Ethiopia’s Lelisa Desisa won on in a three-way sprint down Boylston Street with Kenya’s Micah Kogo and Ethiopian Gebregziabher Gebremariam, snapping a string of three consecutive Kenyan victories.  For the second straight year, American Jason Hartman finished 4^th. On the women’s side, Kenya’s Rita Jeptoo took a 33-second victory over Meseret Hailu of Ethiopia and defending champion Sharon Cherop of Kenya.  Mass native Shalane Flanagan was 4^th. At the link, you can search for any finisher.

This week, the Bush 43 Presidential Library will be dedicated in Dallas at SMU on Thursday and many of our friends will be headed to Big D for the festivities, including Jeff Holmstead, Ed Krenik and Salo Zelermyer.   While you may not agree with or like the former President, all should admit he has handled his post-Presidential career with amazing dignity.

This week, there will be lots of action on budget and Keystone, but also floor action in the House on Helium legislation.  The State Department will not extend the comment period despite demands from opponents, so that closes today, starting the next clock toward a final decision.  Also, on Wednesday, our friends at the Commission on Environmental Cooperation will hold a public hearing on energy in Alberta that will be webcast.

Congressional Hearings this week include Wednesday morning Senate Approps panel on EPA budget with Bob Perciasepe and an afternoon House Oversight Government Reform session on Fisker’s troubles; Thursday sessions in House Science hearing on Climate with Judy Curry, Bill Chameides and Bjorn Lomborg, House Resources on the US-Mexico offshore resources issue, Senate Energy on droughts, House Foreign Affairs on NatGas exports; and Friday, House Science again on Federal hydro-fracturing research.

Two other good events this week include an event Thursday at Cato where FedEx’s Fred Smith will roll out a new SAFE report on the impact of cartel behavior on global oil prices and its challenge to free markets.  And on Friday, EESI will hold a briefing on the benefits of capturing and harnessing methane emissions from municipal solid waste landfills. Speakers will feature our friend Dan LeFevers, Vice President, Federal Public Affairs, Waste Management.  Outside DC, tomorrow, the Atlantic Wind Connection will release Bechtel’s “build feasibility” of constructing the converter platforms for the New Jersey Energy Link (NJEL) at the Paulsboro Marine Terminal (PMT) in New Jersey.  The event will feature a tour of the PMT facility and discussion of what role it can play in the creation of a manufacturing hub for the New Jersey Energy Link.

Finally, talk about making it to the academic big time. My colleague Josh Zive, a trade/CFIUS expert, recently published a brief article in Harvard Business Law Review on intersection of CFIUS and energy projects.  It a quick and valuable read given the recent spat of high-profile foreign investments (some controversial) in the energy sector.

Call with questions

Frank Maisano
(202) 828-5864
c. (202) 997-5932

IN THE NEWS

EPA Issues Water Effluent regulation for Coal Plants – In another Friday special, EPA released proposed Effluent Limitation Guidelines (ELG) that apply to electric power plants that have been long expected for today due to a consent decree deadline.  The rules impact principally coal-fired power plants that use wet ash handling and flue-gas desulfurization systems or scrubbers. The rules also address water runoff from ash storage areas, coal piles, and other sources of drainage.  My colleague Scott Segal, director of the Electric Reliability Coordinating Council, said the power sector has long worked to avoid, reduce and mitigate the relatively low volumes of effluents associated with the generation of electricity.  The effluent limitation guidelines proposed by EPA on Friday, could add substantially to electric costs, undermine economic recovery, and harm electric reliability if the ultimate rule is developed in an inflexible or unrealistic manner.  The proposal results from a settlement agreement with activist groups and proposes eight complex options that vary in terms of the units covered, the waste streams addressed, and the costs imposed.  The guidelines apply to some nuclear, coal, oil, and natural gas-fired power plants.  Segal: “Once again, the Agency has failed to take into account the overlapping and cumulative impacts of the broad variety of other rules already targeted at the power sector.  Last year, EPA finalized the mercury and interstate rules.  The Agency has revisited ambient air quality standards and has promised to limit carbon emissions from new and existing power plants.  And while Friday’s package in part addresses runoff from coal ash issues, the regulated community still has not seen EPA’s direction on management of coal ash under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act – making the ultimate economic impact of these guidelines difficult to judge.”  Segal added environmental regulation of the power sector can have significant impacts on consumers, households, small businesses and others, pointing to his testimony last week to the House Energy & Commerce Committee.

Macondo Anniversary Passes Three Years – Saturday marked the three-year anniversary of the Deepwater Horizon accident and oil spill in the Gulf in which 11 people died and oil gushed from the Macondo wellhead for 97 days. But event with the civil trial Finishing up, not many people took notice, perhaps because of the intense focus on Boston.

Noe Outlines Three Keys Issues – Some thoughts from the perspective of the offshore industry three years after Macondo.  Jim Noe, EVP of Hercules Offshore and Executive Director of the Shallow Water Energy Security Coalition points to three areas that need to be addressed at this juncture in order to continue improving both the safety and productivity of operations offshore: 1. enforcement, 2. the regulatory framework; and 3. continued political queasiness with regard to the offshore. The offshore industry takes a great deal of pride in the contribution we make to the U.S. economy by producing oil and gas.  We provide inputs for everything from gasoline to critical feedstocks for the chemical industry.  We provide billions of dollars annually to the U.S. Treasury in the form of royalties and lease payments.  And we’ve worked long and hard to make sure that we harness our natural resources as efficiently and safely as possible.  No one was more deeply affected by the April 2010 Macondo blowout than the people and the companies that make this industry work.  But despite the failures that led to the blowout, our industry has long been one of the leaders in building and maintaining a strong culture of safety.  We don’t wait for new policy directives to focus on safety – we take it seriously because the most important thing we can do is to bring our employees back home safely.

Noe’s Recommendations – Three years after Macondo, we see three main issues that need to be addressed to ensure that our contribution to the U.S. economy and U.S. energy security is maximized:

1. Effectiveness of Enforcement:  A lot of good work has gone into remaking the old MMS.  But we owe it to ourselves to think through the role of the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement, including its new Investigations and Review Unit.  This group must be adequately staffed, clear on its mission and able to keep up with the constant innovations of private industry – a challenging task given the need to compete for talent with industry and other entities.  We have to find a balanced and transparent way for industry to play a role in helping to expose the new investigators and regulators to emerging technologies and techniques.  But ramping up the issuance of Incidents of Non-Compliance (INCs) for often trivial infractions is no substitute for technically substantive oversight – and threatens to take our eye off the ball on what is really important:  what’s going on at the drill floor and in the well.

Recommendation: Lawmakers must allocate the necessary resources to BSEE and the IRU to allow it to perform on par with the most effective regulatory regimes in the world. BSEE and the industry must develop a collaborative approach to training the new investigators.

2. Expanding Regulatory Quilt:  Three years after Macondo, the government and industry have worked hard to create and implement new rules governing the offshore.  Industry has a strong interest in complying with commonsense rules of the road that help bolster the safe production of oil and gas, but a slew of new regulations have come out since 2010, and more yet are on the horizon or still on the drawing board.  The continued, even perpetual, regulatory uncertainty limits long-term business confidence.  It also reflects a fundamental misconception: that any new regulation makes things safer than they were before, even if we haven’t fully analyzed the effectiveness of previous regulations.  Spending too much time complying with new and ever changing regulations can distract us from ensuring that industry is focusing on holistic and practical risk management.

Recommendation: It is high time to wrap up the post-Macondo regulatory revamp.  Regulatory enforcement officials and industry alike would benefit from knowing that the rule book will not continue to change unless there is a clear benefit to doing so.

3. Our Commitment to the Offshore: President Obama wasn’t shy during the election about taking credit for growing U.S. energy production, but the truth is that Gulf oil production fell about 25% between 2010 and 2012 and output on U.S. federal lands dropped seven percent from 2007 to 2012.  Between the languid pace of the regulatory revamp and the administration’s tepid 5-year offshore leasing plan mapping out future access, we often wonder whether the administration really does favor increased energy production from the Gulf, which contributes nearly a third of U.S. oil production.  Will we move in earnest toward a future in which the US could end oil imports, as a new EIA forecast suggests, as early as 2035?  Or are we content to continue relying on imported supplies from unstable or unfriendly regimes?

Recommendation: It’s time for the administration to declare its confidence in and support for offshore energy production.  We’re at a pivotal moment in U.S. history, with actual energy independence no longer just a dream.  Let’s seize the moment and help make it happen.

Coalition Re-launches Website – The Shallow Water Energy Security Coalition has also redesigned and relaunched its website to further provide ongoing insights and background on the discussions surrounding offshore drilling permitting and regulations.

SEJ Raises Concerns About EPA Openness – Our friends at SEJ (get ready for another great event in October) made a big splash last week when they took to the internet to blast EPA for a pattern of stonewalling and obfuscation that, while established under the preceding administration, has grown markedly worse over the last four years.  SEJ Executive Director Beth Parke and Joe Davis, SEJ’s FIOA/Watchdog expert said the Obama administration has been anything but transparent in its dealings with reporters seeking information, interviews and clarification on a host of environmental, health and public lands issues.  “The EPA is one of the most closed, opaque agencies to the press. Members of the Society of Environmental Journalists … face substantial hurdles getting their questions answered about air pollution, water quality, oil and gas operations, pesticides, climate change and other issues.”  Parke and Davis go on to express fresh concerns about Gina McCarthy, the current head of EPA’s office of Air and Radiation and Obama’s pending nominee to replace the agency’s recently departed chief, Lisa P. Jackson. McCarthy, the journalists argue, has publicly supported EPA’s buttoned-up approach to information.

Coons Re-Intros Renewables MLP Legislation – Sens. Chris Coons, Jerry Moran, Debbie Stabenow and Lisa Murkowski are expected to reintroduce legislation this week expanding master limited partnerships (MLPs) to renewable energy projects.  MLPs are business structures that are taxed like partnerships but have shares traded like corporate stocks — thus lowering capital costs and attracting more investment. In general, the MLP community supports renewable MLPs, and Rep. Kevin Brady (R-Texas), a senior House Ways and Means Committee member, has expressed support. Brady chairs the committee’s task force examining pass-through entity reforms to be included in the tax reform bill planned for this year.  Some experts think it is highly likely that renewable MLP language could be included in a bipartisan tax reform bill.

New Report Assesses Potential Improvements to U.S. Hydropower Production – With the NHA conference this week, the Energy Department today announced a study outlining key improvements that can be made to hydropower production in the United States to provide more efficient and cost-effective electricity to homes and businesses. Developed with funding from the Energy Department, the Electric Power Research Institute’s (EPRI) report, titled “Quantifying the Value of Hydropower in the Electric Grid,” identifies and assesses the quantifiable benefits from potential improvements, such as installing turbines that can operate with lower water levels, utilizing new power plant designs that can increase revenue and efficiency, and monetizing the services hydropower provides to the nation’s electric grid.

Not Dead Yet – A special thanks to my friend Jim Bruggers who read the EIA’s Monthly power generation report and charts late last week.  This EIA report showed that coal generation in January 2013 was 7% higher than in 2012, and still the largest source of electricity generation by some 50 million MW/hours.  While many have focused on gas’ expansion, higher prices over the last year have slowed the fast march to gas to a slower march.

EZ Mapping Tool Helps States ID Locations for Clean-Energy Development – The Eastern Interconnection States’ Planning Council (EISPC) released a new Web-based mapping tool that will support State government agencies and other stakeholders identify locations in the Eastern Interconnection suitable for developing clean energy resources. EISPC is a collaboration of government agencies focusing on transmission planning in all 39 States, along with the District of Columbia, and New Orleans, that make up the Eastern Interconnection. It is funded by a grant from the Department of Energy (DOE) under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.  The Energy Zones (EZ) Mapping Tool was developed with support from the DOE National Laboratories, led by Vladimir Koritarov, Principal Energy Systems Engineer at Argonne National Laboratory, and the 10 members of the EISPC EZ Working Group chaired by Commissioner David Littell of the Maine Public Utilities Commission.

GOING ON THIS WEEK

Wyden, Norris Address Hydro Annual Conference – The National Hydropower Association holds its annual conference today through Wednesday at the Capital Hilton.   Senate Energy Chair Ron Wyden and Washington Rep. Cathy McMorris Rogers speak to the group today, while FERC Commissioner John Norris will address them tomorrow.   Energy Department Wind and Water Power Program Manager Jose Zayas will deliver remarks on hydropower’s vital role in America’s clean energy future this morning.

Forum to Discuss Climate – Today at 3:00 p.m., the Center for Strategic and International Studies’ (CSIS) Europe Program and the Ecologic Institute will host William M. Eichbaum, vice president of Marine and Arctic Policy of the World Wildlife Fund, Mr. R. Andreas Kraemer, director of the Ecologic Institute, and Dr. Kelly K. Falkner, director of Polar Programs of the National Science Foundation for a conversation on the environmental and social impacts of a rapidly changing Arctic.  Panelists will discuss the consequences of reduced sea ice extent and thickness and the environmental and policy implications of destabilized and diminished ice sheets for fisheries and shipping, intensified storms and ocean temperatures, acidification, and salinity. The Arctic Summer College creates a network of emerging leaders and experts that are brought together for 8 weeks in web-based seminars and online discussion. The program aims to build a lasting, policy-oriented network of Arctic professionals to strengthen communication between peoples and nations, scientific disciplines, policy areas, and across the science-policy interface to improve environmental governance in the Arctic region. CSIS and WWF, along with IUCN, and the Embassy of Canada, Berlin, are partners in collaboration with Ecologic Institute for the Arctic Summer College.

Russian Experts to Discuss Energy Future – Tonight at 6:00 p.m. at GW University’s Harry Harding Auditorium, Room 213, DPE Professional Foreign Service Fraternity and the Institute for European, Russian, and Eurasian Studies will host two Russia scholars, Dr. Robert W. Orttung and Mr. Oleg Kozloksy, to discuss the key energy and domestic political challenges facing Russia over the next decade.  Orttung is Associate Research Professor of International Affairs and Assistant Director of the Institute for European, Russian, and Eurasian Studies. Fulbright Scholar Kozlovsky is a Ph.D. Student in the Higher School of Economics, Moscow.

GW Solar Conference to Feature Wellinghoff, Turner, BrightSource – The George Washington University will hold its 5^th annual Solar Symposium Solar Going Global tomorrow in SMPA’s Jack Morton Auditorium.  The event is the largest annual solar energy conference in Washington, DC. As in previous years, the Symposium will feature high-level speakers with globally recognized expertise in solar policy, technology, and industry. Past speakers have included Maja Wessels, Executive VP of Public Affairs for First Solar; Jon Wellinghoff, Chairman of FERC; Hans-Josef Fell, German Member of Parliament and author of the feed-in tariff legislation; Representative Gabrielle Giffords and Ted Turner, entrepreneur and philanthropist.  The 2013 Symposium will be an important event for solar energy. Sessions will cover expansion of photovoltaics and solar thermal electric to new global markets; and leadership in the private sector from key corporations.  First Solar, SunPower, SunEdison, BrightSource, Solar Reserve, and Abengoa will all be attending.

Farrell to Headline Chamber Energy CEO Leadership Event – The Institute for 21^st Century Energy and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation will hold a CEO Leadership Series luncheon tomorrow at Noon featuring Dominion Energy CEO Thomas Farrell.

AWC to Release Bechtel Feasibility Study for Paulsboro Marine Terminal – AWC CEO Bob Mitchell, former Governor James Florio, Assemblyman John Burzichelli; South Jersey Port Corporation director Kevin Castognola and other local officials will release a study tomorrow at 11:00 a.m. by Bechtel on the “build feasibility” of constructing the converter platforms for the New Jersey Energy Link (NJEL) at the Paulsboro Marine Terminal (PMT).  The event will feature a tour of the PMT facility and discussion of what role it can play in the creation of a manufacturing hub for the New Jersey Energy Link.  The NJEL will be an offshore electrical transmission cable, buried under the ocean, linking energy resources and users in northern, central and southern New Jersey. The cable will span the length of New Jersey and when complete could carry 3,000MW of electricity. The converter platforms that would be constructed at PMT are offshore high-voltage direct current and alternating current substations in enclosed topsides erected on top of a steel foundation placed in New Jersey’s Wind Energy Area.

JHU Forum to Look at Europe Climate Experience – The Johns Hopkins Washington, DC Center will host a forum tomorrow at 12:00 p.m. on climate and energy policy for the long-term looking at experience from Europe its implications for the US.  The European Union (EU) has set itself the ambitious goal of decarbonizing its economy over the next four decades. Germany has gone a step further by setting quantitative greenhouse gas, renewable, and energy efficiency targets for 2030, 2040 and 2050 while also phasing out nuclear power – how will Europe achieve these goals, and what is the role of the US? Duwe’s presentation will provide background on the EU and German policy experience as well as the state of discussions on the next emission reduction steps to be taken – with an eye to climate policy developments in the United States.

Webinar to Look at Paper on NatGas Emissions – World Resources Institute will hold a webinar tomorrow at 5:30 p.m. on their recent paper, Clearing the Air: Reducing Upstream Greenhouse Gas Emissions from U.S. Natural Gas Systems.  The new study looks to clarify what is known about fugitive emissions of methane, a potent greenhouse gas, from the U.S. natural gas sector; what progress has been made to reduce those emissions; and what more can be done to further reduce leakage.  Lead authors James Bradbury and Michael Obeiter will review the working paper and its key findings, with particular attention on state-level policy solutions. Other speakers will include Sue Tierney from the Analysis Group, and Amy Royden-Bloom from the National Association of Clean Air Agencies.

NJ to Host Chicago Forum with Browner – National Journal will hold a forum tomorrow at 6:00 p.m. at the University of Chicago Institute of Politics to discuss reducing carbon emissions and improving the environment.  Former EPA Administrator Carol Browner and the NJ’s Energy & Environment Correspondent, Coral Davenport as well as other panelists will discuss these issues and the Washington policy climate

POLITICO to Host Energy Tax Forum – The POLITICO Pro Energy team will hold a forum on Wednesday at 8:00 a.m. that will look at how potential tax policies and the 2014 budget will affect the availability, use and development of American energy.

JHU to Host Atlantic Basin Climate Seminar – The Ecologic Institute and the Atlantic Basin Initiative (ABI) of the Center for Transatlantic Relations (CTR) at Johns Hopkins University SAIS will hold a seminar on Wednesday morning to discuss the framework of joint cooperation on the ATLANTIC FUTURE FP7 project of the European Commission’s 7^th Framework Program.  Climate change is a key growing concern for the Atlantic Basin: Although all parts of the world will be impacted by climate change, there are some common vulnerabilities across the basin and some other relatively unique climate issues facing the Atlantic: How do ocean acidification, coastal inundation, drought, and threats to food or freshwater affect regional development? With huge variance among countries in terms of response capacities, how can Atlantic Basin cooperation combat this challenge and contribute to multilateral governance in this realm? How should climate change mitigation and adaptation efforts be tailored to the basin, and how can the region’s energy systems play a role in reducing emissions? What is the role of agriculture, forestry and land-use (AFOLU) emissions in the Atlantic Basin? This seminar addresses such questions with round-table discussions.

The U.S.-Poland Energy Roundtable will be held on Wednesday at the Ronal d Reagan Trade Center.  The Roundtable is a bi-lateral energy conference that allows the government and private sector representatives from the U.S. and Poland to discuss energy issues of mutual interest to both countries.  Since 2010, our friends at USEA have co-hosted and participated in the U.S.-Poland Energy Roundtable in partnership with the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center, Polish Chamber of Power Industry and Environment Protection, the Embassy of the Republic of Poland – Trade & Investment Section and with cooperation from the U.S. Embassy Warsaw.  Topics for the U.S.-Poland Energy Roundtable will include shale gas, renewable energy, nuclear power, energy efficiency, clean coal.

Senate Approps Panel to Tackle EPA Budget – The Senate Appropriations Committee’s Subcommittee on Department of the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies will hold a hearing Wednesday at 9:30 a.m. in 124 Dirksen to examine proposed budget estimates for fiscal year 2014 for EPA.  Acting Administrator Bob Perciasepe and EPA CFO Maryann Froehlich will testify.

Canadian Resources Minister to Discuss Keystone, Other Items – The CSIS Energy and National Security Program will host Canada’s Minister of Natural Resources Joe Oliver on Wednesday at 9:30 a.m. to discuss a variety of issues related to the U.S.-Canada energy relationship, including environmental stewardship in Canada, development of the oil sands and the Keystone XL pipeline proposal.  David Pumphrey, Co-Director and Senior Fellow in the CSIS Energy and National Security Program, will moderate.  Oliver was elected to the House of Commons for the first time in May 2011. He was appointed Minister of Natural Resources on May 18, 2011. Prior to his election to Parliament, Mr. Oliver had a career in the investment banking industry.

Zichel to Address Hill Hydrogen, Fuel Cell Expo – The House Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Caucus will host a Fuel Cell and Hydrogen EXPO and POLICY FORUM Wednesday from 10:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. in 345 Cannon.  The forum will feature Heather Zichel as a speakers as well as other Congressional and Administration speakers and a panel of state experts.

Forum on North America’s Energy Economy – Our friends at the Commission for Environmental Cooperation will hold a public meeting this week in Calgary, Alberta—a hub of activity for the North American energy sector—to solicit views from industry, nongovernmental organizations, academia and the public to inform recommendations it will present to cabinet-level environmental officials of Canada, Mexico and the United States on energy policy and the environment. Speakers include Mexican Nobel Laureate Mario Molina along with experts from Suncorp, the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers, Pembina Institute and many others. The Greening North America’s Energy Future event will be webcast live starting Wednesday, 10:00 a.m. EDT/9:00 a.m. MDT.

House Resources to Move Keystone Legislation – Picking here House Energy/Commerce Left off last week, the House Committee on Natural Resources will markup H.R. 3 (Terry), Wednesday at 10:00 a.m. at 1324 Longworth to approve the construction, operation, and maintenance of the Keystone XL pipeline, and for other purposes. “Northern Route Approval Act.”

DOE Webinar to Focus on Offshore Wind Wildlife Issues – The Energy Department EERE office’s Wind and Water Power Technologies Wind Power Program will present a live webcast Wednesday at 11:00 a.m. on wildlife monitoring and baseline studies for offshore wind development.   This webinar will present the initial results of the first year of data collection for two large-scale DOE-funded studies that establish baseline data to aid in the siting and permitting of future offshore wind projects. Kate Williams of the Biodiversity Research Institute will present on “The Mid-Atlantic Baseline Studies Project: Understanding Wildlife Densities and Movements on the Mid-Atlantic Continental Shelf” and Steve Pelletier of Stantec Consulting Services, Inc. will present on “Offshore Bat Research Activities in the New England, Mid-Atlantic Coastal States, and Great Lakes Regions.” This session will benefit energy managers and other professionals interested in offshore wind development, siting, permitting, and environmental research.

House Oversight Tackles Fisker – The House Committee on Government and Oversight will convene a hearing Wednesday at 2:00 p.m. on examining the Department of Energy’s Fisker Automotive loan guarantee.

WRI to release Unburnable Carbon Report – The World Resources Institute will host a forum on Wednesday at 3:00 p.m. looking at unburnable carbon issues and its impacts.  WRI and the Carbon Tracker Initiative will roll out its 2013 report.  The London based Carbon Tracker Initiative’s first report Unburnable Carbon published in 2011 has become the reference text for investors and policymakers on this issue. This new report provides essential insight for participants in capital markets, bringing investors, regulators, analysts, ratings agencies and policymakers together to tackle the risk of fossil fuel reserves on financial markets.  This report reveals the extent to which listed companies continue to explore for new reserves in spite of this warning, spending billions every year in exploration and development, although some two-thirds of known reserves of fossil fuels will have to stay in the ground to have any chance of ensuring a stable climate. This has implications for the way in which companies are valued, how capital is raised and capital markets are regulated.

Island President Screening Set – DC NetImpact Climate Change Series presents in partnership with the Carbon War Room a special Earth Day Screening of “The Island President” on Wednesday at 6:00 p.m. at the West End Cinema.  The event will feature a Keynote Address by President of Carbon War Room Jose Maria Figueres followed by screening of “The Island President” and special panel of Island Experts upon conclusion of film.  Panelists will include Mark Crowdis of Reznick Think Energy, Brett Howell of the Georgia Aquarium and David Schwartz of the Carbon War Room.  Our friend Marc Gunther, Writer for Fortune and GreenBiz is expected to moderate.

Platts NatGas Forum Set – Platts will hold its Pittsburgh Shale Gas Forum on Thursday at 8:30 a.m. at the Sheraton Station Square.  Platts editors and Bentek analysts discuss how the industry’s expectations for the shale phenomenon measure against reality and its implications on the natural gas and petrochemical markets.  As shale becomes an integral part of the United States’ quest for energy independence, issues continue to arise in the natural gas and chemical industries that merit a closer look.

Senate Energy to Look at Drought Issues – On Thursday at 10:00 a.m., the Senate Energy Committee will hold a hearing to explore the effect of drought on energy and water management.

House Science to Discuss Climate Science – The House Science, Space & Technology Committee’s Subcommittee on Environment will convene a hearing on Thursday at 10:00 a.m. looking science policy relevant climate issues in context.  The witnesses will be a great group of experts including Georgia Tech’s Judith Curry, Duke University Nicholas School of the Environment Dean Bill Chameides and controversial climate author Bjørn Lomborg.

House Resources to Look at US-Mexico Offshore Drilling Deal – The House Natural Resources Committee will hold a hearing on Thursday at 10:00 a.m. to discuss legislation that would approve a year-old agreement between the United States and Mexico to allow the joint development of oil along the countries’ maritime border in the Gulf of Mexico.  API’s Erik Milito, IER’s Daniel Simmons and Heritage’s Steven Groves will testify.

Webinar to Look at Military Biofuel Use – DOE will present a live webcast titled “Biomass and the Military” on Thursday from 10:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time. The Energy Department’s Bioenergy Technologies Office staff members will discuss the joint efforts between the Energy Department and U.S. Navy to use biopower and biofuels in military vehicles. The webinar will provide an overview and recent updates on the plans and goals laid out by the Defense Production Act and the Innovative Pilot- and Demonstration-Scale funding opportunity. Both funding projects will develop novel processes and provide extensive opportunities to prepare for eventual commercialization, helping the Energy Department meet its goals of creating reliable, sustainable, domestic biofuels to increase U.S. energy independence.

Worldwatch to Release Renewables Reports – On Thursday at 10:30 a.m., Rep. Rush Holt, the Worldwatch Institute, and the Renewable Energy Policy Network for the 21st Century (REN21) will be holding a policy briefing on the status and future of renewable energy in the United States and around the world in 121 Cannon.  The event features insights from leading renewable energy experts as well as from two newly released REN21 publications: 1) the Renewables 2013 Global Status Report and 2) Renewables Global Futures Report. Speakers will include Mohamed El-Ashry of the UN Foundation, Christine Lins of REN21, Renewables Global Futures Report Author Eric Martinot and Worldwatch Institute’s Alexander Ochs.

FedEx’s Smith, SAFE Report Featured at Cato Forum on Oil – FedEx CEO Fred Smith will speak at an event Thursday at Noon hosted by the Cato Institute on the impact of cartel behavior on global oil prices and its challenge to free markets.  Smith is the co-Chairman of the Energy Security Leadership Council (ESLC), an initiative of Securing America’s Future Energy (SAFE).  SAFE and the ESLC have long stated that the global oil market is driven by factors that are fundamentally at odds with free market ideals, thus increasing the dangers of America’s dependence on oil and underscoring the need for energy security solutions.  Thursday’s event will feature a discussion on Competition in Global Oil Markets: A Meta-Analysis and Review, a new study authored by Andrew Morris and Roger Meiners and published by SAFE that analyzes the impact of the OPEC cartel on the global oil market and prices.  Other panelists will include Andrew Morriss of the University of Alabama; Roger Meiners of the University of Texas at Arlington and James L. Smith of Southern Methodist University.

RFF to Discuss Air Pollution in Seminar Series – Resources for the Future will hold another Academic Seminar series event on Thursday at Noon looking at air pollution dynamics and the need for temporarily differentiated road pricing featuring Jessica Coria of the University of Gothenburg.  The assimilative capacity is defined as the capacity of an environment to receive a given level of emissions, degrading or dispersing them and converting them in harmless substances to humans or ecosystems. In the case of urban air pollution, it is mainly driven by the meteorological factors that govern air mixing and dispersion of the pollutants. Due to the large temporal variation of these factors, there is a strong diurnal variation in the assimilative capacity, in addition to the diurnal variation in hourly traffic flows and vehicular emissions. In this paper, Coria investigates the effects of the temporal variation of the assimilative capacity on pollution concentration and illustrate the need for temporally differentiated road pricing through an application to the case of the congestion charge in Stockholm, Sweden.

House Foreign Affairs to Look at NatGas Export Issues – The House Foreign Affairs Committee’s Subcommittee on Terrorism, Nonproliferation, and Trade will convene a hearing Thursday at 2:00 p.m. in 2200 Rayburn on natural gas exports and the economic and geopolitical opportunities.  Witnesses will include Rob Bryngelson of Excelerate Energy, NERA’s David Montgomery, CFR’s Michael Levi and LIUNA’s David Mallino Jr.

Book Author to Look at Environmental Security Issues –The Climate and Water Security Initiative will sponsor at Book forum on Thursday at 6:00 p.m. at George Washington University to look at author Elizabeth Chalecki’s book, Environmental Security.  Chalecki is a visiting Mellon Assistant Professor of Environmental Studies at Maryland’s Goucher College,  National security is widely recognized as central to military purview. However, it is also closely tied to severe weather events, disease outbreak, climate change, and resource depletion, all of which impact national security considerations. Environmental Security discusses the contemporary military, strategic, and security issues that arise as a result of global environmental problems. Elizabeth Chalecki presents a compelling case for how ecological health is linked to international security and why increased global attention to environmental security concerns necessitates understanding this connection. Chalecki analyzes how shortages and abundance of natural resources can contribute to conflict and insecurity and how nations must cooperate to manage these threats.  Marcus King, Director of Research at GW’s Elliott School of International Affairs, will host.

McCain, Others Focus on Immigration at Chamber – The U.S. Chamber of Commerce will hold a forum on Friday looking at immigration reform.  The forum will bring together business leaders and government officials to highlight the benefits of immigration reform as well as address the challenges that could prevent its successful implementation.  Offering a bipartisan platform, this discussion will focus on both high and lesser skilled immigration and allow for policymakers to present their respective proposals to the public.  US Sens. John McCain and Lindsey Graham will speak long with Rep. Zoe Logren and Ted Poe.  Other speakers will include Chamber CEO Tom Donohue, Robin Paulino of Microsoft, Tyson Foods’ Ken Kimbro, Mark Peters of Caterpillar and Former CBO head Doug Holtz-Eakin, among Others President, American Action Forum.

House Science to Look at Federal Fracking Research – The House Science, Space and Technology Committee’s Subcommittee on Energy and Subcommittee on Environment will hold a joint hearing Friday at 9:30 a.m. on Federal hydraulic fracturing research activities.  Witnesses will Include EPA’s Kevin Teichmann, Senior Science Advisor on EPA’s Office of Research and Development;  Guido DeHoratiis, Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary for Oil and Gas in DOE’s Office of Fossil Energy; USGS Northeast Regional Executive David Russ and Robin Ikeda, Acting Director of the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry at HHS.

Rep Peters, Waste Management Exec to Discuss Methane Landfills – The Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI) will hold a briefing on Friday at 10:30 a.m. in 2325 Rayburn focused on the benefits of capturing and harnessing methane emissions from municipal solid waste landfills. Speakers will feature our friend Dan LeFevers, Vice President, Federal Public Affairs, Waste Management.  He will be joined by Rep. Scott Peters (D-CA) and Dr. V. Ramanathan of the Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the UC-San Diego.  Landfills are the third largest source of anthropogenic methane gas produced in the United States; between 1990 and 2011, landfill gas (LFG) composed 17.7% of all U.S. methane emissions. Because of the high methane content in LFG, the captured gas can be refined and used to produce heat, electricity, and/or vehicle fuels. More than 590 landfill projects in 47 states capture enough LFG to power more than one million homes and heat 740,000. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimates that there are more than 500 additional landfills that are candidates for LFG energy projects. The briefing will discuss the economic, health, and climate benefits of tapping the energy potential of the nation’s landfills.

Forum to Look at Energy Policy – The European Commission will hold a webinar on Friday at 10:00 a.m. on future energy policy featuring Dr. Andrea Bassi.  Bassi will discuss the rationale for adopting an integrated approach to energy policy formulation and evaluation to achieve sustainability goals based upon available data and simulation models. Instead of maximizing the performance of certain energy sectors or indicators, he advocates seeking balance among key drivers to improve resilience and mitigate risks. The webinar is co-organized by the European Commission’s FuturiumEU and the Crossover project. FuturiumEU is an online digital agenda-setting platform.  The Crossover project is an effort to utilize information and communication technologies (ICT) to create a collaborative, interactive model of governance that incorporates science and links policy-makers and citizens among EU member nations.  Based near Geneva, Switzerland, Dr. Bassi is the founder and CEO of KnowlEdge Srl as well as an Associate Professor System Dynamics Modeling in the Sustainable Development program at Stellenbosch University. He helped develop The Millennium Institute’s multi-stakeholder dynamic T-21 systemic model of the interrelationships among sectors of societies, economies and the environment.

FUTURE EVENTS

JHU to Host Panel on Offshore Energy– Johns Hopkins DC Center will host a forum on Monday, April 29^th at Noon to provide an overview of the leasing and regulatory frameworks for offshore oil and gas, as well as renewable energy resources. In addition, the presenter will discuss the new National Ocean Policy initiative and its linkages with offshore energy regulation.  Offshore energy is increasingly becoming a significant part of the U.S. energy mix. Oil production in the Outer Continental Shelf, managed by the federal government, now accounts for roughly one-fourth of the annual U.S. domestic supply. Moreover, significant interest has emerged for harnessing offshore wind resource along the East Coast, wave energy off the West Coast and the Pacific islands, and ocean currents off Florida.  The presenter, Dr. Amardeep Dhanju, is a senior ocean policy analyst with the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, where he is coordinating the National Ocean Policy initiative. Dr. Dhanju joined BOEM in 2010 as a Knauss Sea Grant fellow, subsequently continuing on a contract. He holds a Ph.D. in Marine Studies from University of Delaware where his research focused on policy and regulatory issues related to offshore wind power development in the US.

WCEE to Host State Dept Green Initiative Director – The Women’s Council on Energy and the Environment (WCEE) continues its Brown-bag Luncheon Series next Monday, April 29^th at Noon at Wright Talisman with a forum featuring Donna M. McIntire, Chief of Energy & Sustainable Design at the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Overseas Buildings Operations. McIntire will discuss sustainability and energy improvements at U.S. embassies and consulates around the globe and describe the program objectives, scope of efforts, and successful implementation.

LaHood to Speak at GWU – The George Washington University International Affairs Society will host Secretary of Transportation Ray Lahood next Monday, April 29th at 6:45 p.m. for a discussion on International Cooperation and Transportation. Specifically, the Secretary will be discussing international cooperation and lessons learned from international partnerships during his tenure.

Forum to Look at Caspian Sea Oil, Gas Issues – The Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, the Global Europe Program and the Kennan Institute will host a forum on Tuesday, April 30^th at 10:00 a.m. on the race to build the Southern Energy Corridor to bring Caspian natural gas to Europe is in its final stages.  The Shah Deniz consortium in Azerbaijan is set to once and for all decide the long-pending “Nabucco question”.  Experts from Baku’s Center for Strategic Studies and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan gather to discuss these questions at a roundtable discussion.  Speakers include Elman Abdullayev, spokesman and communications manager at the Ministry of  Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan; Farhad Mammadov, the director of the Center for Strategic Studies in Baku, Azerbaijan and the co-founder of the public union “IRELI” and Gulmira Rzayeva, a leading research fellow at the Center for Strategic Studies in Baku, Azerbaijan. The roundtable discussion will be moderated by Alexandros Petersen, advisor to the Wilson Center’s Global Europe Program and author of The World Island: Eurasian Geopolitics and the Fate of the West.

Saudi Oil Minister to Address CSIS – The CSIS Energy and National Security Program  will host His Excellency Ali al-Naimi at a forum in Washington on April 30^th to hear his views on the dynamic changes taking place on the global energy scene. Now in his 18th year as Saudi Arabia’s Minister for Petroleum & Mineral Resources, Minister Naimi  possesses a unique and long-term global perspective on energy markets, the impacts of technology, and the opportunities and challenges that lie before us. In his remarks, the Minister will examine the relationship between oil and economic growth, the impact of recently developed unconventional resources in the United States, and the transformation underway in Saudi Arabia. His remarks will be followed by a question/answer session. Frank Verrastro, Senior Vice President and the James R. Schlensinger Chair for Energy & Geopolitics at CSIS, will moderate. John J. Hamre, President and CEO at CSIS, will provide introductory remarks.  His Excellency Minister Ali Ibrahim Al-Naimi has been Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources for the kingdom of Saudi Arabia since August 1995. Prior to being appointed Minister, he had served as chief executive officer of Saudi Aramco for seven years. Minister Naimi has spent his career in energy exploration and production, beginning in 1947 as a foreman with Saudi Aramco, and progressing through the ranks as an assistant superintendent, superintendent and manager, before moving into the Exploration Department in 1953.

FERC’s Clark to Address NatGas Roundtable – The Natural Gas Roundtable will host FERC Commissioner Tony Clark as its guest speaker a Tuesday, April 30^th luncheon at the University Club.  Commissioner Tony Clark is serving his first term on the Commission, having been nominated by President Obama and sworn in on June 15, 2012. Commissioner Clark formerly served as a member of the North Dakota Public Service Commission.

Forum to Look at Green Revolution in China – The Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars will host a forum on Tuesday, April 30th at 2:00 p.m. on the green revolution in China.  Drawing on his chapter in the recently published china dialogue book “China and the Environment: The Green Revolution,” Liu Jianqiang will relate the role that NGOs, news media and community leaders played in forming an environmental movement opposing a dam on the Tiger Leaping Gorge. This project on the upper Yangtze River has received considerably less attention than the grassroots opposition to the Nujiang dams, but is an equally insightful example of growing citizen activism against large dams.   Judith Shapiro will set the stage for Liu Jianqiang’s discussion, drawing on her book China’s Environmental Challenges to talk about civil society and environmental justice trends in China. She will also highlight the traditional and evolving role of China’s engaged environmental journalists, such as Binyan Liu, Lihong Shi, Zhinong Xi.

Renewable Forum To Look at Caribbean – ACORE will host the 3^rd Annual Renewable Energy Finance Forum – Latin America and the Caribbean (REFF-LAC) on April 30 – May 1^st in Miami, Florida.  The forum will feature presentations from entrepreneurs, technology start-ups, and project developers that promote their projects to members of the financial services community, venture capitalists, private equity investors, and renewable energy experts.

NY Conference to Address Energy Research – The 7^th annual Advanced Energy 2013 returns to New York City on April 30^th and May 1^st at the Jacob Javits Center.  The Advanced Energy Conference – New York State’s largest advanced energy event – has joined with energy conferences from across the state to create The New York State Partnership of Energy Conferences. This groundbreaking initiative provides an unprecedented opportunity to learn, share and network.  The conference attracts thousands of participants from industry, government and academia, and has brought them together with innovators and leaders from every area of energy research.

Holmstead to Address AFS on Climate Rules – The American Foundry Society (AFS) is hosting their annual Government Affairs Conference on Wednesday, May 1^st at the J.W. Marriott Hotel in Washington, D.C.  My colleague Jeff Holmstead will address over 80 owners and plant managers on what they can expect from EPA in the next 12 to 24 months, including new regulations to limit greenhouse gas emissions at existing power plants.  Of particular interest to these manufacturers is the upcoming ozone rule.

Spectra Expert to Address Houston Petro Club – The Petroleum Club of Houston will hold its May monthly meeting on Thursday, May 2^nd featuring experts from Spectra Energy and Hart Energy as they share the latest intelligence on  energy issues.  Companies across the energy industry value chain are investing to realize the benefits of U.S. and Canadian unconventional oil supply gains. Oil producers want to capture the best prices across multiple basins; refiners seek to minimize their greatest expense – crude oil; midstream operators are working on innovative solutions to meet new market needs across North America. Speakers Duane Rae of Spectra Energy Liquids and Hart Energy Integrated Oil & Gas Research Director Greg Haas will address U.S. and Canadian crude producers, refinery and midstream officials are responding to the challenge.

Wilson Forum to Look at China, Canada US Water Issues – On Friday May 3^rd, the Canada Institute/China Environment Forum will host a forum to look at examining  the water footprint of energy development within Canada, the United States, and China and how energy trade among these three countries is being shaped by water constraints. Every country depends on a sustainable supply of water and energy and these two resources are inextricably linked.  The production of all energy sources uses water but coal, oil sands, biofuels, and shale gas have particularly large water footprints. Absent tight regulations these sources of energy can also create serious water pollution.  Conversely, water treatment and distribution require considerable energy—for example the state of California uses nearly 20% of its energy to clean and transfer water. China, Canada, and the United States face significant obstacles in their efforts to provide clean, affordable energy. China is heavily dependent on coal, which according to research by the Wilson Center and Circle of Blue, accounts for 20 percent of the country’s water use, exacerbating pressure on the country’s already vulnerable water resources.  Speakers for the event will include China Environment Forum Director Jennifer L. Turner,  Qingwei Sun of Greenpeace China, Michael Hightower of the Sandia National Laboratories and Brock University’s Steven Renzetti.

WINDPOWER 2013 – The American Wind Energy Association’s annual WINDPOWER Conference & Exhibition will be held May 5^th through 8^th in Chicago, IL.  The event is one of the world’s premiere wind energy trade shows, combining education, an exhibition, and networking. Pre-session workshops provide newcomers to the industry an opportunity to learn more about wind technology, proper deployment, and the industry as a whole.  Iowa Governor Terry Branstad will be the Keynote Speaker.

OTC Set for Houston – The Offshore Technology Conference will be held on May 6^th through 9^th at Houston’s Reliant Park.  Founded in 1969, OTC is the world’s foremost event for the development of offshore resources in the fields of drilling, exploration, production, and environmental protection.  OTC promotes and furthers the advance of scientific and technical knowledge of offshore resources and environmental matters.  Each year, OTC attracts more than 80,000 attendees from more than 110 countries and 2,500 exhibiting companies.  OTC is sponsored by 13 industry organizations and societies, who work cooperatively to develop the technical program. OTC also has endorsing and supporting organizations.

Stronach to Address DC Forum on Book – The Executive Council on Diplomacy will host a roundtable with Canadian Auto parts magnate Frank Stronach at the Army-Navy Club on Thursday, May 9^th at Noon.  Stronach will discuss his recent book, The Magna Man, his inspirational story of business triumph and innovation. Founder and former CEO of Magna International, Stronach came to Canada from Austria with a few dollars in his pocket, a lot of hustle and a hunger to succeed. In a few short years, he went from washing dishes to starting up his own tool and die shop in a rented garage, working long hours and sleeping on a fold-up bed next to his machines. He would build that small shop into Magna International Inc., one of the world’s biggest auto parts manufacturers, with 115,000 employees in 26 countries.  In the Book, Canada’s greatest industrialist tells the remarkable story for the first time of how he overcame hardship and heartache to climb to the top of one of the world’s most competitive industries. And along the way, he shares the formula behind his company’s spectacular success: the unique business philosophy he created known as Fair Enterprise. It’s a can’t-fail formula that has fuelled the company’s unstoppable growth and allowed Magna to share billions of dollars in profits with its employees, managers, shareholders and society.

Forum to Present Energy Trust Barometer – Edelman and The Energy Collection will hold a presentation and forum on Wednesday May 15^th at 4:30 p.m. at the University Club to discuss its Trust Barometer project.  Following the insights from the Trust barometer, our friend Paul Bledsoe will moderate a panel to explore energy policies.

Senate Energy Planning Three NatGas Forums – The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee’s leaders will hold three round-table discussions in May to explore the issues of domestic gas production, proposed exports and whether the country’s pipelines can meet growing demand.  The committee will hold three public forums over a seven-day period starting on Thursday, May 16^th when the committee will hold a forum on infrastructure, transportation, research and innovation.  They will discuss the next applications for natural gas, the adequacy of the nation’s pipeline infrastructure and the use of gas in the transportation sector.  On Tuesday, May 21^st, a forum on “domestic supply and exports will focus on estimates of how much gas the United States has and how production may expand if the federal government allows exports of liquefied gas to move forward.  The last forum on Thursday, May 23^rd will look at best practices and environmental concerns.

AWC Expert to Address EnergyOcean Conference – The 10^th Annual EnergyOcean International Conference and Exhibition will be held on June 10^th to 12^th in Providence/Warwick , RI.  Hundreds of industry stakeholders representing every aspect of the offshore renewable energy industry will unite for EnergyOcean International’s technical program which offers the latest in offshore ocean energy technological advances, updates on what is happening in the industry, along with regulatory issues and policy.  Among the speakers will be our friend Kris Ohleth of the Atlantic Wind Connection, who will address challenges to permitting offshore transmission systems.

Congressional Renewable Expo Set – The 16^th Annual Congressional Renewable Energy & Energy Efficiency EXPO + Forum will be held on Wednesday – June 12^th from 9:30 am – 4:30 pm in the Cannon Caucus Room.  Speakers will be announced as we get closer.

Public Power Conference Set for Nashville – The 2013 APPA National Conference, public power’s largest annual gathering, will be held in Nashville, TN, June 14^th through 19^th.  At conference, utility leaders and policymakers explore innovative ideas, developing trends and new technologies; learn about the national issues influencing our industry; and connect with hundreds of utility board and city council members, mayors, utility executives, senior managers, and industry partners.  The program features leading political, economic, business and public policy thinkers and public power leaders addressing the critical issues shaping our industry’s future, to help you think strategically about your utility’s future.

EIA Conference Set For DC – The 2013EIA Energy Conference will be held on June 17-18^th at the JW Marriott in Washington, DC.  The conference has become a premier forum for addressing energy issues in the United States and around the world.  The conference will explore current and future challenges facing domestic and international energy markets and policymakers.  Session topics include a global natural gas outlook; renewable, storage, and grid integration; and many other topics.

The post Energy Update Week of April 22 appeared first on Policy Resolution Group.

Three thrilling sports moments over the weekend:  1) An extra holes, birdie-filled, thrilling end at The Masters where Adam Scott finally clinched his first major victory (and Australia’s first Green Jacket); 2) Yale (the last team in the NCAA tournament) shocked #1 seed Quinnipiac 4-0 at the Frozen Four for its first NCAA national championship (rumor has it the Quinnipiac margin of error was +/-4), and finally – and perhaps most importantly – I broke out the short sleeve top and shorts for the first time on my 35-mile ride Sunday morning in between numerous lacrosse games around Baltimore (and I can barely move my legs today as those hills are bigger than they look).

Since it is Tax Day, it is a special day for you to mail in that check to the IRS.  Post offices are open late and remember the rule: refunds (why are you getting a refund?) electronically; payments, snail mail (as long as it doesn’t get lost because you’re still responsible).   Just a couple of other special days this week: McDonalds opened its first burger joint today in 1955, Tool’s Maynard James Keenan and Mr. NJ Devil Ken Daneyko turn 49 on Wednesday, also the first time that Geoffrey Chaucer told the Canterbury Tales in 1397 and Giovanni da Verrazzano sailed into New York Harbor in 1524 (through the gateway that carries his name on the bridge that currently spans it).  Finally, Thursday is the day 90 years ago that Yankee Stadium opened and one year since we lost the legendary music icon Dick Clark. 

Today is also a big day for journalists: At 3 p.m. the Pulitzer Prize Board will announce the winners of the 97^th American journalism’s highest honors.

After last week’s confirmation-fest (four hearings and the Interior vote), Appropriations and budgets hit full force this week with Sect Vilsack and Sect LaHood hitting the House Appropriations panels tomorrow, John Holdren on Wednesday and Senate Energy has Dan Poneman on Thursday for the Energy budget.  As well, other hearings include House Energy/Commerce marking up Keystone legislation, a House Science look at wind tax incentives and House Resources on Keystone tomorrow (featuring our friend Charlie Drevna) and Wednesday on State/Federal oil and gas production. 

Finally, lots of other good events going this week outside Capitol Hill (see below), including on Thursday evening, our friends Dave Roberts of Grist, Michael Grunwald of Time and Wash Post fame and CFR expert Mike Levi will join Chris Mooney for a Climate Desk event looking at the Keystone XL pipeline debate.  

We’re following the budget and nominations closely.  Bracewell PRG’s most recently-added Senate expert Frank Macchiarola (202-828-1717) has handled both of the topics over the past 8 years in the Senate and he is happy to help you wade through any key procedural, policy or process questions.  Call with questions

Frank Maisano
(202) 828-5864
c. (202) 997-5932

IN THE NEWS

President Grants Key Canada Permit – No it’s not the one you’re thinking…but as a native Detroiter is it finally about time.  The State Department on Friday granted the State of Michigan approval to build, maintain and operate a new bridge between Detroit and Windsor, Ontario, saying it “would serve the national interest.”  The new bridge would be the third international connection across the Detroit River, joining the 84-year-old Ambassador Bridge and the 83-year-old Detroit-Windsor Tunnel linking the two cities.  The current crossings are the two busiest border crossings in North America and there are still lots of hurdles including a battle from the current Ambassador Bridge owner who likes the congestion and lack of competition.  Having made the trip many times to go curling or duckpin bowling  (never because of the excellent “night” clubs and 19-year-old drinking age), I can tell you that the trip can many times really be a hassle, especially if you are trying to make a 7:00 pm puck drop at Joe Louis Arena.

EPA Misses GHG Deadline for New Power Plants – EPA missed its April 13^th deadline to finalize its GHG rule for new power plants.  My colleague Jeff Holmstead said no one is surprised that EPA is missing this deadline. Holmstead, a former EPA Air Administrator added senior EPA folks now realize that their original proposal just wasn’t workable and would almost certainly be struck down in court.  Holmstead: “They’re now trying to figure out whether they need to start from scratch and come up with a new proposal, or whether they can finalize some creative version of it without running afoul of the law.  The big problem they face is that the Clean Air Act just wasn’t designed to deal with greenhouse gas emissions.”

Solar expanding in Middle East, Africa – A new report from NPD Solarbuzz says solar demand in the Middle East and Africa is forecast to reach 1 GW this year – a 625% increase over 136 MW in 2012.  The report notes that the dramatic increase in PV applications across the region is partly due to new funding schemes, especially in South Africa, Israel and Saudi Arabia.  South Africa’s demand is growing, with many people still lacking access to electricity. Israel, meanwhile, is eager to become independent from the import of fossil fuels due to its sub-optimal relationships with neighboring countries, and the fact that there are no power interconnections to these countries.  According to the report, Saudi Arabia also shows promise and is forecast to become the region’s largest PV market by 2017.  Our friends at BrightSource Energy and other solar companies are seeing these opportunities as a strong potential future market. 

US, China Announce Climate Partnership – In the ongoing saga of US-China Climate Partnership, Secretary Kerry said the U.S. and China starting a new Climate Change Working Group that will “finalize ways in which they can advance cooperation on technology, research, conservation, and alternative and renewable energy.”  The group, not unlike other partnerships started up by the US and China that sound good but never really produce much, will be led by Todd Stern and Xie Zhenhua, vice chairman for China’s National Development and Reform Commission.  State says the working group will look at current areas where the two nations are cooperating and look for new areas for partnership.  As with every other announcement, I’m sure my friends In the environmental community will say how important this agreement is and how much China is moving toward action on climate, but as one who has followed this debate since 1997, I have seen many of these “agreements” that eventually leave the debate exactly where it remains.  This fact was pointed out accurately by our friends at Morning Energy: “International climate talks are often slowed by insistence from the U.S. and others that big emitters like China agree to slash their emissions while helping pay for mitigation and adaptation, while China and other nations refuse to act unless the U.S. is on board with legally binding targets as well.”  This is on top of several ongoing tariff battles over clean tech issues.  

NOAA Report Says Climate, 2012 Drought Not Related – Speaking of climate and the on-going effort to blame specific events on climate change, a new NOAA report says that climate change did not have a significant effect on the 2012 U.S. drought, which led to the most severe rainfall deficits in the Midwest since recordkeeping began in 1895. The researchers ran models to analyze how climate change could have caused a drought in six affected states, a method which has been used previously to demonstrate how climate change has either caused or affected droughts in other regions around the world. However, the researchers found that none of the models matched what actually happened, leading them to conclude that the drought could not have been caused by climate change. As with any of these science/climate issues there is disagreement.  Some scientists believe that the results were too narrow and further research still needs to be undertaken.

GOING ON THIS WEEK

Press Club to Host Iceland President on Arctic Energy – The National Press Club’s Speakers Committee will host a luncheon today with Iceland’s President Olafur Grimsson, who will address the global race for resources in the Arctic.  Grimsson, who is serving a record fifth term as the island nation’s president, has organized a group to promote collaboration among Arctic nations. Arctic Circle will convene for the first time in Reykjavik in October to discuss the impact of sea ice melt, concerns about security, managing the fisheries, shipping and mapping Arctic resources.  Grimsson, whose long career in politics that began after he became the first person from Iceland to earn a Ph.D. in political science, served for decades in Iceland’s legislature as a member of the People’s Alliance Party. From 1988 to 1991, he served as Iceland’s finance minister.

IPAA NY Investment Conference Rolls On – Speaking of Oil and Gas, IPAA is hosting OGIS New York today through Wednesday at the Sheraton New York Times Square Hotel’s Lenox Ballroom, giving the oil and gas industry a chance to rub elbows with many in the investment community.  The conference is a series of presentations to analysts and others that invest. 

Zichel to Headline Forum on Climate Policy – The Global Economy and Development at Brookings and Climate Policy Initiative will host a discussion today at 4:00 p.m. on “The Policy Climate” and how findings from the report can influence future global climate policy. Climate Policy Initiative Senior Director David Nelson will give a short presentation, followed by a panel discussion. Panelists include Thomas C. Heller, CPI executive director; Heather Zichal, deputy assistant to the president for Energy and Climate Change in the White House Office of Energy and Climate Change Policy; and Jennifer Morgan, director the Climate and Energy Program at World Resources Institute. Brookings Senior Fellow Katherine Sierra will moderate the discussion.

Conference to Help Colleges, Universities on Sustainability – The 2013 Smart and Sustainable Campuses Conference will be held at the DoubleTree Hotel Bethesda, MD today and tomorrow to help Colleges and universities are incubators of innovation, tackling the biggest challenges of society through creative means.  The forum provides the setting to learn, share and explore how campuses are using their passion for innovation to develop technologies, infrastructure, programs and curricula that address the world’s most pressing sustainability challenges.  The conference’s plenary speakers will be Van Jones, Colin Beavan and NOAA’s Tom Karl.  

Vilsack Headlines Biofuels Conference – The Advanced Biofuels Leadership Conference 2013, the annual Leadership Week for advanced biofuels, renewable chemicals, and bio-based materials, will be held today through Wednesday at the Gaylord National resort Outside DC.   Speakers include USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack, our friends Michael McAdam’s of the Advanced Biofuels Assn and Valerie Sarisky-Reed (our daughters played lacrosse together), Acting Director, and DOE Biomass Program, among others

McCarthy, Nichols, UNFCCC Figueres to Address Carbon Conference – The 11^th annual Navigating the American Carbon World (NACW) will be held in San Francisco’s Palace Hotel tomorrow through Thursday.  The event is the largest and most comprehensive gathering for information and discussion around climate change policy and carbon markets.  NACW will take an in-depth look at California’s historic cap-and-trade program, including discussions on market structure, revenue allocation, legal issues and forecasts. The conference will also delve into other established and emerging carbon markets around the world and potential linkages. And, NACW will provide a platform for discussing offsets and offset supply, U.S. federal policies, and business leadership.  Speakers will include EPA’s Gina McCarthy, CARB head Mary Nichols, UNFCCC Executive Secretary Christiana Figueres and NWF President Larry Schweiger.

Forum to Look at NatGas, Air Pollution – Today at 2:00 p.m. at George Mason University – Arlington Campus, the Center for Emerging Market Policies will present a presentation by Erdal Tekin on “Air Pollution and Infant Mortality: Evidence from the Expansion of Natural Gas Infrastructure.”

Yergin, Medvedev to address LNG Conference in Houston – The 17^th International Conference & Exhibition on Liquefied Natural Gas will start tomorrow In Houston and run for four days at the George R. Brown Convention Center.  LNG 17 will include a strategy forum with senior decision-makers from major producing and importing countries. Key drivers for growth, including more U.S. exports, will be among the topics of discussion.  Speakers will include Dan Yergin, DOE’s Chris Smith, State’s Carlos Pascual and Gazprom exec Alexander Medvedev (who also happens to be President of Russia’s Kontinental Hockey League), among others.

Pelosi, Steyer, LaHood Headline Green Jobs 2013 Conference – The 2013 Good Jobs, Green Jobs Conference will be held tomorrow through Thursday at the Washington Hilton Hotel.  The event will focus on how to grow the clean economy to scale; the role of strategic partnerships between the public and private sectors in solving the country’s pressing economic and environmental challenges; how regulations protect us while creating new markets; and how people in every part of the U.S. are working collaboratively for social, economic and environmental justice, while building an economy with good jobs.  The conference is organized by the Blue Green Alliance, a partnership of organizations, working to expand the number and quality of jobs in the green economy.  Speakers will include Speaker Pelosi, Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, RI Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, Tom Steyer, Richard Trumpka of AFL-CIO and many others.  

Forum to Look at NatGas Exports – American Security Project will hold a forum tomorrow at 12:30 p.m. on the geopolitical implications of U.S. natural gas exports.  The shale gas revolution has some saying that the U.S. is awash in more natural gas than we can use, with correspondingly low prices. This has led to calls for the federal government to permit more liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports to take advantage of high prices overseas.  ASP’s recent report, “The Geopolitical Implications of U.S. Natural Gas Exports” by ASP Policy Analyst Nick Cunningham found that U.S. LNG exports can achieve geopolitical objectives by enhancing the energy security of America’s closest allies.  Speakers will include Deputy Chief of Mission for the Embassy of the Netherlands Peter Mollema, Special Advisor to the Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI), and Director of Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO) Toshi Okuya and Marik String, former Deputy Chief Counsel on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and coauthor of “Energy and Security From the Caspian to Europe.”

Worldwatch to Launch Report – The Worldwatch Institute will launch the latest edition of its annual flagship report, State of the World 2013: Is Sustainability Still Possible? tomorrow at 1:30 p.m.   Worldwatch President Robert Engelman and State of the World 2013 co-directors Erik Assadourian and Tom Prugh will be joined by report authors to present some of the key findings at this year’s State of the World Symposium.  In the latest edition of Worldwatch’s State of the World series, scientists, policy experts, and thought leaders attempt to restore meaning to the word sustainability and discuss how it should be measured, how we can attain it, and how we can prepare if we ultimately fall short.

House Science to Look at Wind Incentives – The House Science Committee’s Oversight Subcommittee and Energy Subcommittee will hold a joint hearing tomorrow at 2:00 p.m. assessing the efficiency and effectiveness of wind energy incentives.  Witnesses will include our friend Rob Gramlich, interim head of AWEA.  Others Include GAO’s Frank Rusco, Cal State–Fullerton’s Robert Michaels and Cape Wind opponent Audra Parker.

USEA to Look at Vehicle Efficiency Improvements – The US Energy Assn will hold a forum tomorrow at 2:00 p.m. on optimizing efficiency of existing internal combustion vehicles.  Automobile manufacturers are moving swiftly to adopt technological and design innovations to increase vehicle efficiency.  Improvements in aerodynamics, transmission technologies, tire design are seen as a first step down the path of sustainability.  Bill Craven, General Manager of Regulatory Affairs at Daimler, will kick off a series of discussions on the future of automobile transportation and the technological innovations that will transform vehicular mobility.  Future sessions will discuss alternative fuels, hybrid vehicles, electric/fuel cell vehicles and other innovations that will shape the future of automobile transportation.

House Resources to Focus on State, Fed Oil/Gas Production Successes – The House Committee on Natural Resources will convene an oversight hearing on Wednesday at 10:00 a.m. looking at the longstanding Committee political battle over “state lands vs. federal lands oil and gas production.  The hearing will look at the successes of state regulators.

Burwell Nomination Votes Set – The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee will meet Wednesday at 10:00 a.m. to consider Sylvia M. Burwell’s nomination as director of the Office of Management and Budget.  As well, the Senate Budget Committee is expected to schedule its vote for early this week.  Last week, she breezed through two hearings while everyone else was focused on Energy and EPA. 

House Energy, Resources Committees to markup Keystone Legislation – The House Energy and Commerce Committee and the House Natural Resources Committee will hold hearings tomorrow at 2:00 p.m. on legislation authorizing the Keystone XL pipeline and expediting subsequent judicial review.   The Energy panel of E&C will mark up the legislation while Resources will dig deeper into the case for/against the pipeline.  Jeffrey Soth of the International Union of Operating Engineers, Charles Drevna of the American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers, Ross Eisenberg of the National Association of Manufacturers and Steve Kretzmann of Oil Change International will testify at Resources.

WAPA Forum to Focus on Feasibility of ZEV Mandate – The Washington Automotive Press Association (WAPA) will hold its April luncheon on Wednesday at Noon in the National Press Club.  Mike Stanton, president and CEO of the Association of Global Automakers, will explore issues related to the feasibility of Zero-Emissions Vehicle mandates and other transportation policy issues.  As automakers work to meet the new national fuel economy regulations, they are also faced with the challenge of complying with California’s Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) program. Between MY 2018 and MY 2025, the ZEV sales “mandate” will require manufacturers to sell approximately 5 million ZEVs cumulatively in California and the nine states that have adopted the program, regardless of market conditions and infrastructure availability.  Stanton, a trusted voice for the auto industry, will outline the ZEV program and how the government can play an active role to help bring alternative fuels, advanced technology vehicles, and the necessary infrastructure to the marketplace.

Brookings Event to Look at Arctic Energy – On Wednesday, the Energy Security Initiative at Brookings will host a forum to discuss the implications of greater Arctic energy and natural resource development and to assess how the international community can best cooperate to ensure that such developments are done in an environmentally and socially sustainable manner. The forum will begin with keynote remarks from Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson, President of Iceland, and Kuupik Kleist, a member of Parliament of Greenland and former Greenland prime minister. Other speakers include the incoming Chair of the Senior Arctic Officials of the Arctic Council, Patrick Borbey; David Hayes, deputy secretary of the U.S. Department of Interior; and Mead Treadwell, lieutenant governor of the State of Alaska.

ACORE to Look at Future of Solar – On Wednesday at Noon, ACORE will hold a webinar on the future of the solar industry.  The press reports from the solar industry can seem grim, with numerous stories about struggling companies, delayed projects and global competition. But do these news reports tell the whole story?  Are the challenges facing the solar industry a sign of failure or evidence of the maturing of the industry?  In fact, the dramatic drop in the price of solar panels has accelerated the installation of solar around the country, even as some panel manufacturers struggle. Our speakers will discuss recent developments in the solar industry and give predictions for the future.

Senate Energy to Look at DOE Budget – On Thursday, April 18, the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee will hold a hearing to consider the president’s proposed budget for the Department of Energy for fiscal year 2014.  They will also look at the Forest Service Budget tomorrow. 

RFF Forum Addresses Emissions, Electric Cars – Resources for the Future will hold an Academic Series event on Thursday at 9:30 a.m. looking at spatial and temporal heterogeneity of marginal emissions and the implications for electric cars and other electricity-shifting policies. Erin Mansur, Associate Professor, Department of Economics, Dartmouth College and Research Associate, National Bureau of Economic Research will present.  RFF has developed a methodology for estimating marginal emissions of electricity demand that vary by location and time of day across the United States. The approach takes account of the generation mix within interconnected electricity markets and shifting load profiles throughout the day.   Using data available for 2007 through 2009, researchers found substantial variation among locations and times of day. Marginal emission rates are more than three times as large in the upper Midwest compared to the western United States, and within regions, rates for some hours of the day are more than twice those for others.

Forum to Look at Private Climate Finance – Several groups will sponsor a forum on Thursday at 10:30 a.m. at the Institute for Policy Studies to look at approaches to private climate finance.  Mobilizing private finance and investment in the private sector have been held up by many governments and international financial institutions as the way forward for both climate and development finance in an age of fiscal austerity. At this timely forum panelists will explore the outcomes of support for private finance at the CIFs and the IFC to draw lessons for both the World Bank Group and the UN Green Climate Fund, the world’s newest multilateral climate fund. Sponsoring organizations include ActionAid USA; Aksi! for gender, social and ecological justice; Bretton Woods Project; Center for International Environmental Law; Friends of the Earth U.S.; Heinrich Boell Foundation; Institute for Policy Studies; ‘Ulu Foundation.

Sustainable Expo Set – The National Sustainable Design Expo will be held on Thursday and Friday on the National Mall between 13th and 14th Streets hundreds of students, scientists, nonprofits, and feds display their innovations for the environment. Students compete for EPA’s P3 Award and exhibitors showcase their ideas for achieving sustainability for the planet.

Experts to Address Keystone Politics – Climate Desk Live will hold its next event on Thursday at 6:30 p.m. at the University of California Washington Center focused on the Keystone XL pipeline debate.   Chris Mooney will host the debate and discussion between some of the leading voices on this issue, including David Roberts, Grist magazine, who has been covering Keystone regularly and recently wrote about the “Virtues of Being Unreasonable on Keystone;” Michael Levi, director of the program on Energy Security and Climate Change at the Council on Foreign Relations, and author of the new book The Power Surge: Energy, Opportunity, and the Battle For America’s Future (Oxford, May 2013), where he writes that combating climate change will require “doing deals [with those] who want to expand production of oil and gas;” and Michael Grunwald, senior national correspondent for Time magazine, author of The New New Deal: The Hidden Story of Change in the Obama Era, who recently declared that on Keystone, “I’m with the Tree Huggers!”

Richardson to Speak at JHU – The Johns Hopkins School for Advanced International Studies (SAIS) will host a forum on Friday at 4:00 p.m. in its Bernstein-Offit Building – 500 to have Bill Richardson, former governor of New Mexico and former U.S. secretary of Energy discuss “The Role of the International Council for Science and the Environment.”

FUTURE EVENTS

EARTH DAY – Monday, April 22^nd and three-year anniversary of Macondo Spill.

Forum to Discuss Climate – Next Monday, the occasion of the launch of the 2013 Arctic Summer College, the Center for Strategic and International Studies’ (CSIS) Europe Program and the Ecologic Institute will host William M. Eichbaum, vice president of Marine and Arctic Policy of the World Wildlife Fund, Mr. R. Andreas Kraemer, director of the Ecologic Institute, and Dr. Kelly K. Falkner, director of Polar Programs of the National Science Foundation for a conversation on the environmental and social impacts of a rapidly changing Arctic.  Panelists will discuss the consequences of reduced sea ice extent and thickness and the environmental and policy implications of destabilized and diminished ice sheets for fisheries and shipping, intensified storms and ocean temperatures, acidification, and salinity. The Arctic Summer College creates a network of emerging leaders and experts that are brought together for 8 weeks in web-based seminars and online discussion. The program aims to build a lasting, policy-oriented network of Arctic professionals to strengthen communication between peoples and nations, scientific disciplines, policy areas, and across the science-policy interface to improve environmental governance in the Arctic region. CSIS and WWF, along with IUCN, and the Embassy of Canada, Berlin, are partners in collaboration with Ecologic Institute for the Arctic Summer College.

Lane to Address JHU Forum – Former AEI expert and current Hudson Institute fellow Lee Lane will address a Johns Hopkins University DC Center forum at Noon on Monday. The United States is in the midst of an oil and gas boom. Hydraulic fracturing (HF) is one of the technologies that have enabled the large increases in income and wealth that are now helping to sustain an economic recovery that is in other respects pale and troubled.  However, rising environmental problems surrounding the booming oil and gas sector have called forth a new regulatory system, much of it focused on HF. The large growth in drilling clearly demanded an augmented regulatory regime. Yet too much regulation, or the wrong kind, could smother the boom and forfeit its huge benefits.  The issue of the proper division of labor between state and federal regulators has emerged as central. In Congress, the proposed “FRAC Act” would drastically increase federal control.

Russian Experts to Discuss Energy Future – Next Monday at 6:00 p.m. at GW University’s Harry Harding Auditorium, Room 213, DPE Professional Foreign Service Fraternity and the Institute for European, Russian, and Eurasian Studies will host two Russia scholars, Dr. Robert W. Orttung and Mr. Oleg Kozloksy, to discuss the key energy and domestic political challenges facing Russia over the next decade.  Orttung is Associate Research Professor of International Affairs and Assistant Director of the Institute for European, Russian, and Eurasian Studies. Fulbright Scholar Kozlovsky is a Ph.D. Student in the Higher School of Economics, Moscow.

GW Solar Conference to Feature Wellinghoff, Turner, BrightSource – The George Washington University will hold its 5^th annual Solar Symposium Solar Going Global on Tuesday April 23^rd in SMPA’s Jack Morton Auditorium.  The event is the largest annual solar energy conference in Washington, DC. As in previous years, the Symposium will feature high-level speakers with globally recognized expertise in solar policy, technology, and industry. Past speakers have included Maja Wessels, Executive VP of Public Affairs for First Solar; Jon Wellinghoff, Chairman of FERC; Hans-Josef Fell, German Member of Parliament and author of the feed-in tariff legislation; Representative Gabrielle Giffords and Ted Turner, entrepreneur and philanthropist.  The 2013 Symposium will be an important event for solar energy. Sessions will cover expansion of photovoltaics and solar thermal electric to new global markets; and leadership in the private sector from key corporations.  First Solar, SunPower, SunEdison, BrightSource, Solar Reserve, and Abengoa will all be attending.

Farrell to Headline Chamber Energy CEO Leadership Event – The Institute for 21^st Century Energy and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation will hold a CEO Leadership Series luncheon on Thursday, April 23^rd at Noon featuring Dominion Energy CEO Thomas Farrell. 

JHU Forum to Look at Europe Climate Experience – The Johns Hopkins Washington, DC Center will host a forum on Tuesday, April 23 at 12:00 p.m. on climate and energy policy for the long-term looking at experience from Europe its implications for the US.  The European Union (EU) has set itself the ambitious goal of decarbonizing its economy over the next four decades. Germany has gone a step further by setting quantitative greenhouse gas, renewable, and energy efficiency targets for 2030, 2040 and 2050 while also phasing out nuclear power – how will Europe achieve these goals, and what is the role of the US? Duwe’s presentation will provide background on the EU and German policy experience as well as the state of discussions on the next emission reduction steps to be taken – with an eye to climate policy developments in the United States.

Hydrogen, Fuel Cell Expo Set for Hill – The House Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Caucus will host a Fuel Cell and Hydrogen EXPO and POLICY FORUM Wednesday, April 24^th from 10:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. in 345 Cannon.  The forum will include Congressional and Administration speakers as well as a panel of state experts.

WRI to release Unburnable Carbon Report – The World Resources Institute will host a forum on Wednesday, April 24^th at 3:00 p.m. looking at unburnable carbon issues and its impacts.  WRI and the Carbon Tracker Initiative will roll out its 2013 report.  The London based Carbon Tracker Initiative’s first report Unburnable Carbon published in 2011 has become the reference text for investors and policymakers on this issue. This new report provides essential insight for participants in capital markets, bringing investors, regulators, analysts, ratings agencies and policymakers together to tackle the risk of fossil fuel reserves on financial markets.  This report reveals the extent to which listed companies continue to explore for new reserves in spite of this warning, spending billions every year in exploration and development, although some two-thirds of known reserves of fossil fuels will have to stay in the ground to have any chance of ensuring a stable climate. This has implications for the way in which companies are valued, how capital is raised and capital markets are regulated.

Island President Screening Set – DC NetImpact Climate Change Series presents in partnership with the Carbon War Room a special Earth Day Screening of “The Island President” on Wednesday, April 24^th at 6:00 p.m. at the West End Cinema.  The event will feature a Keynote Address by President of Carbon War Room Jose Maria Figueres followed by screening of “The Island President” and special panel of Island Experts upon conclusion of film.  Panelists will include Mark Crowdis of Reznick Think Energy, Brett Howell of the Georgia Aquarium and David Schwartz of the Carbon War Room.  Our friend Marc Gunther, Writer for Fortune and GreenBiz is expected to moderate. 

Worldwatch to Release Renewables Reports – On Thursday, April 25^th, at 10:30 a.m., Rep. Rush Holt, the Worldwatch Institute, and the Renewable Energy Policy Network for the 21st Century (REN21) will be holding a policy briefing on the status and future of renewable energy in the United States and around the world in 121 Cannon.  The event features insights from leading renewable energy experts as well as from two newly released REN21 publications: 1) the Renewables 2013 Global Status Report and 2) Renewables Global Futures Report. Speakers will include Mohamed El-Ashry of the UN Foundation, Christine Lins of REN21, Renewables Global Futures Report Author Eric Martinot and Worldwatch Institute’s Alexander Ochs.

Senate Energy to Look at Drought Issues – On Thursday, April 25^th at 10:00 a.m., the Senate Energy Committee will hold a hearing to explore the effect of drought on energy and water management.

Webinar to Look at Military Biofuel Use – DOE will present a live webcast titled “Biomass and the Military” on Thursday, April 25, from 10:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time. The Energy Department’s Bioenergy Technologies Office staff members will discuss the joint efforts between the Energy Department and U.S. Navy to use biopower and biofuels in military vehicles. The webinar will provide an overview and recent updates on the plans and goals laid out by the Defense Production Act and the Innovative Pilot- and Demonstration-Scale funding opportunity. Both funding projects will develop novel processes and provide extensive opportunities to prepare for eventual commercialization, helping the Energy Department meet its goals of creating reliable, sustainable, domestic biofuels to increase U.S. energy independence.

The American Foundry Society (AFS) is hosting their annual Government Affairs Conference on Wednesday, May 1^st at the J.W. Marriott Hotel in Washington, D.C.  My colleague Jeff Holmstead will address over 80 owners and plant managers on what they can expect from EPA in the next 12 to 24 months, including new regulations to limit greenhouse gas emissions at existing power plants.  Of particular interest to these manufacturers is the upcoming ozone rule.

WINDPOWER 2013 – May 5^th through 8^th in Chicago, IL.  Iowa Governor Terry Branstad will be the Keynote Speaker.

Senate Energy Planning Three NatGas Forums – The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee’s leaders will hold three round-table discussions in May to explore the issues of domestic gas production, proposed exports and whether the country’s pipelines can meet growing demand.  The committee will hold three public forums over a seven-day period starting on Thursday, May 16^th when the committee will hold a forum on infrastructure, transportation, research and innovation.  They will discuss the next applications for natural gas, the adequacy of the nation’s pipeline infrastructure and the use of gas in the transportation sector.  On Tuesday, May 21^st, a forum on “domestic supply and exports will focus on estimates of how much gas the United States has and how production may expand if the federal government allows exports of liquefied gas to move forward.  The last forum on Thursday, May 23^rd will look at best practices and environmental concerns. 

Congressional Renewable Expo Set – The 16^th Annual Congressional Renewable Energy & Energy Efficiency EXPO + Forum will be held on Wednesday – June 12^th from 9:30 am – 4:30 pm in the Cannon Caucus Room.  Speakers will be announced as we get closer.

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The full campaign included 18 articles and four videos which were disseminated by e-mail, posted on our website, and promoted on social media.

See the full 2013 Legal Marketing Association awards program here.  We’re on page 20!

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I hope everyone had a great weekend and now is prepping for tonight’s NCAA Men’s and tomorrow’s NCAA Women’s final March Madness games.  Louisville is making a play for just the second Men’s/Women double.  Standing in the way on the women’s side is (of course) UConn, half of the UConn duo that accomplished it in 2004.  On the men’s side, it is player of the year Trey Burke and the young Michigan Wolverines that are looking to bounce the Cardinals.  As a Michigan native, I have to rout for Blue.  Sorry Bruggers, I know you’re torn…

Even with the hoop dreams, we really turn our attention to Augusta, Georgia for Masters Week.  I suspect we’ll see a lot of coverage of Condi Rice (she has already played a round with Phil Mickelson) as the players prep for the PGA’s first and most glorious major.  The Valero Texas Open in wonderful San Antonio was a great lead-in (especially for Rory McIlroy who finished 2^nd and was only thwarted by Martin Laird’s final round 63) to this week’s event.  And Speaking of Valero, did you see they took over the Watergate gas station that was always notorious for the region’s and maybe the nation’s highest prices?  It has been converted to a Valero station and its price dropped dramatically to just over the national average. 

Just so you know were not all about sports over here at B&G, we’re also excited to let you know that the 67^th National Debate Tournament (college debate national championship) was held recently at Weber State in Utah.  Bracewell debate alumni include Segal (a national champion debate at Emory U), Josh Zive and Ana Nikolic, who was one of the judges in this year’s competition.  Emporia State (Kansas) was this year’s winner, defeating the team from Northwestern, 3-2 in a hard fought final.  ESU’s Ryan Wash and Elijah Smith also captured the Cross Examination Debate Association national tournament a week earlier, a first for collegiate debate. Besides ESU and NU, the semifinalists included Georgetown University and University of Oklahoma, while the Elite 8 included West Georgia University, the University of Michigan, Wake Forest University and a second OU team.

Despite the Masters TVs/computers set on Thursday and Friday for golf, this week Congress returns with lots of action and three big topics on its plate: confirmation hearings for Secretary of Energy Nominee Ernest Moniz on Tuesday in Senate Energy, release of the President’s Budget on Wednesday and EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy’s hearing on Thursday in Senate Environment.  As you know, we are happy to comment on the play-by-play and may know  a thing or two about what questions are being posed and why.   Also, below I have provide our lineup of Budget experts by topic.  On the hearings, our former EPA air office head Jeff Holmstead (202-828-5852), all-around energy/environ  expert Scott Segal (202-828-5845) and former DOE counsel Salo Zelermyer (202-828-1718) are all ready to help.  

Given the confirmation hearings this week, our friends Sam Thernstrom, Armand Cohen and Dave Garman released an interesting report this past week aimed at reforming the DOE programs to better meet its mission, which I mention in detail below.  They discuss it in an op-ed in The Hill as well.  

Also on the Hill on Friday, my colleague Scott Segal testifies before House Energy Commerce as they markup legislation focused on shielding consumers from higher energy costs, while Wednesday, small manufacturers head to House Small Business to discuss simplifying he tax code.  (my colleague George Felcyn has the details: 202-828-1715)

Finally, for you country music fans, congrats to Luke Bryan, Jason Aldean and Miranda Lambert who were the big winners at last night’s 48^th annual Academy of Country Music Awards.   As most of you know, I’m a bit of a rocker, but I thought it important to highlight the country awards.  And because country music makes me sad, I also wanted to remind you that that Friday was a tough day because 19 years and 11 years to the day respectively that Kurt Cobain (Nirvana) and Lane Staley (Alice In Chains) died.   While I have mixed feelings about the day because the way both died, there was no doubt that in a Nutshell, I enjoyed All Apologies…    I know, it was Dumb.  I have No Excuses.  Call with Questions

Frank Maisano
(202) 828-5864
c. (202) 997-5932

IN THE NEWS

Budget Set for Release Wednesday – The Obama administration is set to release its budget this Wednesday, offering political hints about where the administration is positioning its post-election strategy.  While much of the discussion has been on politics and potential cuts in Social Security from President Obama, there will be some focus on energy/environment.  But remember, it’s largely symbolic as any White House budget proposal is usually dead on arrival on the Hill.

How We Can Help – The Bracewell PRG team is ready to help with background, information and resources to discuss your budget questions: 

•         Appropriation/Budget Process: Ed Krenik (202) 828-5877

•         Environment/EPA: Scott Segal (202) 828-5845; Jeff Holmstead (202) 828-5852

•         Enforcement: Rich Alonso (202) 828-5861

•         Interior/Drilling: Jim Noe, Hercules Offshore (713) 301-6797

•         International Trade Issues: Josh Zive (202) 828-5838

•         Energy/Loan Guarantees/Stimulus Funding/Nuclear: Salo Zelermyer (202) 828-1718

•         Taxes: Mike Pate (202) 828-5841

•         Natural Gas Issues: Jason Hutt (202) 828-5850, Lowell Rothschild (202) 828-5817

•         SEC Climate Risk: Kevin Ewing (202) 828-7638, Paul Maco (202) 828-5821

•         FERC/Transmission: Greg Williams (202) 828-5815, Cathy McCarthy (202) 828-5839

•         FERC/Pipeline Issues: Mark Lewis (202) 828-5834, Kirk Morgan (202) 828-5854

•         CFTC, Trading: David Perlman (202) 828-5804.

New Drilling Rules Raise Some Concerns – The Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement issued a new offshore-drilling safety rule requiring the safety and environmental management systems of energy firms to be assessed by third parties. The rule would also authorize rig workers to shut down operations during emergencies. Our friend, Jim Noe, executive at Hercules Offshore, said the industry hasn’t been waiting for policy directives to build a strong safety culture.  Despite the failures that led to the Macondo blowout in April 2010, the offshore energy industry has long been one of the leading industries in building and maintaining a strong culture of safety.  Noe says Hercules takes safety seriously not because the federal government tells us to do so, but because the most important thing that industry can do is to bring our employees back home safely.   Noe: “Most companies had adopted – or were in the process of adopting – SEMS long before BSEE mandated operators to produce SEMS.  Many operators are ISO 9001 certified, and mandate that their employees attend a multi-day behavioral-based training program.  It has been standard practice for years to hand every employee – regardless of rank or position – “stop work authority”.  In fact, it is policy at a number of companies that employees are not just given the authority to shut a rig down, but are told that it is their personal obligation to exercise that authority whenever they perceive that it necessary.  Companies throughout the industry have been taking these steps for many years prior to the Macondo blowout.   Noe added SEMS II can work provided that regulators agree that safe and responsible production should be allowed to take place in the Gulf. 

CIBO Asks For Boiler MACT Reconsideration – The Council of Industrial Boiler Owners and the American Chemistry Council filed an administrative petition for reconsideration on the final rule, asking EPA to revise the definition of the startup period.  The standards are expected to cost boiler owners $490 million annually.  EPA will require only coal-fired area source boilers to meet emissions limits for mercury and carbon monoxide. Under the final rule, small coal-fired boilers of less than 10 million Btus per hour of heat input, biomass boilers, and oil-fired boilers will have to meet the standards through work practices or management practices, not emission limits. CIBO’ President Bob Bessette believes achievable and environmentally-protective emission standards are possible within the existing Clean Air Act framework.  Bessette: “While EPA has made significant improvements to its original rules, there remain some issues that should be addressed, if not by EPA then by the court.  CIBO hopes that EPA will reconsider several issues so that CIBO can work with EPA to fix them administratively, but if EPA decides to not grant any more review, CIBO has filed a Petition to pursue the remaining issues in court.”

EPA To Reconsider 2011 Second Gen Biofuel Targets – EPA said it will voluntarily reconsider its 2011 target for next-generation biofuels last week in a court filing with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.   The dustup rolls on as oil industry trade groups push back against EPA’s decision to mandate millions of  gallons of cellulosic biofuel.  Last year they petitioned the agency to retroactively change the standard, saying they were being forced to pay penalties for not blending fuel that does not yet exist.  Earlier, EPA rescinded the 2012 cellulosic renewable volume obligation (RVO) following the court’s decision to vacate the 2012 cellulosic RVO.   They are also calling on EPA to revise its 2013 standard as well.

Report Challenges Next Secretary to Reform, Restructure Focus on Energy Innovation –  Speaking of confirmation hearings, two nonprofit organizations have released a comprehensive blueprint for reform and restructuring of DOE to refocus its work on energy innovation.  The report, Putting Energy Innovation First: Recommendations to Refocus, Reform, and Restructure the U.S. Department of Energy, is the product of a bipartisan collaboration between the Clean Air Task Force, an environmental organization focused on low emissions energy development, and the Energy Innovation Reform Project, a conservative organization working to promote innovation in advanced energy technologies and practices. The report was written by David Garman, former undersecretary of energy in the George W. Bush administration, in collaboration with Armond Cohen, executive director of Clean Air Task Force, and Samuel Thernstrom, executive director of the Energy Innovation Reform Project.  Their work drew upon extensive research and collaboration with dozens of experts in the field, from the energy industry, government, academia, and energy innovation advocacy organizations.  Putting Innovation First examines DOE’s basic institutional structure, which is not well suited to a focus on the energy innovation challenges of today. For example, basic and applied energy research and development activities are managed across a variety of offices, each under the direction of different undersecretaries. These activities are not well coordinated, and are not guided by an enduring, objective portfolio review process. The report stresses that “linking these activities under a common, coherent organizational structure is imperative.”  Furthermore, the department’s applied research offices are “stovepiped” into separate offices for different technologies (i.e., the Office of Fossil Energy, the Office of Nuclear Energy, the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, etc.). Each of these offices “demonstrate a predictable bureaucratic tendency to become a cheerleader for their particular energy source rather than pursuing the most promising technology solutions in a more holistic context,” the report concludes.  The result is that budget recommendations and congressional appropriations are made through a process that is far more political and/or ideological than analytical.

So What Are the Recommendations – To reform and refocus DOE’s research activities, the report makes a number of key recommendations, including 1) Consolidation of the Energy and Science programs under a single under secretary; 2) Breaking the technology-specific silos for applied energy R&D program offices and replacing them with offices focused on end use (i.e., an Office of Power and Grid Technologies, an Office of Transportation and Fuel Technologies, and an Office of Advanced Energy Efficiency Technologies); 3) The National Laboratories should be freed from DOE’s procedural micromanagement and evaluated instead on their progress in overcoming specific technology challenges and other strategic outcomes; 4) Strongly emphasizes the unique importance of public-private research partnerships.  The report stresses that “DOE needs to engage in earlier-stage, collaborative discussions with global energy providers to plan the basic and applied research that could yield the greatest benefits for technology advancement.  5) Finally, to complement the work of these early-stage research consortia, the report identifies the need for further analysis of ways to move innovative technologies to commercial scale demonstration without picking winners or exposing taxpayers to excessive risk. Rather than adopting a “one size fits all” approach, the report suggests that construction of large-scale, first-of-a-kind commercial technology demonstrations should be undertaken by outside private sector consortia, assisted as necessary by alternative sources of patient capital, federal tax holidays, targeted grants, or special funding arrangements.

Report: Global wind installations reached 44,000 MW in 2012 – Global wind installations hit a record high of 44,000 megawatts in new capacity despite policy uncertainty in leading wind markets, according to data from Navigant Research.  These gains boost the world’s overall wind capacity to more than 280,000 MW. The wind industry in the U.S. installed new facilities with capacity of 13,100 MW last year, raising the country’s total wind capacity to 60,000 MW. New wind installations around the world are expected to decline to about 40,000 MW in 2013.  

GOING ON THIS WEEK

Forum to Look at Africa, Climate Issues – The Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars will hold a forum today at 3:00 p.m. to look at Africa ‘s population dynamics, climate change and sustainable development.  A large share of the population of Africa is living in marginalized areas that are susceptible to climate variation and extreme weather events. Population growth is occurring most rapidly in sub-Saharan Africa, increasing vulnerability to the projected impacts of climate change. Incorporating population dynamics into climate change mitigation and adaptation in these areas can help organizations better understand and address these challenges, yet issues like access to family planning, reproductive health, and women’s education and empowerment are rarely considered in climate change planning.  The African Institute for Development Policy recently conducted a study in collaboration with Population Action International to analyze the challenges and opportunities for incorporating population considerations into climate change and development interventions in sub-Saharan Africa. The results highlight policy and program implications in Kenya and Malawi and will help guide responses to climate change that include population dynamics and work towards sustainable development.  Speakers will include Eliya Msiyaphazi Zulu, of the African Institute for Development Policy, Clive Mutunga of Population Action International and Abigail Jones of Climate Advisers.

Conference Looks at Nuclear Issues – The 2013 Carnegie International Nuclear Policy Conference is On-going today and tomorrow at the Ronald Reagan International Trade Center.   The conference will bring together over 800 experts and officials from more than 45 countries and international organizations to discuss emerging trends in nuclear energy, nuclear nonproliferation, strategic stability, deterrence, and disarmament.

Moniz Nomination Hearing Set – Tomorrow at 10:00 a.m. , the Senate Energy Committee will hold a hearing to consider the nomination of Dr. Ernest Moniz to be the next Secretary of Energy. Former U.S. Senator and Energy Committee Chair Jeff Bingaman and former Bush NSC advisor Brent Scowcroft will also testify. 

EMA Seminar to Look at RGGI Changes – The Environmental Markets Assn will continue its 2013 Webinar Series tomorrow at 11:00 a.m. looking at the proposed RGGI rule changes and the impacts on industry.  Dominion’s Gary Payne will moderate that includes Maine PUC Commissioner David Littell, Chris MacCracken of ICF International and Bill Shobe of the University of Virginia

CSIS Forum to Look at Water Issues – CSIS will hold the 17^th annual NCAC Washington Energy Policy Conference tomorrow to examine the energy-water nexus with a specific focus on water management issues relative to electric power generation. The availability of clean and reliable water resources is a critical issue across the North America and throughout the world. Electricity production is the second largest consumer of water in the United States, after agriculture. This one-day conference will feature experts to discuss some of the most central issues related to water and electricity use:  the technological opportunities and financial challenges of; the regulatory and environmental outlooks; and insights into the regional U.S. and international dynamics. Recently, the U.S. Department of State released its draft Supplement Environmental Impact Statement on the Keystone XL pipeline, which, if approved by the Obama administration, would connect Canada’s oil sands with U.S. refineries in the Gulf Coast. The debate surrounding the pipeline has brought increased attention to the Canadian province of Alberta,—which, with an estimated 170 billion barrels—is home to the world’s third-largest proven reserves of oil.

EPA Webinar to Look at University Wind Purchases – EPA’s Green Power Partnership will host a webinar tomorrow at 1:00 p.m. examining how colleges and universities can procure wind power via long-term power purchase agreements.  To date, the vast majority of colleges and universities purchasing wind power have used short-term contracts (1–3 years) for utility products or renewable energy certificates (RECs). Only recently have a few leading universities purchased wind via long-term (10+ years) PPAs. This webinar will highlight the experiences of The Ohio State University, Oklahoma State University, and the University of Oklahoma in exploring long-term wind power contracts and the questions and issues that other schools investigating this procurement option should consider.  Speakers Include EPA’s Green Power Partnership Blaine Collison, Aparna Dial, Energy Services and Sustainability Director at The Ohio State University, Brian Ellis of the University of Oklahoma and James Rosner, Utilities Director at Oklahoma State University.

Alberta Premier to Speak at Brookings – The Energy Security Initiative at Brookings will host Alison Redford, the premier of Alberta, tomorrow at 2:00 p.m. for a discussion on the Alberta-U. S. energy relationship, environmental efforts undertaken by her administration, and the Keystone XL pipeline.  Senior Fellow Charles Ebinger, director of the Energy Security Initiative, will provide introductory remarks. Brookings Trustee Daniel Yergin, chairman of Cambridge Energy Research Associates, will moderate the discussion with Premier Redford to include questions from the audience.

JHU Forum to Look at Climate Book – The Johns Hopkins University will host a forum tomorrow at 4:30 p.m. in the Rome Building Auditorium to discuss a new book on Climate change and Global Policy regimes.   Timothy Cadman, research fellow at Griffith University’s Key Center for Ethics, Law, Justice and Governance and editor of Climate Change and Global Policy Regimes: Towards Institutional Legitimacy, and Andrea Simonelli, contributing author, will discuss their new book “Climate Change and Global Policy Regimes: Towards Institutional Legitimacy.”

Manufacturing to Testify at House Small Biz Tax Reform Hearing – The House Small Business Committee will hold a hearing on Wednesday at 1:00 p.m. in 2360 Rayburn on simplifying and reforming small business taxes.  Sam Griffith, President and CEO of the National Jet Company and a member of the Board of the National Tooling & Machining Association, will testify.  National Jet is structured as an S-Corporation, which means it pays taxes at the individual rate, just as do 70%  of all manufacturers who are also passthrough entities.  For additional information and to arrange an interview contact my colleague George Felcyn at 202-828-1715.

Marine Renewable Conference Set – The Global Marine Renewable Energy Conference will be held at the Almas Temple Club on Wednesday and Thursday to provide a venue where technical experts from across disciplines can publish and present cutting-edge wave and water current energy research that helps accelerate the pace of technology development.

Dorgan Headlines GW Conference on Sustainable Energy – The George Washington University Law School, The Environmental Law Institute and The Constellation Energy Foundation will hold a two-day conference on Wedensday and Thursday at GWU’s Jacob Burns Moot Court Room on legal and policy challenges that are laying the foundation for a sustainable energy future.  This conference – the first of an anticipated series of such meetings exploring the evolution of the U.S. energy networks between now and 2030 – will invite thought leaders to focus on the capital deployment, technology development, and public policy changes that are critically needed to produce a more sustainable energy supply system by 2030.  Most importantly, the program is designed, not to generate a “want list” of legal and technological improvements, but to confront the difficult overlap between environmental, energy, national defense, and societal benefit concerns where key decisions must be made in light of highly sensitive trade-offs and accommodations. The program will explore how we might design an improved energy system that is “built to last” and serves the broadest array of public interests – reliability, security, cost, minimal harm to the physical environment, human safety, competition and ease of market entry, technological innovation, equitable burden sharing, regard for intergenerational impacts –while minimizing regional conflicts and short-term “stimulus and response” policies.  The Keynote speaker is former ND Sen. Byron Dorgan.  Other speakers include API’s John Felmy, INGAA’s Don Santa , Army Corps Assistant Secretary of Installations, Energy & Environment Katherine Hammack and former FERC Commissioner Suedeen Kelly, among many others. 

CAP Forum to Look at Carbon Markets, Interconnection – The Center for American Progress will hold a forum on Wednesday at Noon looking at the potential evolution of the U.S. economic and political relationship with the European Union, Australia, and Canada through the linking of carbon markets with markets in California and RGGI states. The event will feature a report from FORES, Linking Emissions Trading Systems in EU and California, by Lars Zetterberg of the IVL Swedish Environmental Research Institute,  followed by a discussion about the advantages of linking carbon markets and the next steps for bilateral cooperation between the United States and the EU, Australia, and Canada.  Trading on the California carbon market began on January 1, 2013, as part of the states Global Warming Solutions Act the landmark bipartisan clean energy legislation that aims to cut greenhouse-gas pollution to 1990 levels by 2020. California’s carbon market, along with other programs designed to meet its greenhouse-gas reduction targets, are propelling the nation toward a cleaner energy future and have catalyzed billions of dollars in private-sector investment in clean energy in the state.  Featured Panelists will include Zetterberg, consultant Laurie Burt, Australian First Assistant Secretary of Adaptation, Science and Communications Division Harinder Sidhu and CARB’s Brian Turner.

Forum to Look at Self Driving Cars – The Information Technology and Innovation Forum will host a forum on Wednesday at Noon in B-338 Rayburn to discuss the social and economic case for autonomous vehicles.  The advent of autonomous vehicles is poised to transform the automobile industry as profoundly as the introduction of automated manufacturing assembly lines did nearly a century ago. This event will explore the social and economic case for welcoming the arrival of autonomous vehicles and explaining how they will deliver a range of benefits. The introduction of autonomous vehicles could significantly ameliorate the 36,500 traffic fatalities and $450 billion in economic losses that occur in the United States annually from traffic accidents, not to mention the $200 billion in economic losses and environmental damage from traffic congestion.  And while autonomous vehicles certainly hold the potential to disrupt a number of industries—from automobile manufacturers, dealers, servicers, financers, and insurers to taxicabs and the healthcare and legal professions—they will simultaneously create an opportunity for innovative firms to introduce a range of creative new business models.  Speakers will include ITIF  President Robert Atkinson, Bill Krenik of Texas Instruments, Toyota’s Jason Schulz and Google’s Chris Urmson, Leader of its Self-Driving Car Program.

DOE Webinar to Look at Energy 101– DOE will present a live Energy 101 webinar  on Wednesday at 2:00 p.m.  This webinar will cover the framework as it proposes teaching principles of energy from an interdisciplinary perspective, challenging college students at two- and four-year schools across the country to systematically explore the science and social science behind sound energy decision making.

Forum to Look at Climate, Extreme Weather – The Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars will hold a forum Wednesday at 3:00 p.m. to look at the outlook and impacts of extreme weather events that scientists see as connected to climate change.  Climate change manifests itself in ways far beyond a slowly rising global mean surface temperature. Scientific data is making  the public increasingly aware that a changing climate causes alterations in size, strength and frequency of storms, droughts, floods and other weather events, with significant potential consequences for public health, agriculture, biodiversity and social systems.  Speakers will include USDA Climate office director Bill Hohenstein, NOAA’s Tom Karl, Catherine Thomasson of Physicians for Social Responsibility, George Mason U’s Paul Schopf and Brazil Institute Director Paulo Sotero.

Forum to Discuss Energy Storage – The Electricity Storage Association (ESA) will hold a breakfast Thursday in B338 Rayburn to discuss energy storage technologies that are currently operating on our electric grid and the impact policy can have on that growth.   Industry experts and Members of Congress will also make a special announcement and update about energy storage applications already operating on the electric grid to make our system more efficient, resilient, and reliable.  Speakers will include Reps Chris Gibson (R-NY) and Mike Thompson (D-CA), as well as ESA Chair and AES Energy Storage CEO Chris Shelton. 

EPA McCarthy Nomination Hearing Set – On Thursday, the Senate Environment Committee will hold a hearing to consider the nomination of Gina McCarthy to be the next EPA Administrator.

House Energy Panel to Look at Coal Ash Legislation – The House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Environment and the Economy will hold a hearing at 10:30 a.m. on Thursday on draft coal ash legislation. 

House Approps Panel to Discuss Nuke Waste – The House Appropriations Committee’s Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development, and Related Agencies will conduct an oversight hearing on Thursday at 10:00 a.m. looking at nuclear waste programs and strategies.  Witnesses will include DOE’s Peter Lyons, NRC Deputy Executive Director for Operations for Materials, Waste, Research, State, Tribal, and Compliance Programs Michael Weber, GAO’s Frank Rusco, Blue Ribbon Commission on  America’s Nuclear Future Member Susan Eisenhower and Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board Chairman Rodney Ewing.

Pertamina CEO to Speak at CSIS – CSIS Southeast Asia Studies program and the Derwin Pereira Indonesia Initiative will hold a forum on Thursday  at 11:30 a.m. on sustainable energy in Southeast Asia.  The Keynote presentation will be given by Karen Agustiawan, CEO of Pertamina Indonesia’s state-owned energy company.  Running an integrated oil & gas business, Pertamina is one of the world’s largest producer and exporter of liquefied natural gas (LNG).  Agustiawan has had a long experience in the oil and gas industry. Before assuming her current position, she held positions with Halliburton Indonesia, CGG Petrosystems, Indonesia, and Mobil Oil. She currently sits on the International Council of Harvard University’s Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs

RFF Academic Brief to Discuss Energy Efficiency – RFF will hold its usual Academic Seminar on Thursday to discuss a handful of Property-Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) programs offered property-secured loans to homeowners for residential clean energy investments. This analysis uses difference-in-differences models and synthetic counterfactual models to estimate the effect of three California PACE programs on residential photovoltaic installations.  The Duke Nicholas School expert Lori Bennear will discuss.

Georgetown Prof to Look at Efficiency Gains, Impacts – The Inter-American Development Bank will host a discussion on Thursday at Noon with Georgetown University professor Arik Levinson, who will answer these and other questions with his latest study “California Energy Efficiency: Lessons for the Rest of the World, or Not?”  In the early 1970s, California’s energy consumption per capita began declining at almost one percent annually. Had other states’ energy use followed California’s trend, national energy consumption in 2009 would have been 20 percent lower—a difference in itself sufficient to achieve the Obama Administration’s goal of reducing U.S. greenhouse gas emissions to 17 percent below 2005 levels by 2020.

Forum to Look at US, Arab Energy Relations – The National Council on U.S.-Arab relations will host a forum on Thursday at 12:30 p.m. at Willkie Farr discuss energy relations between the U.S. and the Arab world.  Speakers will include John Hofmeister, Founder and Chief Executive of Citizens for Affordable Energy and former President of Shell Oil Company; Professor Paul Sullivan, Professor of Economics at National Defense University and Adjunct Professor at Georgetown University; and Ms. Randa Fahmy Hudome, President of Fahmy Hudome International and former Associate Deputy Secretary of Energy. 

House Panel to Look at Latin American Energy – The House Foreign Affairs Committee’s Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere will hold a hearing on Thursday at 3:00 p.m. in 2200 Rayburn looking at energy opportunities in Latin America and the Caribbean.  Witnesses will include State’s Carlos Pascual and Matt Rooney.   Others include Jorge Piñon of the Center for International Energy and Environmental Policy, Eric Farnsworth of the Council of the Americas and Americas Society and former DOE International Assistant Secretary David Goldwyn.

International Geothermal Forum Set – The Geothermal Energy Association will hold its International Geothermal Energy Finance Forum on Thursday at New York’s Marriott Marquis. The full day Forum will provide a daylong discussion featuring the leaders of geothermal development, private and public financing, and project risk and reward.  Confirmed speakers include The World Bank Group’s Energy Sector Management Assistance Program Manager Rohit Khanna, Jennifer Graham of the Prudential Capital Group, JP Morgan’s John Eber, Bloomberg New Energy Finance’s Head of Geothermal & CCS Research Mark Taylor, and MidAmerican Energy’s Jonathan Weisgall.

Segal testifies on Draft Legislation Aimed at Protecting Consumers – On Friday, April 12^th, the House Energy/Commerce panel on Energy and Power will hold a hearing on a draft legislation to help shield Americans from higher energy costs and provide greater transparency.  The “Energy Consumers Relief Act” will require that before EPA finalizes any new energy-related rules estimated to cost more than $1 billion, the agency must submit a report to Congress detailing certain cost, energy price, and job impacts, and the Secretary of Energy must make certain additional determinations relating to the rule. The Act would protect consumers by prohibiting EPA from finalizing those energy-related rules that are estimated to cost over $1 billion and that are determined to cause significant adverse effects to the economy.

House Approps Panel to Look at Military Environment Policies – The House Appropriations Committee’s Subcommittee on Military Construction, Veterans Affairs and Related Agencies will convene an oversight hearing on Friday at 10:30 a.m. that will address installations, environment, energy, and BRAC.  Witnesses will include DoD Deputy Under Secretary for Installations and Environment John Conger, Assistant Army Secretary for Installations, Energy and Environment Katherine Hammack, Deputy Assistant Secretary of  Installations and Environment for the Navy Roger Natsuhara and USAF Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Installations, Environment and Logistics Kathleen Ferguson.

JHU to Look at European Shale – The Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies will hold a forum on Friday at 2:30 p.m.  in the Bernstein-Offit Building  featuring Alan Riley, professor of competition and energy law and director of the Master of Laws Program at City University in London, and Don Jensen (moderator), senior fellow at the SAIS Center for Transatlantic Relations.  They will discuss whether Europe make any moves to go after its shale resources. 

FUTURE EVENTS

Press Club to Host Iceland President on Artic Energy – The National Press Club’s Speakers Committee will host a luncheon on Monday April 15^th with Iceland’s President Olafur Grimsson, who will address the global race for resources in the Arctic.  Grimsson, who is serving a record fifth term as the island nation’s president, has organized a group to promote collaboration among Arctic nations. Arctic Circle will convene for the first time in Reykjavik in October to discuss the impact of sea ice melt, concerns about security, managing the fisheries, shipping and mapping Arctic resources.  Grimsson, whose long career in politics that began after he became the first person from Iceland to earn a Ph.D. in political science, served for decades in Iceland’s legislature as a member of the People’s Alliance Party. From 1988 to 1991, he served as Iceland’s finance minister.

Zichel to Headline Forum on Climate Policy – On Monday  April 15^th, The Global Economy and Development at Brookings and Climate Policy Initiative will host a discussion on “The Policy Climate” and how findings from the report can influence future global climate policy. Climate Policy Initiative Senior Director David Nelson will give a short presentation, followed by a panel discussion. Panelists include Thomas C. Heller, CPI executive director; Heather Zichal, deputy assistant to the president for Energy and Climate Change in the White House Office of Energy and Climate Change Policy; and Jennifer Morgan, director the Climate and Energy Program at World Resources Institute. Brookings Senior Fellow Katherine Sierra will moderate the discussion.

Conference to Help Colleges, Universities on Sustainability – The 2013 Smart and Sustainable Campuses Conference will be held at the DoubleTree Hotel Bethesda, MD on Monday and Tuesday, April 15^th & 16^th to help Colleges and universities are incubators of innovation, tackling the biggest challenges of society through creative means.  The forum provides the setting to learn, share and explore how campuses are using their passion for innovation to develop technologies, infrastructure, programs and curricula that address the world’s most pressing sustainability challenges.  The conference’s plenary speakers will be Van Jones, Colin Beavan and NOAA’s Tom Karl.  

Vilsack Headlines Biofuels Conference – The Advanced Biofuels Leadership Conference 2013, the annual Leadership Week for advanced biofuels, renewable chemicals, and bio-based materials, will be held on Monday through Wednesday, April 15^th to 17^th at the Gaylord National resort Outside DC.   Speakers include USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack, our friends Michael McAdam’s of the Advanced Biofuels Assn and Valerie Sarisky-Reed (our daughters played lacrosse together), Acting Director, DOE Biomass Program, among others.

McCarthy, Nichols, UNFCCC Figueres to Address Carbon Conference – The 11^th annual Navigating the American Carbon World (NACW) will be held in San Francisco’s Palace Hotel April 16^th through 18^th.  The event is the largest and most comprehensive gathering for information and discussion around climate change policy and carbon markets.  NACW will take an in-depth look at California’s historic cap-and-trade program, including discussions on market structure, revenue allocation, legal issues and forecasts. The conference will also delve into other established and emerging carbon markets around the world and potential linkages. And, NACW will provide a platform for discussing offsets and offset supply, U.S. federal policies, and business leadership.  Speakers will include EPA’s Gina McCarthy, CARB head Mary Nichols, UNFCCC Executive Secretary Christiana Figueres and NWF President Larry Schweiger.

Forum to Look at NatGas, Air Pollution – Next Monday, April 15^th at 2:00 p.m. at George Mason University – Arlington Campus, the Center for Emerging Market Policies will present a presentation by Erdal Tekin on “Air Pollution and Infant Mortality: Evidence from the Expansion of Natural Gas Infrastructure.”

Pelosi, Steyer, LaHood Headline Green Jobs 2013 Conference – The 2013 Good Jobs, Green Jobs Conference will be held next Tuesday-Thursday, April 16-18^th at the Washington Hilton Hotel.  The event will focus on how to grow the clean economy to scale; the role of strategic partnerships between the public and private sectors in solving the country’s pressing economic and environmental challenges; how regulations protect us while creating new markets; and how people in every part of the U.S. are working collaboratively for social, economic and environmental justice, while building an economy with good jobs.  The conference is organized by the Blue Green Alliance, a partnership of organizations, working to expand the number and quality of jobs in the green economy.  Speakers will include Speaker Pelosi, Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, RI Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, Tom Steyer, Richard Trumpka of AFL-CIO and many others.  

Worldwatch to Launch Report – The Worldwatch Institute will launch the latest edition of its annual flagship report, “State of the World 2013: Is Sustainability Still Possible?” on Tuesday, April 16^th at 1:30 p.m.   Worldwatch President Robert Engelman and State of the World 2013 co-directors Erik Assadourian and Tom Prugh will be joined by report authors to present some of the key findings at this year’s State of the World Symposium.  In the latest edition of Worldwatch’s State of the World series, scientists, policy experts, and thought leaders attempt to restore meaning to the word sustainability and discuss how it should be measured, how we can attain it, and how we can prepare if we ultimately fall short.

USEA to Look at Vehicle Efficiency Improvements – The US Energy Assn will hold a forum on Tuesday, April 16^th at 2:00 p.m. on optimizing efficiency of existing internal combustion vehicles.  Automobile manufacturers are moving swiftly to adopt technological and design innovations to increase vehicle efficiency.  Improvements in aerodynamics, transmission technologies, tire design are seen as a first step down the path of sustainability.  Bill Craven, General Manager of Regulatory Affairs at Daimler, will kick off a series of discussions on the future of automobile transportation and the technological innovations that will transform vehicular mobility.  Future sessions will discuss alternative fuels, hybrid vehicles, electric/fuel cell vehicles and other innovations that will shape the future of automobile transportation.

WAPA Forum to Focus on Feasibility of ZEV Mandate – The Washington Automotive Press Association (WAPA) will hold its April luncheon on Wednesday April 17^th at Noon in the National Press Club.  Mike Stanton, president and CEO of the Association of Global Automakers, will explore issues related to the feasibility of Zero-Emissions Vehicle mandates and other transportation policy issues.  As automakers work to meet the new national fuel economy regulations, they are also faced with the challenge of complying with California’s Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) program. Between MY 2018 and MY 2025, the ZEV sales “mandate” will require manufacturers to sell approximately 5 million ZEVs cumulatively in California and the nine states that have adopted the program, regardless of market conditions and infrastructure availability.  Stanton, a trusted voice for the auto industry, will outline the ZEV program and how the government can play an active role to help bring alternative fuels, advanced technology vehicles, and the necessary infrastructure to the marketplace.

ACORE to Look at Future of Solar – On Wednesday April 17^th at Noon, ACORE will hold a webinar on the future of the solar industry.  The press reports from the solar industry can seem grim, with numerous stories about struggling companies, delayed projects and global competition. But do these news reports tell the whole story?  Are the challenges facing the solar industry a sign of failure or evidence of the maturing of the industry?  In fact, the dramatic drop in the price of solar panels has accelerated the installation of solar around the country, even as some panel manufacturers struggle. Our speakers will discuss recent developments in the solar industry and give predictions for the future.

Senate Energy to Look at DOE Budget – On Thursday, April 18, the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee will hold a hearing to consider the president’s proposed budget for the Department of Energy for fiscal year 2014.

RFF Forum Addresses Emissions, Electric Cars – Resources for the Future will hold an Academic Series event on Thursday, April 18^th at 9:30 a.m. looking at spatial and temporal heterogeneity of marginal emissions and the implications for electric cars and other electricity-shifting policies. Erin Mansur, Associate Professor, Department of Economics, Dartmouth College and Research Associate, National Bureau of Economic Research  will present.  RFF has developed a methodology for estimating marginal emissions of electricity demand that vary by location and time of day across the United States. The approach takes account of the generation mix within interconnected electricity markets and shifting load profiles throughout the day.   Using data available for 2007 through 2009, researchers found substantial variation among locations and times of day. Marginal emission rates are more than three times as large in the upper Midwest compared to the western United States, and within regions, rates for some hours of the day are more than twice those for others.

Sustainable Expo Set – The National Sustainable Design Expo will be held on Thursday, April 18^th and Friday, April 19^th on the National Mall between 13th and 14th Streets hundreds of students, scientists, nonprofits, and feds display their innovations for the environment. Students compete for EPA’s P3 Award and exhibitors showcase their ideas for achieving sustainability for the planet.

Experts to Address Keystone Politics – Climate Desk Live will hold its next event on  Thursday, April 18^th at 6:30 p.m. at the University of California Washington Center focused on the Keystone XL pipeline debate.   Chris Mooney will host the debate and discussion between some of the leading voices on this issue, including David Roberts, Grist magazine, who has been covering Keystone regularly and recently wrote about the “Virtues of Being Unreasonable on Keystone;” Michael Levi, director of the program on Energy Security and Climate Change at the Council on Foreign Relations, and author of the new book The Power Surge: Energy, Opportunity, and the Battle For America’s Future (Oxford, May 2013), where he writes that combating climate change will require “doing deals [with those] who want to expand production of oil and gas;” and Michael Grunwald, senior national correspondent for Time magazine, author of The New New Deal: The Hidden Story of Change in the Obama Era, who recently declared that on Keystone, “I’m with the Tree Huggers!”

Farrell to Headline Chamber Energy CEO Leadership Event – The Institute for 21^st Century Energy and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation will hold a CEO Leadership Series luncheon on Thursday, April 23rd at Noon featuring Dominion Energy CEO Thomas Farrell. 

Hydrogen, Fuel Cell Expo Set for Hill – The House Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Caucus will host a Fuel Cell and Hydrogen EXPO and POLICY FORUM Wednesday, April 24^th from 10:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. in 345 Cannon.  The forum will include Congressional and Administration speakers as well as a panel of state experts.

Worldwatch to Release Renewables Reports – On Thursday, April 25^th, at 10:30 a.m., Rep. Rush Holt, the Worldwatch Institute, and the Renewable Energy Policy Network for the 21st Century (REN21) will be holding a policy briefing on the status and future of renewable energy in the United States and around the world in 121 Cannon.  The event features insights from leading renewable energy experts as well as from two newly released REN21 publications: 1) the Renewables 2013 Global Status Report and 2) Renewables Global Futures Report. Speakers will include Mohamed El-Ashry of the UN Foundation, Christine Lins of REN21, Renewables Global Futures Report Author Eric Martinot and Worldwatch Institute’s Alexander Ochs.

Webinar to Look at Military Biofuel Use – DOE will present a live webcast titled “Biomass and the Military” on Thursday, April 25, from 10:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time. The Energy Department’s Bioenergy Technologies Office staff members will discuss the joint efforts between the Energy Department and U.S. Navy to use biopower and biofuels in military vehicles. The webinar will provide an overview and recent updates on the plans and goals laid out by the Defense Production Act and the Innovative Pilot- and Demonstration-Scale funding opportunity. Both funding projects will develop novel processes and provide extensive opportunities to prepare for eventual commercialization, helping the Energy Department meet its goals of creating reliable, sustainable, domestic biofuels to increase U.S. energy independence.

The American Foundry Society (AFS) is hosting their annual Government Affairs Conference on Wednesday, May 1^st at the J.W. Marriott Hotel in Washington, D.C.  My colleague Jeff Holmstead will address over 80 owners and plant managers on what they can expect from EPA in the next 12 to 24 months, including new regulations to limit greenhouse gas emissions at existing power plants.  Of particular interest to these manufacturers is the upcoming ozone rule.

WINDPOWER 2013 – May 5^th through 8^th in Chicago, IL.  Iowa Governor Terry Branstad will be the Keynote Speaker.

Senate Energy Planning Three NatGas Forums – The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee’s leaders will hold three round-table discussions in May to explore the issues of domestic gas production, proposed exports and whether the country’s pipelines can meet growing demand.  The committee will hold three public forums over a seven-day period starting on Thursday, May 16^th when the committee will hold a forum on infrastructure, transportation, research and innovation.  They will discuss the next applications for natural gas, the adequacy of the nation’s pipeline infrastructure and the use of gas in the transportation sector.  On Tuesday, May 21^st, a forum on “domestic supply and exports will focus on estimates of how much gas the United States has and how production may expand if the federal government allows exports of liquefied gas to move forward.  The last forum on Thursday, May 23^rd will look at best practices and environmental concerns. 

Congressional Renewable Expo Set – The 16^th Annual Congressional Renewable Energy & Energy Efficiency EXPO + Forum will be held on Wednesday – June 12^th from 9:30 am – 4:30 pm in the Cannon Caucus Room.  Speakers will be announced as we get closer.

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Well, I don’t about your NCAA pool performance, but mine pretty much blew up after the Florida Gulf Coast’s run to the Sweet 16, among other surprises.  It has been four exciting days though with many surprises.  But not surprised were Louisville, KU, Michigan/MSU, Indiana, Miami, Duke, etc.  Still lots of high-seeds remain.  Back to the NCAA grind on Thursday, but not before some golf today (Bay Hills/Tiger).

The NCAA Frozen Four draw is out following this past weekend’s conference tournaments.  Quinnipiac is the overall #1 seed (they do more than just high-stakes public opinion polling), with UMass-Lowell, Minnesota (yah-sure) and Notre Dame (the final CCHA Champ) rounding out the top seeds.  As always, dangerous teams are North Dakota (their longest-in-the-nation 11^th straight NCAA appearance despite being scrubbed of their longstanding “Fighting Sioux” nickname), Miami (Ohio), UNH, Boston College, Wisconsin and Yale.  Oh, and in case you missed it, UW-Eau Claire knocked off Oswego State 5-3 to win the NCAA D-III hockey title Saturday night.

Before we get to other things though, it seems the right time to take this week to reflect on the two of most important religious days we celebrate: Passover today and Easter Holy days this upcoming weekend.  My best wishes to all this week.  Please enjoy the time with your families.

As it is the Passover/Easter holiday week, there is not much happening.  Of course, much of the action on Congressional budgets and on ethanol and RINs went down last week.  I added a special section on the Senate Budget Vote-fest that occurred all-day/night Friday and into early Saturday morning.  The most politically-significant (but substantively-meaningless) budget vote was the Senate’s 62-37 endorsement of the Keystone XL pipeline with 17 Democrats supporting it.  You know that is going to really anger KXL opponents and true enviro believers.  Maybe billionaire Tom Steyer will bring his transformer Keystone billboards to DC after the Massachusetts Senate election he was “asked” to stay out of ends.  If they act this way over non-binding Budget votes, can you imagine how these groups/individuals may come unglued if/when the President approves Keystone?

I also have a special section on the debate over ethanol and RIN costs that goes beyond the silly finger pointing between “Big Oil” and Big Corn.”  While you all saw the back-and-forth between the API and RFI, our friends at Valero ought to be your interest point.  Valero is the world largest independent refiner and the second largest producer of ETHANOL.  They can get away from the finger pointing because they are involved on both sides and have more credibility.  My friend Bill Day at Valero (210-345-2928) is ready to help.

By the way, mark your calendars for next Thursday at the Press Club for an April 4^th Newsmaker that I will be hosting on the battle over bottled water.  I will have Nestle Water CEO Kim Jeffrey available to take your questions about the on-going effort to ban bottled water over environmental concerns in places like the University of Vermont and Concord, Massachusetts.   More than 90 colleges and universities have banned or restricted the sale of bottled water on campus.  It should be an interesting discussion.

Call with any questions.

Frank Maisano
(202) 828-5864
c. (202) 997-5932

BUDGET IN THE NEWS

Budget Votes Making Noise – The late Friday night Budget “vote-a-rama” had several interesting environmental twists, including a significant win for Keystone supporters.  In a politically-significant, but substantively-meaningless budget vote, the Senate endorsed Keystone XL pipeline with a 62 to 37 vote.  In the vote, 17 Democrats supported Keystone.  The Senate’s final budget resolution was approved 50-49 around 5:00 a.m. Saturday.

Which Democratic Senators Supported Keystone? – The Democrats who supported the measure were Sens. Max Baucus (Mont.), Mark Begich (Alaska), Michael Bennet (Colo.), Tom Carper (Del.), Bob Casey (Pa.), Chris Coons (Del.), Joe Donnelly (Ind.), Kay Hagan (N.C.), Heidi Heitkamp (N.D.), Tim Johnson (S.D.), Mary Landrieu (La.), Joe Manchin (W. Va.), Claire McCaskill (Mo.), Bill Nelson (Fla.), Mark Pryor (Ark.), Jon Tester (Mont.) and Mark Warner (Va.).  Maybe the only real surprises were Nelson, Coons and Carper…maybe Bennet, but Colorado is a big oil/gas state.

Enviros Outraged – Shockingly, enviro groups and other Keystone supporters were incensed over the vote and took to social media to express their outrage.  As I am on many enviro listservs I just think it is funny how many of the true believers are seriously clueless about Keystone, politics, elections, public opinion, energy and the make-up of many states.  Of course, the enviro community will respond and is already threatening Delaware Sens. Carper and Coons, Colorado’s Bennet.

Other Votes on Budget – There were a number of other budget energy votes.  The votes on the nonbinding budget resolutions were largely symbolic, but they illustrate the political reality that we have seen for some time:  that there seems to be a majority in the Senate oppose restrictions on oil and coal producers, power plants and other sources.  Some other Notable votes included a vote on a climate change amendment by Sheldon Whitehouse, who Has been saying he was going to try and put climate votes in to many bills.  Senator, probably not a good idea since 13 Democrats opposed his measure that would move any carbon tax revenues to deficit reduction.  The leadership also blocked a vote on Roy Blunt’s plan to offer a straight-up vote on a carbon tax.  Maneuvering prevented the actual vote and only allowed a procedural vote where only kept 8 Dems jumped ship.  I suspect Majority Leader Reid didn’t want another 60-plus vote on an environmental issue.   One amendment that did fall short was one offered by Sen. Inhofe to block GHG rules.  It only garnered 3 Dems and 47 total votes.  Sen. Barrasso (R-Wyo.) successfully offered an amendment to bar federal agencies’ analyses under NEPA from considering GHG emissions produced outside the United States by exported goods.

ETHANOL/GASOLINE IN THE NEWS

RINs Price Shows Hitting Blend Wall – While the budget votes took lots of attention on Friday, the rest of the week belonged to a new twist in the long-standing argument over ethanol and gasoline.  Back in 2007, the Congress set an ethanol mandate – the renewable fuel standard (RFS) – at 36 billion gallons by 2022. In years in between, EPA sets an annual number to keep the country on the path.  This year’s 16.5 billion is arguably already more than the current gasoline pool can absorb in light of environmental constraints (called the blend wall) and the overall shrinkage of the gasoline pool because of energy efficiency gains and the recession.  Accordingly, the market price for RINs – or renewable identification numbers needed as evidence of compliance if you can’t produce ethanol – was $0.05 as recently as late-2012. However, recent prices for RINs have spiked to as high as $1.02.  Reports have cited several reasons for the sudden price increase, such as: declining gasoline demand; the ethanol “blend wall”; unrealistic RFS mandates; and recent instances of fraud in the RIN market which have increased uncertainty among obligated parties.

Results: Higher Prices Likely – The current projected RINs impact will result in large price increases at the pump.  Recent reports make clear that, as RIN prices continue to move higher, refiners will be forced to: pass along the increased costs to consumers; export more product overseas; or lower refinery utilization rates.  These concerns are not mere analyst speculation as a March 8th article in Platts cited a report that “RIN costs have added 10 cents to a gallon of gasoline at retail.”  Valero, one of the largest refiners and also largest ethanol producers, says costs over last year could be $500-750 million.

EPA Never Thought It would go This Way – EPA did not anticipate or plan for this run-up in RINs prices.  In the Regulatory Impact Analysis and Summary and Analysis of Comments for the RFS itself – EPA seemed to think that the “cost of RINs should be very low—near the level of transaction costs,” and they did “not foresee RINs adding any significant costs to the use of renewables.”  This is because they mistakenly anticipated excess RINs would be available. Comments were submitted on the issue of speculation in the market, and EPA responded that they did not anticipate this being an issue.

Wyden Letter Asks Key EPA Questions – After a midweek letter from Lisa Murkowski and David Vitter raised the RINs issue, Senate Energy and Natural Resources Chairman Ron Wyden penned one to EPA asking for data to help explain why corn ethanol renewable identification numbers fluctuated widely between pennies on the gallon to more than $1 in recent weeks.

“Some industry analysts have blamed the increase on a glut of ethanol, while others have blamed it on a shortage. What is abundantly clear is that this level of market volatility is unprecedented,” Wyden wrote acting EPA Administrator Bob Perciasepe. “Given that ethanol is an increasingly important factor in the cost and supply of motor fuel in the U.S., it is critical that the committee have a better understanding of the causes and effects of RIN market volatility and developments.” 

But What About the Tier III Rules – Some industry folks see the increasing oversight by Congress as an opportunity to address cost concerns over EPA’s “Tier III” fuel and vehicle rule.  The plan is at OMB and is expected soon.  The Tier III rule and high RFS targets could create a “perfect storm” that will continue to increase gasoline prices – especially though the summer driving season which traditionally sees higher prices anyway.  Something to monitor…

IN OTHER NEWS

EIA Says Production will Pass Imports – EIA’s Short-Term Energy Outlook released last week says the amount of domestic crude oil produced in the United States could exceed the amount imported this year for the first time since 1995. EIA credits a rapid rise in oil production from shale and other tight rock formations in Texas and North Dakota and the steady decline of net oil imports. The federal agency forecasts that, by the end of 2013, the U.S. will be pumping 2 million more barrels than it imports each day.

EnergyBiz Honors SoCo – EnergyBiz magazine has named Southern Company “Energy Company of the Year” for its demonstrated business leadership in technology innovation, insight and sustained achievement in 2012.  CEO Tom Fanning accepted the award last week at the EnergyBiz KITE Awards ceremony in Washington, D.C.  An industry leader in energy innovation, Southern Company has been actively engaged in robust, proprietary research and development since the 1960s. Company-managed research and development investments – which totaled more than $1.8 billion from 1970 through 2012 – have yielded technologies that will change the way America produces electricity. Southern’s 582-megawatt Kemper County, MS advanced coal energy facility and its new nuclear units at Plant Vogtle were examples of Southern’s innovation and leadership.  The EnergyBiz KITE Awards are presented to executives and organizations in the energy industry that exemplify the characteristics of knowledge, innovation, technology and excellence as a cornerstone of success.  Recent past winners include our friends at Trans-Elect.

Super Bowl Outage Caused by Device to Prevent Outages – If the irony of losing a portion of one of the most–watched events to a blackout doesn’t get any better, a new report says the New Orleans Superdome Super Bowl XLVII blackout was caused by a relay device that was intended to improve reliability and prevent outages.  The device had a design defect that malfunctioned and cause the partial outage.  Entergy, which supplies electricity to the Superdome, and the stadium’s management company hired forensic engineer John Palmer to perform an independent analysis of the big game’s outage. Palmer’s report says the primary cause of the disruption was a malfunction or “misoperation” of the relay.  The report also notes the relay had a design defect, and under testing it did not perform entirely as its instruction manual said it was supposed to. It says the factory default setting of the relay was inappropriate. Finally, it says there was “inadequate communication between the manufacturer and the utility.”

GOING ON THIS WEEK 

Bush 43 To Headline International Refiners Conferences – following last week’s American Fuel and Petrochemical Manufacturers annual meeting, the International Petrochemical Conference starts at the Grand Hyatt San Antonio today and tomorrow.  The event, which always follows AFPM’s annual meeting, is the world’s largest and most prestigious conference representing the petrochemical industry and will feature former President George W. Bush as its luncheon speaker.  The meeting consists of sessions covering key political, economic, and environmental issues affecting the petrochemical industry.  The sessions emphasize global competitiveness in the petrochemical business and are presented by recognized experts in the areas of petrochemical markets, economics and politics. 

Market Transformation Symposium Set – The American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy and the Consortium for Energy Efficiency will host the 17^th annual National Symposium on Market Transformation today and tomorrow at the Marriott Wardman Park Hotel. The Symposium will offer an opportunity for a diverse group of attendees to network, compare programs, learn about new MT approaches, and discuss the latest issues facing the energy efficiency and market transformation communities.  Participants will include policymakers; energy efficiency program implementers; local, state, and federal agency personnel; utility staff; NGOs; energy efficiency professionals; consultants; and behavioral scientists.  This year’s ENERGY STAR Partner of the Year Awards Ceremony will also be held the tomorrow evening.

Interior to Hold Public Hearings on Drilling EIS – The Interior Department will hold public hearings this week on its recent draft environmental impact statement for two proposed oil and gas lease sales in the Gulf of Mexico’s Eastern Planning Area and is seeking public comment on the document. Lease Sales 225 and 226, scheduled for 2014 and 2016, are part of the Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Leasing Program: 2012-2017 (Five Year Program). The hearings will be held in Tallahassee, Florida tomorrow, (Hilton Garden Inn Tallahassee Central), Panama City Beach, Florida on Wednesday  (Wyndham Bay Point Resort), Mobile, Alabama on Thursday (Five Rivers-Alabama’s Delta Resource Center), Gulfport, Mississippi on Friday (Courtyard by Marriott Gulfport Beach) and New Orleans (BOEM Offices).  All meetings begin at 1:00 p.m. CDT.

Oak Ridge Experts to Report on Geo-Spatial Modeling for Nuke Capacity – Nuclear Policy Talks and Institute for Nuclear Studies will host a seminar with GWU’s Elliott School tomorrow at 3:00 p.m. to present the results of a recent study conducted at Oak Ridge National Laboratory that applied the principles of geo-spatial data modeling on siting ISFSIs. The study identified two key factors namely transportation distance and population along the route as the optimization variables to formulate the problem in a mathematical way. Application of sound siting principles and subsequent simulations revealed potentially favorable locations for ISFSIs given the current quantity and distribution of UNF as well as future quantities based on three growth scenarios for nuclear capacity. The study also addresses some key recommendations of the BRC.  Oak Ridge’s Dr. Sacit M. Cetiner, of the Advanced Reactor Systems & Safety Group Reactor & Nuclear Systems Division will speak.  

Forum to Look at Oil, War – The Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars will hold a forum on Wednesday at 10:30 a.m. on Petro Aggression Issues.  Oil is the world’s single most important commodity and its political effects are pervasive.  Wilson’s Jeff Colgan extends the idea of the resource curse into the realm of international relations, exploring how major oil-exporting countries form their foreign policy preferences and intentions. Petro-Aggression shows that oil creates incentives for both aggression and peace in its biggest producers. The net effect depends critically on a petrostate’s domestic politics, especially the preferences of its leaders. Revolutionary leaders are especially significant. Using case studies including Iraq, Iran, Libya, Saudi Arabia and Venezuela, this book offers new insight into why oil politics has a central role in global peace and conflict.

Stanford Climate Data to Be Discussed – On Thursday at 8:30 a.m. at the National Press Club’s Murrow Room, Stanford University Professor Jon Krosnick will present key findings from a March 2013 survey of public attitudes on preparing for climate change and extreme weather. Co-sponsored by the Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment and the Center for Ocean Solutions, the national survey includes oversampling of New York and California. The poll focuses on risk reduction in coastal areas, how to pay for adaptation strategies, and implications for the economy and jobs at the local, state and national levels. Following Professor Krosnick’s presentation, representatives from government, the nonprofit world and the private sector will discuss the results, their concerns and strategies for making communities more resilient in the future.  The panel will be moderated by Woods Senior Lecturer Meg Caldwell, Executive Director of the Center for Ocean Solutions and Director of the Environmental and Natural Resources Law and Policy Program at Stanford Law School.  Other panelists include NYC Deputy Mayor Cas Holloway, NOAA’s Laurie McGilvray and EESI head Carol Werner.  EESI will also host a similar event on Capitol Hill in 2318 Rayburn at 3:00 p.m.

Shelk to Address NatGas Roundtable – The Natural Gas Roundtable will host John Shelk, President and CEO of Electric Power Supply Association will be the guest speaker at the next luncheon on Thursday at Noon at the University Club.  Shelk has been EPSA President and CEO, the national trade association representing leading competitive electricity suppliers, since 2005.

Forum to Discuss Defense Biofuel Plans – The Atlantic Council Will hold a discussion on Thursday at 3:00 p.m. looking at the risks and benefits of the US Department of Defense’s (DoD) biofuels policies and the ongoing efforts to reduce the department’s petroleum footprint. As the largest organizational user of petroleum in the world and with fuel costs that continue to rise, the DoD faces financial, operational, and strategic risks. The discussion will focus on DoD’s alternative fuels policy, will provide a critical analysis of this policy, will offer potential pathways for the commercial biofuels industry to mature enough to meet capacity and be cost-competitive, and will provide views from an industry leader.  Following the presentations, the panelists will answer questions from the audience. The roundtable will provide a particularly timely discussion with the arrival of the new Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel and the unknown impacts of the federal budget crisis.  Panelists will include RAND’s James Bartis, Jan Koninckx of DuPont Industrial Biosciences, DoD’s Adam Rosenberg and Bloomberg New Energy Finance Biofuels Industry Specialist Alejandro Zamorano-Cadavid

FUTURE EVENTS

Former AIG CEO Greenberg Returns to DC for Chamber Talk – The US Chamber Foundation will hold a book discussion with former AIG CEO Maurice R. “Hank” Greenberg April 2^nd at 5:30 p.m. focused on Greenberg’s book, The AIG Story,with GWU professor Lawrence Cunningham.  The book is Greenberg’s firsthand account of American International Group’s rise and near-destruction.  In this story, AIG’s CEO of forty years, Maurice R. “Hank” Greenberg, and corporate governance expert, Lawrence Cunningham, relate the complete, inside story of the rise and near-destruction of AIG. Readers are regaled with tales from Hank Greenberg’s firsthand experience at AIG, combined with Cunningham’s additional research and interviews.  The book tells the story of Greenberg, who transformed a scattered collection of insurance businesses into American International Group, a global financial colossus with nearly $1 trillion in assets on its balance sheets-and how, in the process, he revolutionized the insurance industry.   At the same time, The AIG Story is an account of the world’s rough ride toward globalization and the triumph of free and open markets over communism, nationalism, protectionism, and isolationism, and the significant role Greenberg and AIG played.  Integral to the story is the authors’ take on the 2008 global financial crisis. Through Greenberg’s direct involvement and Cunningham’s craftsmanship, The AIG Story reveals much about those events that until now, has been kept hidden from the public.

WRI to Release NatGas Emissions Working Paper – On Thursday, April 4^th at 9:00 a.m., the World Resources Institute will roll out a new working paper, “Clearing the Air on Natural Gas: Reducing Upstream Greenhouse Gas Emissions from U.S. Natural Gas Systems”.  The rapid expansion of unconventional natural gas development has reshaped the U.S. energy picture through increased production and reduced prices of natural gas. The shale gas production boom has also ignited divisive debates over its near- and long-term environmental impacts. The new study looks to clarify what is known about leakage rates of methane, a potent greenhouse gas, from the U.S. natural gas sector, what progress has been made to reduce those emissions, and what more can be done to further reduce leakage.  The paper outlines tools that federal and state governments can employ to reduce these harmful emissions, helping to clear the air and slow the rate of climate change.

Nestle CEO to Discuss Bottled Water Ban at NPC Newsmaker – The National Press Club Newsmakers Committee will host Kim Jeffery, Chairman of Nestlé Waters North America, at a Newsmaker forum in the Club’s Zenger Room at 10:00 a.m. Thursday, April 4^th.  Jeffery will focus on policy issues, health benefits and environmental controversies surrounding the growth of bottled water. Concord, Massachusetts made history this year by becoming the first town to ever ban the sale of water, citing environmental concerns over the plastic bottles. Critics question the logic of banning bottled water at a time when the nation faces a serious obesity crisis. Nestlé Waters North America is the number one bottled water company in the United States and the third largest non-alcoholic beverage company in the country.

Moniz Nomination Hearing Set – On Tuesday, April 9^th at 10:00 a.m. , the Senate Energy Committee will hold a hearing to consider the nomination of Dr. Ernest Moniz to be the next Secretary of Energy.

International Geothermal Forum Set – The Geothermal Energy Association will hold its International Geothermal Energy Finance Forum on Thursday April 11^th at New York’s Marriott Marquis. The full day Forum will provide a day long discussion featuring the leaders of geothermal development, private and public financing, and project risk and reward.  Confirmed speakers include The World Bank Group’s Energy Sector Management Assistance Program Manager Rohit Khanna, Jennifer Graham of the Prudential Capital Group, JP Morgan’s John Eber, Bloomberg New Energy Finance’s Head of Geothermal & CCS Research Mark Taylor, and MidAmerican Energy’s Jonathan Weisgall.

McCarthy, Nichols, UNFCCC Figueres to Address Carbon Conference – The 11^th annual Navigating the American Carbon World (NACW) will be held in San Francisco’s Palace Hotel April 16^th through 18^th.  The event is the largest and most comprehensive gathering for information and discussion around climate change policy and carbon markets.  NACW will take an in-depth look at California’s historic cap-and-trade program, including discussions on market structure, revenue allocation, legal issues and forecasts. The conference will also delve into other established and emerging carbon markets around the world and potential linkages. And, NACW will provide a platform for discussing offsets and offset supply, U.S. federal policies, and business leadership.  Speakers will include EPA’s Gina McCarthy, CARB head Mary Nichols, UNFCCC Executive Secretary Christiana Figueres and NWF President Larry Schweiger.

Farrell to Headline Chamber Energy CEO Leadership Event – The Institute for 21st Century Energy and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation will hold a CEO Leadership Series luncheon on Thursday, April 23^rd at Noon featuring Dominion Energy CEO Thomas Farrell. 

The American Foundry Society (AFS) is hosting their annual Government Affairs Conference on Wednesday, May 1, 2013 at the J.W. Marriott Hotel in Washington, D.C.  My colleague Jeff Holmstead will address over 80 owners and plant managers  on what they can expect from EPA in the next 12 to 24 months, including new regulations to limit greenhouse gas emissions at existing power plants.  Of particular interest to these manufacturers is the upcoming ozone rule.

WINDPOWER 2013 – May 5th through 8th in Chicago, IL.

The post Energy Update Week of March 25 appeared first on Policy Resolution Group.

It is with great regret that I inform you that this will be the last Energy update sent to our illustrious list of policy and media sources.  With all the burdens we face every day here at Bracewell’s PRG, constantly keeping you all informed about DC events and environmental and energy policy for free has finally become too much bear.  So it is with great sadness and incredible pain in my heart, I say April Fools…

Seriously, we could never give up on this update.  It is too much fun to write every week… Plus, today is the real beginning of Baseball season.  In fact, need to get this out ASAP so I can head over to National’s Park for the festivities to kick off this new season.

That was pretty exciting weekend of sports with the hoops and ice final fours.  Kudos to Michigan, Louisville, Wichita State (shocker) and Syracuse.  And on the ice, congrats to #1 seeds Quinnipiac and UMass-Lowell, surprise #4 seeds St. Cloud State (MN) and Yale.  Should make for some great hoops in Atlanta and hockey in Pittsburgh.

Well, even though the week ended with Good Friday, apparently, EPA thought Good Friday meant a good Friday to put out controversial rules.   Three items popped Friday, the long-awaited, often politically-delayed EPA Tier III gasoline rule  (which got a lot of coverage so I don’t devote much to it), a mercury rule revision and a court decision in an NSR case focused on DTE energy in Michigan.  (And just when you thought it was safe to forget NSR).  See below for details.

Congress returns next week with the Senate Energy Committee holding a hearing next Tuesday April 9^th for DOE nominee Ernie Moniz hearing.  EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy’s hearing will be Thursday, April 11^th in Senate Environment Committee.

Finally, two excellent events this week: tomorrow evening at 5:30 p.m., our friend and former AIG CEO Hank Greenberg returns to DC to continue his discussion of the government’s treatment of the AIG Bailout at the US Chamber’s CEO series.  Hank is always good for a few blasts and great quotes. Secondly, on Thursday at the Press Club, I will host a Newsmaker on the battle over bottled water.  I will have Nestle Water CEO Kim Jeffrey available to take your questions about the on-going effort to ban bottled water over environmental concerns in places like the University of Vermont and Concord, Massachusetts.   More than 90 colleges and universities have banned or restricted the sale of bottled water on campus.  It should be an interesting discussion.    

Call with Questions

Frank Maisano
(202) 828-5864
c. (202) 997-5932

IN THE NEWS

EPA Issues Tier 3 Gasoline Rules – EPA rolled out its long-awaited, politically controversial new environmental rules to reduce smog-producing sulfur in gasoline.  The sulfur standard, called Tier 3, would lower allowable sulfur content from 30 to 10 ppm starting in 2017, when the next phase of higher auto mileage targets are to begin. It follows the Tier 2 sulfur standards that lowered limits by 90%.  While EPA said it would only have a 1-cent per gallon impact, refiners say it will likely be 9-cents, could impact refinery operations and will certainly hike gas prices.  In fact, the gas price impact is pone of the major reasons it wasn’t released last year in the middle of the 2012 Presidential campaign.

Added to Ethanol, New Rule Creates Worries for Refiners – API, APFM and other individual refiners protested the new sulfur rules but focused on a larger swell of issues that will have gasoline supply and price impacts that have emerged in recent days. API’s Bob Greco said the plan is part of a “tsunami of regulations” by EPA that could drive up pump prices. He pointed to a study that estimated the potential pump price increase of 9-cents, separate from possible upward pressure from potential fuel vapor pressure rules and increased use of ethanol.  Of course, last week refiners already raised major cost questions over the most recent ethanol requirements. Each year, EPA is required to increase the amount of ethanol that must be blended into gasoline, but at the same time, the recession and efficiency gains have significantly decreased demand for gasoline.  No one expects that gasoline demand will rebound strongly, and there are physical constraints on safely using higher blends of ethanol.  As a result, there aren’t enough gallons of gasoline to put all of the required gallons of ethanol into – and that has driven up the price of renewable credits.  Valero alone says the costs could be $500-750 million more this year, which will likely be passed through to consumers

EPA Also Rolls Out Mercury Revision – Even though it was Good Friday, EPA was not done.  They also issued updates to pollution limits for new power plants under the mercury and air toxics standards, based on new information and analysis that became available to the agency after the rule was finalized. From the moment the MATS rule was proposed, complaints were raised that the rule was not achievable in practice, a clear and unambiguous requirement of the Clean Air Act.  In the case of the MATS rule as it applied to “new” sources – meaning future power plants – even the manufacturers of pollution control equipment (typically beneficiaries of inflexible rules) had to admit that mercury control levels were set so high that monitoring equipment couldn’t even detect compliance levels.   It was always suspected that EPA would have to address new-source MATS or face fairly certain defeat in court.  So, most experts are not surprised that EPA acted upon the petitions for reconsideration.  This is the second time in the last few weeks that EPA seems to be admitting that it may have taken positions regarding new coal- and oil-fired facilities that go beyond what the Clean Air Act will allow.  Two weeks ago, the Agency quietly admitted that the proposed new source performance standard for carbon emissions from new plants was also probably illegal and would need far more work before it could be finalized.  EPA continues to miss the real opportunity to address the underlying MATS rule as it applies to the existing fleet of coal-fired power plants.  While Assistant Administrator McCarthy did make some improvements in the rule before it was finalized, the rule still exacerbates certain market trends and reduces the diversity of affordable and reliable fuels upon which the US depends.  The MATS rule remains one of the most expensive rules in EPA history with potentially significant adverse impacts on unemployment and manufacturing.  Despite press claims to the contrary, the MATS rule can lay little claim to any significant benefits once double-counting is taken into account.

Court Rule in DTE NSR Case – And If you thought we were done with the old “New Source Review” argument, think again.  On Thursday evening, an important but heavily spun result occurred in the 6^th Circuit case.  You may remember, DTE won a lower court case on NSR changes at its Monroe coal plant.  While the 6^th Circuit remanded the case back to the District Court, the actual thrust of the opinion was positive for industry in many ways.  The decision can be found here:  http://www.ca6.uscourts.gov/opinions.pdf/13a0080p-06.pdf. Scott Segal, director of the Electric Reliability Coordinating Council, a group of energy companies working on sensible approaches to Clean Air Act implementation and enforcement, said the

court largely affirmed the position taken by DTE finding that ‘the district court’s premises are largely correct.’  The court even heard evidence that in the period since DTE’s activities took place, emissions at its Monroe facility have actually declined, not increased as would be necessary to trigger enforcement actions. Segal: “The Sixth Circuit explicitly rejected any second guessing of properly submitted projections in advance of construction.  The Court further found that the timing of DTE’s submissions was ‘fully consistent’ with the regulatory scheme.  And the Court waived off any suggestion of bad faith.  The Court even found that DTE’s actions at the Monroe facility ‘to keep its emissions from increasing’ actually ‘further the goal’ of the Clean Air Act.  Rather, the Court explicitly states that its reversal ‘does not constitute endorsement of EPA’s suggestions,’ instead only focusing on the very narrow question of whether adequacy of pre-construction projections can ever be reviewed by EPA.  In limited conditions (for example, according to the majority, using the wrong significance level or baseline), they can.”  Segal says the case continues a firm trend: The NSR program should be triggered in limited circumstances and is not intended to be a roving basis for a prior approval scheme. 

Enviros Seek Relook at CSAPR – Following a significant defeat in the US Court of Appeals, a collection of environmentalist groups have filed a cert petition before the US Supreme Court asking for review of the DC Circuit decision that set aside EPA’s cross-state air pollution rule, or CSAPR.   My colleague Scott Segal says the filing is by no means a novel approach, with the Supreme Court receiving over 8,000 cert petitions a year out of which the Court hears oral argument on about 100 or so cases.  Segal adds it is hard to imagine that this petition has a great likelihood of being one of those cases.  Segal: “First, the petition does not raise any novel legal issues or address particular circuit splits that make Supreme Court review likely.  The questions the petitioners would certify for appeal are critical of the DC Circuit decision, to be sure, but they are garden variety.  They are matters of statutory interpretation and court procedure of the type frequently advanced at least since the Chevron case almost thirty years ago.  The chances of the Supreme Court taking a case like this is very, very low.  Second, on the merits, the EPA was given an opportunity after the Clean Air Interstate Rule, or CAIR, decision to formulate a rule that met with the guidance of the court.  Instead, the Agency developed a CSAPR rule that overreached and they have ended up coming away with nothing.  Even when faced the real possibility of codifying the CAIR standards, some of the self-same petitioners on this brief counseled the Agency to push for more than the Act allowed.  Last, the petitioners’ discussion of the “national importance” of the relief is misplaced.  The CAIR rule remains in place even as EPA considers its options for a potential replacement for the interstate rule.  Further, the Agency’s actions in the MATS rule and in the carbon rules add other layers of expensive redundancy to the effort.  And if the Agency shares this sense of urgency they would do well to propose reasonable rules rather than to petition the courts to reinstate unreasonable ones.”

Poll: More Emphasis on Domestic Renewable Energy – A new Gallup poll says a majority of Americans want the U.S. to place more emphasis on the domestic production of renewable energy than on that of oil, coal and nuclear power.  The poll, which surveyed 1,022 Americans, found that 76% of respondents want the U.S. to emphasize domestic production of solar power, followed by 71% of respondents urging for wind power. According to Gallup, this means that no fewer than two in three Americans support the further domestic production of renewables.

DOE Launches Clean Energy Manufacturing Initiative – The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has launched the Clean Energy Manufacturing Initiative (CEMI), which will focus on growing U.S. manufacturing of clean energy products and boosting U.S. competitiveness through major improvements in manufacturing energy productivity.  As part of the CEMI, the DOE has awarded over $23 million in funding for clean energy manufacturing research and development and plans to award more funds in the coming months. In addition, the CEMI involves hosting a series of summits to gather input on manufacturing priorities and opportunities, as well as launching new public-private partnerships focused on improving U.S. clean energy manufacturing competitiveness.  The announcement was made at the ribbon cutting of the DOE’s Carbon Fiber Technology Facility in Oak Ridge, Tenn., a new manufacturing facility that will be used to help reduce the cost of carbon fiber – a critical material for next-generation wind turbines.  Now open to U.S. manufacturers, this state-of-the-art facility provides clean energy companies and researchers with a test bed for the development of less-expensive, better- performing carbon fiber materials and manufacturing processes, the DOE says. The 42,000-square-foot facility is supported by a $35 million DOE grant and will produce up to 25 tons of carbon fiber each year.

GOING ON THIS WEEK 

EPA to Look at Climate Goals – EPA’s Green Power Partnership will host a webinar tomorrow at 1:00p.m., looking at innovative approaches to climate goals.  They will focus on recent efforts by Microsoft to develop an internal carbon fee.  As companies and organizations strive to meet carbon reduction goals and climate commitments, many are undertaking innovative strategies to help meet these goals. A leading example of such innovation is Microsoft’s adoption of an internal carbon fee. An EPA Green Power Partner, Microsoft recently instituted a company-wide commitment to achieve carbon neutrality for its data centers, software development labs, offices, and employee air travel, and the carbon fee is a key component of this aggressive goal. By internalizing the cost of GHG pollution through financial measures, the carbon fee incentivizes employees to reduce emissions while raising funds for energy efficiency and renewable energy projects and purchases.

Former AIG CEO Greenberg Returns to DC for Chamber Talk – The US Chamber Foundation will hold a book discussion with former AIG CEO Maurice R. “Hank” Greenberg tomorrow at 5:30 p.m. focused on Greenberg’s book, The AIG Story,with GWU professor Lawrence Cunningham.  The book is Greenberg’s firsthand account of American International Group’s rise and near-destruction.  In this story, AIG’s CEO of forty years, Maurice R. “Hank” Greenberg, and corporate governance expert, Lawrence Cunningham, relate the complete, inside story of the rise and near-destruction of AIG. Readers are regaled with tales from Hank Greenberg’s firsthand experience at AIG, combined with Cunningham’s additional research and interviews.  The book tells the story of Greenberg, who transformed a scattered collection of insurance businesses into American International Group, a global financial colossus with nearly $1 trillion in assets on its balance sheets-and how, in the process, he revolutionized the insurance industry.   At the same time, The AIG Story is an account of the world’s rough ride toward globalization and the triumph of free and open markets over communism, nationalism, protectionism, and isolationism, and the significant role Greenberg and AIG played.  Integral to the story is the authors’ take on the 2008 global financial crisis. Through Greenberg’s direct involvement and Cunningham’s craftsmanship, The AIG Story reveals much about those events that until now, has been kept hidden from the public.

Energy to Discuss CHPs, State Energy Plans – The Energy Department will present a live webinar Wednesday at 2:00 p.m. looking at combined heat and power and energy infrastructure. This webinar will discuss how combined heat and power (CHP) systems can fulfill the need for resilient critical infrastructure while making energy more cost- and fuel-efficient for the user and more reliable and environmentally friendly for society at large. Presenters will discuss the benefit of CHP systems in critical infrastructure applications, detailed case studies of how CHP systems powered facilities through Hurricane Sandy, and federal and state policies promoting the use of CHP technology in critical infrastructure. Also on Wednesday at 2:00 p.m., DOE will also hold a live webinar titled “State Energy Strategic Planning.” During this webinar, the National Association of State Energy Officials will discuss their recent analysis of 39 State Energy Strategic Plans and accompanying “Guide to State Energy Planning.” This webinar will focus on describing the necessary steps to create an effective State Energy Plan, hearing from state agencies that have recently completed the process, and highlighting best practices from NASEO’s research.

JHU to Host Forum on Global Food Security – The Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies will host a discussion featuring Robert Thompson, SAIS visiting scholar and former director of rural development at the World Bank Wednesday at Noon.  Thompson will discuss global food security and building resilience to climate impacts.

WRI to Release NatGas Emissions Working Paper – On Thursday at 9:00 a.m., the World Resources Institute will roll out a new working paper, “Clearing the Air on Natural Gas: Reducing Upstream Greenhouse Gas Emissions from U.S. Natural Gas Systems”.  The rapid expansion of unconventional natural gas development has reshaped the U.S. energy picture through increased production and reduced prices of natural gas. The shale gas production boom has also ignited divisive debates over its near- and long-term environmental impacts. The new study looks to clarify what is known about leakage rates of methane, a potent greenhouse gas, from the U.S. natural gas sector, what progress has been made to reduce those emissions, and what more can be done to further reduce leakage.  The paper outlines tools that federal and state governments can employ to reduce these harmful emissions, helping to clear the air and slow the rate of climate change.

Nestle CEO to Discuss Bottled Water Ban at NPC Newsmaker – The National Press Club Newsmakers Committee will host Kim Jeffery, Chairman of Nestlé Waters North America, at a Newsmaker forum in the Club’s Zenger Room at 10:00 a.m. Thursday.  Jeffery will focus on policy issues, health benefits and environmental controversies surrounding the growth of bottled water. Concord, Massachusetts made history this year by becoming the first town to ever ban the sale of water, citing environmental concerns over the plastic bottles. Critics question the logic of banning bottled water at a time when the nation faces a serious obesity crisis. Nestlé Waters North America is the number one bottled water company in the United States and the third largest non-alcoholic beverage company in the country.

FUTURE EVENTS

Forum to Look at Africa, Climate Issues – The Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars will hold a forum next Monday, April 8^th at 3:00 p.m. to look at Africa ‘s population dynamics, climate change and sustainable development.  A large share of the population of Africa is living in marginalized areas that are susceptible to climate variation and extreme weather events. Population growth is occurring most rapidly in sub-Saharan Africa, increasing vulnerability to the projected impacts of climate change. Incorporating population dynamics into climate change mitigation and adaptation in these areas can help organizations better understand and address these challenges, yet issues like access to family planning, reproductive health, and women’s education and empowerment are rarely considered in climate change planning.  The African Institute for Development Policy recently conducted a study in collaboration with Population Action International to analyze the challenges and opportunities for incorporating population considerations into climate change and development interventions in sub-Saharan Africa. The results highlight policy and program implications in Kenya and Malawi and will help guide responses to climate change that include population dynamics and work towards sustainable development.  Speakers will include Eliya Msiyaphazi Zulu, of the African Institute for Development Policy, Clive Mutunga of Population Action International and Abigail Jones of Climate Advisers.

Moniz Nomination Hearing Set – On Tuesday, April 9^th at 10:00 a.m. , the Senate Energy Committee will hold a hearing to consider the nomination of Dr. Ernest Moniz to be the next Secretary of Energy.

CSIS Forum to Look at Water Issues – CSIS will hold the 17^th annual NCAC Washington Energy Policy Conference on Tuesday April 9^th to examine the energy-water nexus with a specific focus on water management issues relative to electric power generation. The availability of clean and reliable water resources is a critical issue across the North America and throughout the world. Electricity production is the second largest consumer of water in the United States, after agriculture. This one-day conference will feature experts to discuss some of the most central issues related to water and electricity use:  the technological opportunities and financial challenges of; the regulatory and environmental outlooks; and insights into the regional U.S. and international dynamics. Recently, the U.S. Department of State released its draft Supplement Environmental Impact Statement on the Keystone XL pipeline, which, if approved by the Obama administration, would connect Canada’s oil sands with U.S. refineries in the Gulf Coast. The debate surrounding the pipeline has brought increased attention to the Canadian province of Alberta,—which, with an estimated 170 billion barrels—is home to the world’s third-largest proven reserves of oil.

Alberta Premier to Speak at Brookings – The Energy Security Initiative at Brookings will host Alison Redford, the premier of Alberta, on Tuesday April 9^th at 2:00 p.m. for a discussion on the Alberta-U. S. energy relationship, environmental efforts undertaken by her administration, and the Keystone XL pipeline.  Senior Fellow Charles Ebinger, director of the Energy Security Initiative, will provide introductory remarks. Brookings Trustee Daniel Yergin, chairman of Cambridge Energy Research Associates, will moderate the discussion with Premier Redford to include questions from the audience.

Marine Renewable Conference Set – The Global Marine Renewable Energy Conference will be held at the Almas Temple Club on Wednesday and Thursday, April 10^th & 11^th to provide a venue where technical experts from across disciplines can publish and present cutting-edge wave and water current energy research that helps accelerate the pace of technology development.

EPA McCarthy Nomination Hearing Set – On Thursday, April 11^th at 10:00 a.m. , the Senate Environment Committee will hold a hearing to consider the nomination of Gina McCarthy to be the next EPA Administrator.

RFF Academic Brief to Discuss Energy Efficiency – RFF will hold its usual Academic Seminar on Thursday April 11^th to discuss a handful of Property-Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) programs offered property-secured loans to homeowners for residential clean energy investments. This analysis uses difference-in-differences models and synthetic counterfactual models to estimate the effect of three California PACE programs on residential photovoltaic installations.  The Duke Nicholas School expert Lori Bennear will discuss.

International Geothermal Forum Set – The Geothermal Energy Association will hold its International Geothermal Energy Finance Forum on Thursday April 11^th at New York’s Marriott Marquis. The full day Forum will provide a daylong discussion featuring the leaders of geothermal development, private and public financing, and project risk and reward.  Confirmed speakers include The World Bank Group’s Energy Sector Management Assistance Program Manager Rohit Khanna, Jennifer Graham of the Prudential Capital Group, JP Morgan’s John Eber, Bloomberg New Energy Finance’s Head of Geothermal & CCS Research Mark Taylor, and MidAmerican Energy’s Jonathan Weisgall.

McCarthy, Nichols, UNFCCC Figueres to Address Carbon Conference – The 11^th annual Navigating the American Carbon World (NACW) will be held in San Francisco’s Palace Hotel April 16^th through 18^th.  The event is the largest and most comprehensive gathering for information and discussion around climate change policy and carbon markets.  NACW will take an in-depth look at California’s historic cap-and-trade program, including discussions on market structure, revenue allocation, legal issues and forecasts. The conference will also delve into other established and emerging carbon markets around the world and potential linkages. And, NACW will provide a platform for discussing offsets and offset supply, U.S. federal policies, and business leadership.  Speakers will include EPA’s Gina McCarthy, CARB head Mary Nichols, UNFCCC Executive Secretary Christiana Figueres and NWF President Larry Schweiger.

WAPA Forum to Focus on Feasibility of ZEV Mandate – The Washington Automotive Press Association (WAPA) will hold its April luncheon on Wednesday April 17^th at Noon in the National Press Club.  Mike Stanton, president and CEO of the Association of Global Automakers, will explore issues related to the feasibility of Zero-Emissions Vehicle mandates and other transportation policy issues.  As automakers work to meet the new national fuel economy regulations, they are also faced with the challenge of complying with California’s Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) program. Between MY 2018 and MY 2025, the ZEV sales “mandate” will require manufacturers to sell approximately 5 million ZEVs cumulatively in California and the nine states that have adopted the program, regardless of market conditions and infrastructure availability.  Stanton, a trusted voice for the auto industry, will outline the ZEV program and how the government can play an active role to help bring alternative fuels, advanced technology vehicles, and the necessary infrastructure to the marketplace.

Farrell to Headline Chamber Energy CEO Leadership Event – The Institute for 21st Century Energy and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation will hold a CEO Leadership Series luncheon on Thursday, April 23^rd at Noon featuring Dominion Energy CEO Thomas Farrell. 

Hydrogen, Fuel Cell Expo Set for Hill – The House Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Caucus will host a Fuel Cell and Hydrogen EXPO and POLICY FORUM Wednesday, April 24^th from 10:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. in 345 Cannon.  The forum will include Congressional and Administration speakers as well as a panel of state experts.

The American Foundry Society (AFS) is hosting their annual Government Affairs Conference on Wednesday, May 1^st at the J.W. Marriott Hotel in Washington, D.C.  My colleague Jeff Holmstead will address over 80 owners and plant managers on what they can expect from EPA in the next 12 to 24 months, including new regulations to limit greenhouse gas emissions at existing power plants.  Of particular interest to these manufacturers is the upcoming ozone rule.

WINDPOWER 2013 – May 5th through 8th in Chicago, IL.

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