Category: Energy and Climate

New England Will Benefit from Robust, Low-Cost Natural Gas Supply if Congress Removes Pipeline Red Tape

Given our nation’s energy needs, it is clear that we will be using natural gas for many years to come, to heat our homes, fuel manufacturing, and importantly, to generate electricity. Even given climate concerns, most experts agree that natural gas – and other fossil fuels – along with carbon abatement technologies like carbon capture and storage (CCS) will be needed to meet our energy needs in 2050. In fact, in an ACCF webinar last May, former Obama Secretary of Energy Ernie Moniz argued that the US will need natural gas well into the future, and that zero-carbon 2050 scenarios include the use of gas along with negative carbon technologies like CCS. Likewise, Jennifer Granholm recently told a gathering of energy executives that “[e]ven the boldest projections for clean energy deployment suggest that in the middle of the century we are going to be using abated fossil fuels.” With the demand for natural gas in the U.S. continuing to be strong. some elected officials have raised concerns that exporting natural gas via ship as liquified natural gas (LNG) could cause domestic price increases. Sen. Angus King, for example, has long championed the idea that LNG exports could have negative impact on consumers. Numerous studies –…

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Willow Approval is Sensible Energy and Environmental Strategy

Willow Approval is Sensible Energy and Environmental Strategy By Kyle Isakower On March 13, the administration approved plans for oil production at the Willow site on the North Slope of Alaska. The area is part of the National Petroleum Reserve – Alaska (NPR-A), which was established a century ago by President Harding as a reserve of petroleum for potential use by the US Navy. In 1976, oversight of the area was transferred to the Bureau of Land Management, under the Department of the Interior and renamed NPR-A. The move was lauded by Alaskan elected officials and native tribes, who see the project as a huge boost to the local economy as well as a source of much-needed jobs. Sen. Lisa Murkowski stated that “we are now on the cusp of creating thousands of new jobs, generating billions of dollars in new revenues, improving quality of life on the North Slope and across our state, and adding vital energy to TAPS [Trans-Alaska Pipeline System] to fuel the nation and the world.” Alaska Senator Dan Sullivan said that “[t]his decision is also crucial for our national security and environment. Producing much-needed American energy in Alaska with the world’s highest environmental standards and lowest emissions enhances the global environment.“ But the decision…

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U.S. Natural Gas Supply Robust For Foreseeable Future

  Some good news amid pandemic and strained energy supply. Americans can rely on having clean natural gas needed now and well into the future. American Gas Association (AGA) recently hosted a webinar for the release of the Potential Gas Committee’s annual assessment of supply. The PGC estimates that the US has 3368 TCF of total natural gas resources. That’s more than 100 times our current annual demand! US natural gas can meet our domestic needs while also fueling job growth and lower global emissions through exports.   See AGA’s release here: https://www.aga.org/news/news-releases/report-u.s.-natural-gas-supply-remains-abundant/

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As We Address Climate Change Everyone Has Responsibility

Climate change and greenhouse gas reduction efforts got front page headlines in the last week.  Those headlines pointed to three of the international energy companies, with ExxonMobil and Chevron hearing from their shareholders, while Royal Dutch Shell was dealt a precedent-setting ruling from the district court in The Hague. Many reports mentioned that as a result of shareholder activism and court action, these companies, as well as others in the energy industry, had been put on notice. But there is another headline that should be forthcoming.  It should reflect that these companies are not alone. Climate change and related issues require coordinated communication and well informed and fact-based action.  Shareholders, lawmakers, and for that matter, all users of energy, are on notice as well.  They all have their own important responsibilities and obligations. Most importantly, there is an immediate need to communicate a better understanding how we use energy, what energy sources drive our lives and economy today, and how realities of science and available technology will affect the transition timelines needed to meet climate driven emissions reduction targets. Despite some imposed mandates and an understandable and necessary level of urgency, transition will, in some cases, still take decades to achieve.…

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Green New Deal: An Economist’s Perspective

As climate change and policies to address it take center stage, it is important to have a constructive discussion that will bring productive and long-lasting results to this important problem. There is no doubt the Green New Deal (GND) has provoked that discussion with its ambitious goals. As ACCF has stated before, we agree that there is a need for policies that will reduce global greenhouse gas emissions. However, we also need to understand the impact of the policies suggested on other sectors of the economy to make any kind of judgement on their feasibility. Without a reliable and consistent estimate, it is difficult to render judgement.  Many back of the envelope calculations have put the cost of the Green New Deal, which currently lacks details, at trillions of dollars. Obviously, there are a lot of discussions to be had surrounding many aspects of the Green New Deal. We wanted to focus on the more technical aspect, whether the Green New Deal can be modelled and analyzed to inform us about its costs and benefits. Who better than David Montgomery, Ph.D., with more than 40 years of experience in economic modelling and energy markets, to answer some of our questions:…

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Does New Congress Threaten Trump Energy Agenda? Not So Fast

Congress returns with a renewed focus on climate change and clean energy under the direction of the newly minted House Democratic majority. But with President Donald Trump still in control of the White House and a Republican majority in the Senate, prospects for major shifts in policy remain slim. Even in the House where a crush of new progressive freshmen are pushing the party further to the left, climate and energy issues may take a backseat to oversight and the broader goal of serving as a check on the administration. But even if the divided 116th Congress is unlikely to result in a consensus on major legislation, the refocusing of the debate on energy and environmental policy on climate change is notable. Unrequited priorities tend to pop up in other, unrelated debates as amendments or poison pills, infrastructure for example. Longshot policy proposals can also form the foundations of future law. Look no further than criminal justice reform to see how, with enough time, a minority proposal can evolve into the majority consensus. Climate change policy fits that bill. Drawing the most headlines on the climate front is the proposal championed by newly elected New York Democrat Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez…

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