Energy Update: Week of April 13

Friends,

Hope you are staying well and healthy.  Week four of quarantine and our family hasn’t strangled each other yet. We’ve had more home-cooked, family meals than I can remember, my beard has come in full and I have done more projects around the house in the last two weeks than I've done in the last 10 years. I don't really like that last one.  I also don't like that after watching the Sunday news shows yesterday, I flipped over to ESPN as I normally would on Master's Sunday only to see the College Spikeball championships versus the hallowed ground of Augusta. (In case you care, Georgia knocked of Texas A&M to take the Spikeball crown)  I definitely could get used to not commuting from Annapolis to DC though...it has for sure increased my efficiency/productivity.

This week starts with rumbling from over the weekend about OPEC+ and others coming to an agreement that attempts to end the flooding of the oil market started by Saudi Arabia and Russia. Under the deal, the countries committed to cut 9.7 million barrels a day — just below the 10 million barrels per day floated under a tentative agreement last week. Most analysts looking at the deal seem to think it is too modest to make a significant impact, but think it will stabilize prices some. Tomorrow, the Texas Railroad Commission meets to discuss a similar topic for statewide oil production.  More on all of this below.

As for events, the Environmental and Energy Study Institute holds weeklong (each day) webinar briefing series on programs around the country that have been collecting and using geographic and climate data to inform adaptation planning, and how federal action can help or hinder those efforts.

Tomorrow, American Wind Energy Association releases its Wind Powers America Annual Report 2019 at 2:00 p.m. while US Energy Assn, US AID and EEI holds webinar at 10:00 a.m. on best practices from U.S. and Eastern European utilities on maintaining business continuity during the COVID-19 pandemic.

On Wednesday, the Energy Bar Association holds all-day forum featuring former EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy who now heads NRDC, EEI head Tom Kuhn and NRECA’s Jim Matheson. 

On Thursday, DOE holds Webinar advancing Women in Energy with DOE Biotech office veteran Valerie Reed at 1:00 p.m. while at the same time, Bracewell hosts an event on renewables and the impact of COVID featuring Brookfield Renewables’ Ricardo Alicea, Joram Cukierman of J Aron & Company, Sol Systems’ Yuri Horwitz and Santosh Raikar of Silverpeak.

Finally, NOAA is expected to release its U.S. climate report today and EPA is expecting a major air policy announcement later this afternoon. That’s all for today, call with questions, stay safe & healthy and review our COVID-19 updates. 

Best,

Frank Maisano

(202) 828-5864

C. (202) 997-5932

 

FRANKLY SPOKEN

"The big Oil Deal with OPEC Plus is done.  This will save hundreds of thousands of energy jobs in the United States."

President Trump in a tweet Sunday about the OPEC+ product cut agreement.

ON THE PODCAST

Wheeler Discusses EPA COVID Activities on Podcast – EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler was the guest on  the Washington Examiner’s ‘Examining Politics’ podcast discussing EPA’s COVID-19 process that is approving products for cleaning and blocking fraudulent materials.  

Platts Looks at Oil Deal with McNally – On this week’s Capitol Crude podcast, Bob McNally, president of Rapidan Energy Group, talks about the new OPEC+ agreement, the damage the price war may have had on US-Saudi relations, and where the “new normal” for global oil demand might be after global coronavirus restrictions are eased. McNally also talks about why Trump, a major fan of low gasoline prices and outspoken OPEC critic, now sees that oil prices can fall to low and why his view of the market has shifted on the fly. McNally is a former White House energy adviser and author of the book: 'Crude Volatility: The History and the Future of Boom-Bust Oil Prices.'

FUN OPINIONS

Carney: Ethanol Never Passes Up a Good Crisis to Ask for More – In an column/editorial in the Washington Examiner, Tim Carney writes almost the only predictable thing in agriculture is that when things are going poorly in the United States, the ethanol industry will come asking for a bailout.  So it is with the coronavirus crisis, he says. “The companies that turn grain into an inferior fuel are already subsidized up to their necks by state and federal governments, and they are already eligible for the coronavirus relief available to all businesses. Yet they want more — they want their own special coronavirus bailout.”

FROG BLOG

45Q Lifeline for CCS Projects, Jobs – ClearPath’s Justin Ong says in a new blog post that carbon capture is now a jobs lifeline thanks to the 45Q tax credit.  Wrongly perceived as unachievable, capture carbon is on the cusp of major developments. A natural gas power plant in California. A coal power plant in North Dakota. A cement facility in Colorado. A new Louisiana LNG terminal. A Texas facility that sucks up carbon dioxide straight from the air. Dozens of new carbon capture project proposals are sprouting up across the country.

Covid Update

The Bracewell note for today briefs you on the status of ongoing negotiations, or the lack thereof, over an interim emergency COVID-19 funding package intended to expand resources for the oversubscribed Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). We also have a new agency report that includes information on how Federal agencies are managing their operations and oversight obligations in response to COVID-19. In particular, today’s report apprises you of recent developments at the Federal agencies.

A $250 Billion “Game of Chicken”

• The bicameral game of partisan chicken continues, as House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) released a joint statement today in response to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy’s (R-CA) Saturday release.
  • Republican leaders are seeking a “clean” bill, focused exclusively on expanding PPP funding by $251 billion, whereas Democratic leaders aim to also include comparable resources for other priorities:
    • States and Local Governments. $150 billion in additional funding for states and localities.
    • Healthcare Sector. $100 billion in additional funding for hospitals and frontline workers.
    • EIDL. As we predicted in last week’s update, Democratic leaders also requested more funding for the Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDL) and grants.
      • As of Friday, four million businesses had applied for $383 billion in EIDL, but Congress has thus far allocated just $17 billion to the program, leading to effective caps far below the statutory $2 million limit under the CARES Act.
    • SNAP. Fifteen percent increase in the maximum benefit under the federal nutrition assistance program.
    • Testing and PPE. Adequate funding for the production and distribution of national rapid testing and Personal Protective Equipment (PPE).
  • The Democratic leaders’ joint statement concluded by saying, “We have real problems facing this country, and it’s time for the Republicans to quit the political posturing by proposing bills they know will not pass either chamber and get serious and work with us towards a solution.”
    • This is a near mirror image of Saturday’s GOP statement, which accused Democrats of using American workers as “political hostages.”
      • Both sides are doubling down.
• This week begins with no apparent progress in—or signs of—bipartisan talks or negotiations.
  • This morning, the Senate gaveled out of its pro forma session until Thursday at 3 p.m.
  • The House is set for similar procedural meetings tomorrow (Tuesday) and Friday.
• The clock is ticking, with PPP at risk of running out of funds within a week.
  • o An approximately $30 billion daily burn rate would put the program on the path to insolvency by next Monday.
• The other programs are “not in similar peril,” according to Republican leaders, who note that the terms of the new Federal Reserve facility to provide liquidity to state and local governments was announced on Thursday, while the first $30 billion tranche of hospital funds from the CARES Act was just released in recent days.
• How the coming days play out will depend in a large part on how the media coverage unfolds, which in turn will inform the pressure either side feels to compromise—and how or whether the White House chooses to enter the fray.

IN THE NEWS

Saudi, Russian Force OPEC+ Deal – The OPEC+ group decided to cut production by 9.7 million barrels per day for a two month period. Saudi Arabia and Russia, the biggest producers in the group, would each take output down to about 8.5 million a day, with all members agreeing to cut supply by 22%.  It would be the biggest cut in OPEC’s history and highlights the depth of the market’s crisis.

Oil Industry Response to Deal – Regarding the decision, API head Mike Sommers said following strong U.S. diplomacy and reduced domestic production driven by market conditions, API welcomed the agreement by other producing nations to follow the lead of the global marketplace – and U.S. producers – to reduce supply to align with lower energy demand as result of the pandemic. Sommers: "This is a significant agreement that will foster increased stability in energy markets to the benefit of both American energy consumers and producers. Prior to COVID-19, the world demanded 100 million barrels of oil per day for transportation, industrial operations, manufacturing and byproducts used in every sector of the global economy – from paints and asphalts to makeup and iPhones – and projections show long-term demand for oil and natural gas around the world remain strong. Significant challenges remain in the weeks and months ahead for our sector and nearly every other; however, U.S. oil and natural gas – and the American workers who produce, transport, service, refine and ship it – will be critical to enabling our economic recovery.”

Still a Long Way to Go – The agreement reached late last week appeared to stumble Friday after Mexico declined to cut its own output by as much as 400,000 barrels per day. But Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said on Friday his country would reduce its production by 100,000 barrels per day, and that the United States would contribute another 250,000 barrels per day in cuts to help Mexico and this allowed groups to finalize on Sunday.  Even so, analysts say the decline in production would amount to only about 10% of the world's normal supply of oil, far below the estimates for how much demand for oil has collapsed in the wake of the coronavirus crisis. And it is unlikely to stem the massive plunge in oil prices in recent months.  That still hasn’t prevented some from predicting higher price in 3Q and 4Q. Reuters says Citi analysts raised their Brent price forecasts for the third and fourth quarters to $35 and $45 a barrel respectively while Morgan Stanley has also raised its forecasts by $5 for the second half of the year to between $30 and $35 a barrel.

Market Reaction – The oil market kind of shrugged off the deal.  Market prices remain stable on Thursday and Friday but have drifted slightly higher in trading today with ICE Brent posting at $32.15 and WTI at 23.60/barrel. 

AGs Weigh in on HFCs – Last Wednesday, the Senate Environment Committee completed its public hearing process on S. 2754, the American Innovation and Manufacturing Act, establishes a national structure to phase down the production and use of hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs).  While there have been many submissions, mostly favoring the legislation from a wide range of advocates (including a group of 10 Senators), perhaps the most important was submitted just under the deadline yesterday by the Attorneys General of New York, California, Delaware, Illinois, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey, Oregon, Vermont, Washington and D.C.  In a letter to House and Senate leaders, the AGs said they supported legislation that would phase down the production and use of HFCs and enable a switch to newer, more climate-friendly refrigerants over 15 years.

Emissions Tumble Due to Economic Shut Down – Last week, both EIA and the UK-based Carbon Brief said the coronavirus pandemic and the associated economic downturn will likely slash global carbon emissions by more than 4% this year. An EIA report released this week forecasts a historic reduction in fossil fuel use in 2020 predicting a 7.5% reduction in energy-related carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions in the U.S. this year. That follows a 2.7% drop last year.  The Carbon Brief analysis says the reduction will even reduce emissions even after factoring in the slight increase (around 1%) in global carbon output that was expected before the coronavirus crisis hit. The dramatic decline in oil demand worldwide, as the coronavirus has grounded planes, reduced car travel, and kept people in their homes is the cause of the reductions. According to the analysis, the emissions cuts are nothing to celebrate, and they still pale in comparison to what the world would need to cut to reach the Paris Agreement’s more ambitious target to keep global warming below 1.5 degrees Celsius (more than 6% per year this decade).

Fisher to Head Electricity Group – Our friend Travis Fisher is leaving FERC to become CEO of the Electricity Consumers Resource Council, a trade group for large industrial consumers of electricity. Over the past two years, Fisher as an adviser to Republican FERC Commissioner Bernard McNamee, who is not seeking another term.  Before coming to FERC, Fisher was a senior adviser at the Department of Energy, where he led a 2017 report on the resilience and reliability of the electricity grid.

ON THE SCHEDULE THIS WEEK

MOST EVENTS SCHEDULED ARE NOW ONLINE WEBINARS

EESI Hosts Week-Long Briefing on Coastal Resilience Issues – The Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI) hosts a series of webinars this week on coastal climate adaptation data needs and applications. Every U.S. coast is facing adaptation challenges due to rising sea levels, storm surge, and other coastal hazards. This week-long briefing series will explore programs around the country that have been collecting and using geographic and climate data to inform adaptation planning, and how federal action can help or hinder those efforts. All webinars begin at Noon:

Today: Nicole Faghin and Ian Miller of Washington Sea Grant will share how they generated these predictions and work to disseminate the data to cities, towns, and NGOs working along the coast.

Tomorrow: Rob Young, Director of Western Carolina University’s Program for the Study of Developed Shorelines, discusses a project to map and evaluate the vulnerability of each coastal NPS asset—from the Statue of Liberty to remote roads in Alaska—in order to help park managers decide what should be protected, what should be abandoned, and what should be moved further inland.

Wednesday: Co-Equal’s Dr. Marcy Rockman will speak about the intersection of cultural heritage and climate change based on her new Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences article, offering recommendations on how federal agencies could more fully incorporate archeology and cultural heritage into the U.S. response to climate change.

Thursday: Dr. Amy Snover, Director of the Climate Impacts Group and the Northwest Climate Adaptation Science Center at the University of Washington, will discuss CIG’s cutting-edge programs and methodology for facilitating climate resilience in the American northwest.

Friday: Mary Austerman, Great Lakes Coastal Community Development Specialist at New York Sea Grant, will discuss a collaborative effort with the National Weather Service to integrate weather and social science data to inform vulnerability assessments for coastal cities and towns along Lake Ontario.

Webinar Looks at Oil Deal – The Atlantic Council hosts a webinar today at 1:00 p.m. on OPEC++ negotiations and the consequences for the oil market.  The event will look at the details of the OPEC meeting and G20 summit and what those decisions mean for the market, geopolitics, and the future of the oil industry.

Stanford to Host Former Interior Official on Clean Energy – Tonight at 7:30 p.m. (4:30 p.m. PDT), Stanford holds a webinar on key legal issues impacting the clean energy transition with former Interior official David Hayes, currently executive director of the State Energy & Environmental Impact Center at NYU’s School of Law.

Texas Railroad Commission to Discuss TX Production – Tomorrow, the Texas Railroad Commission – agency that oversees the oil and gas industry – the will meet to discuss the prospect of curtailing statewide oil production. The meeting comes as some independent oil producers urged the agency to use its authority to reduce oil production to stabilize a volatile oil and gas market. Two of the agency’s three elected commissioners have signaled their discomfort with such a maneuver. The commissioners plan to discuss the matter, and take public comment, during an online hearing Tuesday. The earliest they could vote on it is April 21^st.

Webinar to Look at Climate Research – The University of Maryland holds a virtual conference all-day tomorrow on climate change with researchers from Hawaii, Australia, and elsewhere. This conference will bring together leading scholars from a diverse range of disciplines to discuss how we can come together to find solutions for the existential environmental threats facing the planet. By approaching the problem from different perspectives, the speakers will address key questions surrounding the science, ethics, and implications of climate change.

Webinar to Look at Utilities, COVID-19 – The U.S. Energy Association, U.S. Agency for International Development, and Edison Electric Institute hold a webinar tomorrow at 10:00 a.m. on best practices from U.S. and Eastern European utilities on maintaining business continuity during the COVID-19 pandemic.  Speakers include EEI’s Scott Aaronson and David Batz.

ELI Webinar to Look at Workplace Risk – The Environmental Law Institute holds a webinar tomorrow at Noon on workplace risk management and response to COVID-19, exploring such areas as environmental compliance in this changing regulatory landscape.  Our friend Kevin Minoli, former EPA enforcement official moderates a panel with EPA enforcement chief Rosemarie Kelley.

AWEA to Release Report – The American Wind Energy Association releases Wind Powers America Annual Report 2019 tomorrow at 2:00 p.m. This report provides a comprehensive look at the U.S. wind energy industry, including wind projects, wind turbine and component manufacturing, market rankings and key industry players, market trends, and the economic and environmental impact of the U.S. wind energy industry.

Webinar to Look at COVID Economic Challenges – The Brookings Doha Center is hosting a webinar discussion tomorrow at 4:00 p.m. on the economic challenges that the COVID-19 pandemic poses for the Gulf Cooperation Council. The discussion will address the following questions: What are the short- and long-term economic implications of the pandemic for GCC economies? How should GCC governments apply their stimulus packages to counter the adverse impacts of the pandemic and the drop in oil prices? What other policy priorities should GCC governments pursue to ameliorate the societal impact of the COVID-19 crisis?

Event to Look at Climate, COVID – The New America Foundation will hold an on-line seminar tomorrow at 4:00 p.m. to discuss our long-term thinking about climate change in the wake of coronavirus.  Boston Globe Editorial Page Editor Bina Venkataraman, a former White House Senior Advisor for Climate Change Innovation, and Slate News Director Susan Mathews.

McCarthy, EEI Headline Energy Bar Annual Meeting – The Energy Bar Association holds its virtual annual meeting on Wednesday.  The all-day forum will feature former EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy who now heads NRDC, EEI head Tom Kuhn, NRECA’s Jim Matheson and FERC solicitor Robert Solomon.  The closing panel will look at climate and the elections with our reporter friends Gavin Bade of POLITICO, Axios’ Amy Harder and Steve Mufson of the WaPo.

Forum to Look at Clean Energy, COVID – JHU’s Energy Resources Environment (ERE) and Initiative for Sustainable Energy Policy (ISEP) programs will host an online forum on Wednesday at 10:00 a.m. featuring Jonas Nahm.  This webinar reviews past attempts to revive domestic economies through green industrial policy strategies and examines their prospects in the context of Covid-19.

Yang Featured at Axios Event – On Wednesday at 12:30 p.m., Axios hosts a live, virtual event on how businesses and financial institutions are preserving consumer privacy amidst the coronavirus pandemic.  Axios Co-founder & CEO Jim VandeHei and Business Editor Dan Primack will host conversations with former 2020 Democratic Presidential Candidate Andrew Yang and others.

State Energy Officials Discuss Workforce Development – The National Association of State Energy Officials holds a webinar on Wednesday at 2:00 p.m. to explore opportunities to support workforce development initiatives in the energy sector. Its recently-released 2020 U.S. Energy and Employment Report shows that the energy sector accounts for nearly five percent of the U.S. workforce, and is growing faster than the economy as a whole. However, an increasing number of employers are reporting difficulty in hiring energy sector workers: over 84 percent of prospective employers in 2019, compared to 77 percent in 2018, and 70 percent in 2017.

Forum to Look at Climate, Enviro Planning – The National Association of Environmental Professionals holds a webinar on Wednesday at 3:00 p.m. looking at climate change regulation and action plans in environmental planning.

Webinar to Look at CCS Storage – The Global CCS Institute holds a web-based CCS Talk on Thursday at 7:30 a.m. EST focusing on CO2 storage facts.  The groups’ Storage and Legal and Regulatory experts will explain how CO2 storage works, seek to address these myths and misconceptions and demonstrate why CO2 storage is an essential climate change mitigation technology. 

WRI Forum to Look at Ag – The World Resources Institute holds an online event on Thursday at 9:00 a.m. to look at the goals of the Paris Agreement and transformative changes in the agriculture sector. In this webinar, experts from the Climate and Clean Air Coalition, FAO and Oxfam will share their latest research on supporting low-carbon transformation in the agriculture sector through enhancing 2020 NDCs. Additionally, government representatives from Uganda and Vietnam will speak to the need for more ambitious, explicit, and directed actions to foster productive farming practices that also reduce greenhouse gas emissions and are climate-resilient.

NRC to Look at Vogtle – Nuclear Regulatory Commission holds a teleconference on Thursday at 9:00 a.m. to discuss issues associated with the safety review of licensing actions for Southern Nuclear’s Vogtle Electric Generating Plant, Units 3 and 4.

FERC Virtual Open Meeting – Thursday at 9:00 a.m.

Webinar to Look at COVID Utility Preparedness – The United States Energy Association hosts a webinar Thursday at 10:00 a.m. on Asia, Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean and utility emergency preparedness.  The speakers will focus on mitigating the impacts of a global pandemic.  Southern’s Paul Sabella and Duke’s Harry Sideris are among the speakers.

Webinar to Look at Gas Market – On Thursday at 10:30 a.m., Rystad Energy holds a webinar on the impact of COVID-19 in gas markets. Carlos Torres Diaz, Head of Gas Market Research at Rystad Energy, sharing our view on the impact

S&P Webinar to Look at Hydrogen – S&P Global Platts holds a webinar on energy transition and future of index development on Thursday at 11:00 a.m.  Platts editors will discuss hydrogen pricing development and future trends, Platts Trade Vision price submission platform, and trends in US natural gas indices.

ELI Forum to Look at User Fees for Carbon – The Environmental Law Institute holds an online forum on Thursday at Noon looking at EPA’s authority to impose a user fee on carbon emissions. Some legal scholars suggest EPA could impose a user fee on carbon emissions, while opponents claim only Congress may establish a price on carbon. Both point to a 1990 memorandum issued by EPA’s Office of General Counsel (OGC) that notes the difficulty regulating the use of fees as agencies may not use outside money to supplement appropriations. The panel will discuss legal and practical challenges of such a move.

Webinar to Look at NatGas – On Thursday at Noon for a webinar discussing the Natural Gas: A Bridge to Climate Breakdown report.  The report will focus on evolving risks associated with the use of natural gas within the power sector.  The event will feature a brief overview of the report and open a discussion on related drivers and barriers, policy trends, industry leaders, and best practices for investors to engage utilities on natural gas risks. Speakers include Morgan Stanley’s Stephen Byrd, Lila Holzman of As You Sow, Arizona Public Service’s Barbara Lockwood, Energy Innovation’s Mike O’Boyle and Chaz Teplin of the Rocky Mountain Institute.

ELI Webinar to Look at Pricing Carbon – The Environmental Law Institute holds a webinar Thursday at Noon looking at pricing carbon and the opportunities and obstacles for EPA to impose a carbon tax. Speakers include our friend and former EPA official Don Elliott (now at Yale Law), former Congressional Joint Economic Committee economist Adele Morris (now at Brookings) and Chad Stone of the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.

DOE Women Leading Sustainable Energy Collaborations Webinar – Women across various offices at the Department of Energy (DOE) lead the agency in addressing America’s energy challenges. To highlight past, current, and future examples, DOE is hosting a Thursday webinar at 1:00 p.m. that will feature DOE leaders from the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy: Valerie Reed, deputy director of the Bioenergy Technologies Office, Valri Lightner, deputy director of the Advanced Manufacturing Office, and Alison Hewett, a senior research analyst in the Water Power Technologies Office.  These women have a combined 60 years of experience, representing a positive force that is changing the framework of research, development, and adoption of energy-related technologies and practices to drive U.S. economic competitiveness and energy productivity. They focus on improving energy performance, lowering costs, and accelerating market entry for new technologies through collaborations with industry, academia, and government.

Bracewell Webinar to Look at COVID, Renewables – Bracewell hosts a discussion on Thursday at 1:00 p.m. on the impact of COVID-19 on renewable energy projects. The COVID-19 pandemic is having an unprecedented global effect on all industries including the renewable energy project development and finance sector. This virtual roundtable discussion with market leaders in the renewable energy industry, will address the extent is the pandemic causing delays in the supply chain and construction of renewable projects under development, what the renewable energy development and finance landscape will look like post-COVID and many other questions.  Bracewell’s Danielle Garbien, moderates a panelist with Brookfield Renewables’ Ricardo Alicea, Joram Cukierman of J Aron & Company, Sol Systems’ Yuri Horwitz and Santosh Raikar of Silverpeak.

Webinar Looks Climate Activism in COVID Era – The Aspen Institute holds a webcast on Thursday at 1:00 .m. looking at climate activism in the age of COVID-19.  Activists Bill McKibben of 350.org, Earth Uprising’s Alexandria Villaseñor and Benji Backer of the American Conservation Coalition will look at how you can stay active and engaged in climate action during this time.

IN THE FUTURE

10^th Anniversary of Deepwater Horizon Incident – April 20^th

Forum to Look at Direct A Capture – Next Tuesday, April 21^st at Noon, the Institute for Carbon Removal Law and Policy holds an explainer webinar on direct air capture.  Speakers will include Jen Wilcox, Worcester Polytechnic Institute; Christoph Beuttler, Climeworks; and Sahag Voskian, MIT, who will discuss the ins and outs of Direct Air Capture.

Forum to Look at Alaska Coastal Resilience – The Environmental and Energy Study Institute holds a briefing on April 21^st at 2:00 p.m. on scientific developments and policy initiatives that are helping protect Alaskan ecosystems and communities from erosion, sea level rise, and other coastal hazards. The panelists will describe the collaborative process between federal, state, local, and tribal stakeholders in collecting, sharing, and acting on scientific data to inform policy decisions around adaptation and help communities define and achieve their resilience goals. These projects can serve as a model for other regions experiencing similar issues in high-latitude or coastal areas.

Offshore Wind Conference Set – The Business Network for Offshore Wind, the leading non-profit advocate for U.S. offshore wind at the state, federal and global levels, will host its 7^th annual International Partnership Forum (IPF) on April 21-24^th NOW ONLINE.  They will reschedule the in-person meeting in Providence, Rhode Island for August 18-21. The annual IPF conference is the premier event for the offshore wind supply chain, which is now projected to be a $70 billion revenue opportunity through 2030.

Earth Day – Wednesday April 22^nd

Wilson to Hold Environmental Forum – On Wednesday April 22^nd, the Wilson Center will hold a virtual conference on global cooperation on the environment.  The event will look at policy, technology and action. In partnership with the Smithsonian Conservation Commons and the Earth Optimism Summit and leveraging initiatives such as the Wilson Center’s collaboration around Earth Challenge 2020, we aim to elevate solutions-based, integrated approaches to tackling today’s toughest environmental challenges. The result can be a more inclusive, resilient, and ultimately healthy environment and society.

Webinar to Look at Energy Storage – The Department of Energy's (DOE) Office of Fossil Energy (FE) has initiated a new program - the Advanced Energy Storage Program. On Wednesday April 22^nd, they will host a webinar at 11:00 a.m. that will provide an overview of the new program, its relationship to the DOE-wide Energy Storage Grand Challenge, and engage stakeholders in a short dialogue to inform future program plans. This program will conduct research and development to advance energy storage technologies and integrate them with fossil assets to reduce barriers to wide-spread deployment.  NETL’s Briggs White will speak.

Webinar to Look at State of Renewables – On Wednesday, April 22^nd at Noon, ACORE and BloombergNEF’s State of the Industry Webinar will be held to discuss renewables and COVID.  The event is a quarterly series that offers the latest intelligence and analysis on the renewable energy sector. Environmental, social and governance (ESG) funds, while down 12% this year, appear to be less vulnerable to the current economic crisis than traditional funds. Analysts predict that the pandemic could elevate ESG factors in investment decisions, as investors request more information about supply chains, workforce and environmental issues, ultimately moving toward a “new normal” of sustainability. How might these developments affect investment in the renewable energy sector?  ACORE’s Greg Wetstone and BNEF’s Ethan Zindler will speak.

NAS, ClimateMusic to Host Webinar – For Earth Day 2020 (the 50th anniversary of Earth Day), the National Academy of Sciences in collaboration with The ClimateMusic Project will host an online discussion on Wednesday, April 22^nd at 3:00 p.m. with diverse experts exploring the intersections of music, climate change, and community action.  The program will feature clips and a discussion of a previously recorded performance of Icarus in Flight, an original chamber work by composer Richard Festinger, performed by the Telegraph Quartet. Icarus in Flight is a science-guided composition that models three human drivers of climate change – population growth, fossil fuel use, and land-use change–over two centuries, from 1880-2080 based on widely accepted IPCC data.

JHU to Look at Hydrogen – The Johns Hopkins SAIS will hold an online event on Thursday, April 23^rd at

12:30 p.m. on hydrogen.  The seminar will feature Christopher Jackson, Protium Green Solutions, UK; Patrick Molloy, Rocky Mountain Institute, US and Markus Wilthaner, McKinsey & Company, UK.

USEA Holds Annual Meeting, Forum – The US Energy Assn holds its annual meeting and Public Policy Forum on Tuesday April 28^th in the Ronald Reagan Trade Center.  The event brings together USEA members and energy stakeholders, including Administration officials, thought leaders, lawmakers, diplomats and journalists to discuss the latest energy policy developments, share industry updates, and celebrate the achievements of the United States Energy Award and United States Energy Volunteer Award.

Webinar to Look at CCS Market Scale-up – The Global CCS Institute holds a web-based CCS Talk on Tuesday April 28^th at 9:00 a.m. EST focusing scaling up the CCS Market to deliver net-zero emissions. Institute experts explain how they see the opportunities for CCS deployment and provide an overview of the near-term and longer-term developments in the CCS market.

JHU Webinar/Report on Sustainable Road Projects – The Johns Hopkins SAIS holds a webinar Tuesday April 28^th at 10:00 a.m. to launch the report on Decision-Making on Belt and Road Projects. A new report from ISEP at Johns Hopkins University, the Blavatnik School of Government at the University of Oxford, and the ClimateWorks Foundation seeks to better understand how sustainability considerations do and do not enter into decision-making around BRI projects. The report is based on in-depth elite interviews with regulatory agencies, policy banks, NGOs, and state-owned enterprises in China, and seeks to unpack BRI’s decision-making processes by revealing divergent preferences, incentives, and bureaucratic capacity of various related actors. Policy recommendations on how to green the BRI are made based on these findings. The webinar will present the report’s key findings and provide a forum to discuss their implications with key stakeholders.

Energy Forum Set for CO – The Colorado School of Mines, Colorado State University, University of Colorado-Boulder, and National Renewable Energy Lab are hosting the 9^th annual 21^st Century Energy Transition Symposium at the Embassy Suites in Downtown Denver on April 28^th and 29^th.  Over 65 speakers (in 20 different sessions) from various expertise and backgrounds covering environmental challenges & solutions through collaboration with industry from multiple sources of energy.  Hear from keynote speakers including Colorado Governor Polis, ARPA-E Director Lane Genatowski, Tri-State CEO Duane Highley and many more.  

CERES 2020 Set – Ceres 2020 in New York has moved to a digital format due to the coronavirus pandemic. Ceres 2020 brings together corporate, investor and policy leaders to map out next steps for increased sustainability action across the economy.

WRI Webinar Looks at 1.5 Target – The World Resources Institute holds a webinar on May 5^th at Noon on limiting temperature rise to 1.5 Degrees and the roles for investors, companies and policymakers. In this session, participants will explore how major asset owners decided to commit to net-zero portfolios, compare corporate strategies to set and meet ambitious carbon reduction goals and evaluate the critical role of policymakers in enabling deep carbon emissions reductions.

CA Conferences Set – The 8^th Annual California Energy Summit is being held on May 6^th to 8^th in the LA Grand Hotel Downtown.  It will feature top regulatory officials, utility and public power leaders, and developers to discuss the state-wide implications of wildfire mitigation measures, incentives that can drive deployment of self-generation and storage to enhance resilience, near-term resource adequacy and long-term SB100 procurement needs of CCAs, public power and IOUs and the expansion of interstate energy trading and transmission buildout needs. 

AEE Holds Eastern Policy Conference – Advanced Energy Economy holds its second annual Eastern Regional policy conference in Annapolis on May 21^st.  The event features business leaders and policymakers exploring legislative and regulatory paths to scaling advanced energy markets in electricity and transportation, in states and nationally.  Speakers will include Alison Cassady of the House Select Climate Committee, PJM’s Susan Riley and Michigan PSC Chair Sally Talberg. 

Clean Power Conference Set – CANCELLED – The first annual AWEA CleanPower Conference will be in Denver on June 1^st to 4^th. 

DC Oil/Gas Forum Set – The 6^th Washington Oil & Gas Forum 2020 is set for June 10^th and 11^th at The Cosmos Club in Washington, DC.  The US leads global oil and natural gas production. U.S. shale revolution has reshaped the energy landscape in the United States and globally. The American Energy Revolution has delivered massive economic, environmental and geopolitical benefits. Today, the United States is the world’s top oil and gas producer and a leading energy exporter. The Washington Oil & Gas Forum is the foremost innovative and exclusive force for engaging oil and gas leaders in collaborative activities to shape the American and global oil and gas agendas.  Speakers include FERC Chair Neil Chatterjee, Sen Cruz, Reps. Randy Weber, Mike McCaul and Bruce Westerman.