Energy Update: Week of April 5

Friends,               

Hope everybody had a great EASTER.  I am reporting today from my Cancun office, which I opened shortly prior to the UN climate meeting held here a number of years ago.  Trying to get a couple of days of sun/salsa, but the update must go on…  Getting hyped for tonight’s Gonzaga-Baylor game after an amazing Saturday evening OT thriller keeping the Bulldogs undefeated.  And Congrats to the Stanford for winning its first NCAA Women’s title in 29 years, just sneaking by Arizona 54-53. 

Not really a super busy week, but following the President’s infrastructure speech/policy roll out last week, more very interesting news this morning when Sempra Energy announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to sell part of its infrastructure business platform, Sempra Infrastructure Partners, to leading global investment firm KKR for $3.37 billion.  Much More below.

Other events include NASEO, Energy Futures Initiative and BW Research hosting a presentation tomorrow of key data findings from an analysis of workforce wages, benefits and transitions in the U.S. energy sector, former Obama Interior Secretary Sally Jewell returning to the stage with a Wednesday conversation at RFF, an Atlantic Council meeting on nuclear power on Thursday and on Friday, GW’s School of Media and Public Affairs holds its annual  2021 Planet Forward Summit.

This week is The Masters. Jordan Spieth seems to be on a roll after his weekend win in Texas at the Valero Texas Open.  Par 3: Wednesday; Big Show: Thursday to Sunday. Hope you stay safe & healthy and get those vaccine shots when you can!

Best,

Frank Maisano

(202) 828-5864

C. (202) 997-5932

FRANKLY SPOKEN

"Over the next decade, we expect the energy markets in North America to continue to grow and become increasingly integrated. Combining our resources with KKR improves our ability to capture new investment opportunities in cleaner forms of energy and the critical infrastructure that stores and transports it. This transaction also sends a clear signal about the value and expected growth of our infrastructure portfolio.”

Jeff Martin, chairman and CEO of Sempra Energy discussing a new Infrastructure partnership with global investment firm KKR

ON THE PODCAST

Expert Talks Energy Poverty – In this week’s Power Hungry Podcast, energy expert Robert Bryce to Dana Harmon, the executive director of the Texas Energy Poverty Research Institute. In the episode, they talked about how the February snowstorm increased energy insecurity among low-income Texans, why weatherization of homes helps increase resilience, and how energy, in her words, should be a “tool to help address poverty and socioeconomic disparities in our system.”

FUN OPINIONS

NatGas Bans are Bad Policy – In an op-ed in the Albuquerque Journal, former Argonne National Lab expert says a gas ban fails miserably, with virtually zero benefits.  He adds as a public policy, a ban is exceptionally bad. From a global perspective, the results are similar. A ban represents a command-and-control policy at its worst. It is a blunt instrument, draconian and highly costly relative to the alternatives in terms of mitigating greenhouse gas emissions. “Good policy balances economic and environmental consequences in achieving an outcome that is in the public interest. Because a gas ban has virtually no effect on climate change and would increase energy costs for consumers, one would have to look far and wide to find a government action that is so intrusive, imbalanced and detrimental to society’s welfare.”

Walden, Powell: Climate Progress Already Underway – Former House Energy Committee Chairman Greg Walden and ClearPath Executive Director Rich Powell wrote an op-ed in The Hill explaining how Republicans have made tremendous strides on climate. "We have institutionalized big, bold goals anchored by clean energy breakthroughs, and even campaign on innovation as the best approach to solving the climate challenge...The culmination of the years of effort can be summed up in one piece of legislation — the Energy Act of 2020."

FROG BLOG

Housing Advocate Says Electric Only Houses Too Expensive – In a blog post in Colorado Politics, housing advocate and Greeley-Weld Habitat for Humanity Executive Director Cheri Witt Brown writes more than 1.8 million households throughout the state already depend on cost-friendly natural gas to help heat their homes and power appliances — including many of the homes they have helped build and hope to continue to build in the future. “We all want to work together to create a clean and environmentally sustainable energy future, but we can’t do it at the expense of low-income families.” Brown says an all-electric home costs Coloradans $1,083 more annually than an average natural gas home. “For some of the families we serve, that is an entire month’s pay. Eliminating natural gas as an option for new builds increases the overall homeownership costs for low-income families and could price the families we work with out of a home.”

FUN FACTS

Mining Uber Eats: While the delivery of food and supplies to remote mine sites like Canadian Royalties’ Nunavik nickel project in northern Quebec is big news, researchers say that this practice dates back to the Bronze Age.  In a paper published in the journal PLOS ONE, scientists from the Austrian Academy of Science and the University of Innsbruck present evidence that backs the idea that Bronze Age mining sites relied on outside sources to deliver pre-processed food to sustain the community.

IN THE NEWS

Sempra Brings KKR into Infrastructure Investment – Sempra Energy this morning announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to sell a non-controlling, 20% interest in Sempra Energy’s new business platform, Sempra Infrastructure Partners, to KKR for $3.37 billion in cash. KKR is a leading global investment firm. Today’s announcement is part of a series of integrated transactions originally announced in December 2020 that are intended to simplify Sempra Energy’s non-utility infrastructure investments under one self-funding platform, combining the strengths of Sempra LNG, a leading developer of liquefied natural gas (LNG) export infrastructure, and IEnova (Infraestructura Energética Nova, S.A.B de C.V.), one of the largest private energy companies in Mexico and a leading developer and operator of renewables and natural gas infrastructure in that country. This new platform is expected to create scale, unlock portfolio synergies, highlight value and better position the business for growth.

What’s KKR Get from Deal – KKR will be making the investment through its Global Infrastructure Investors Funds. KKR first established its Global Infrastructure strategy in 2008 and has since been one of the most active infrastructure investors around the world with a team of more than 50 dedicated investment professionals. The firm currently has over $27 billion in infrastructure assets under management and has made over 40 infrastructure investments across a range of sub-sectors and geographies.

Already a Major Player – The new business platform is expected to create increased shareholder value and support the global energy transition by providing an improved platform for innovation and potential new investments in renewables, hydrogen, ammonia, energy storage and carbon sequestration. Sempra Infrastructure Partners owns, among other assets:

• An LNG portfolio consisting of up to 45 million tons per annum (Mtpa) of LNG export capacity in development, construction or operation on the North American Pacific and Gulf Coasts;
• A renewable portfolio consisting of up to 4 gigawatts (GW) of renewable energy generation in development, construction or operation in Mexico and related electric transmission infrastructure;
• A natural gas infrastructure portfolio consisting of distribution companies and certain cross-border and in-country pipelines, including those that export U.S. natural gas to Mexico and supply the Energía Costa Azul LNG facility.

Morning Consult Report Looks at Renewable Energy Transition – With renewable energy being top of mind for many Americans, a new report from Morning Consult explores the individual consumer's relationship to energy and climate by way of purchases, preferences, and behaviors.  The report provides extensive insight into the changing policies, innovations, consumer preferences and values within the energy sector.  Download the report for all of the top insights on consumers' preferences and habits regarding renewable energy as we look towards the transition.

ON THE SCHEDULE THIS WEEK

MOST EVENTS SCHEDULED ARE NOW ONLINE WEBINARS

JHU Forum Looks at Business, Labor Climate Impacts – Today at 12:30 p.m., JHU’s SAIS program hosts a forum on business and labor Interests’ impact on climate policy. Matto Mildenberger, an assistant professor of political science at the UC-Santa Barbara, discusses his book Carbon Captured and his research on the politics of climate change in the United States and around the world.

Forum Looks at Biden Antarctica Priorities – The Woodrow Wilson Center's Polar Institute holds a webinar today at 1:00 p.m. on environmental protection in Antarctica and what the Priorities for the New Biden Administration should be.  Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, (D-R.I.), delivers keynote remarks.  Other speakers include former Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Oceans and Fisheries Evan Bloom, Swedish Ambassador for the Ocean Helen Agren, European Union Commissioner of Environment, Oceans and Fisheries Virginijus Sinkevicius, Sylvia Earle, president and chair of Mission Blue and Enric Sala, explorer in residence at the National Geographic Society

Atlantic Council Forum Looks at Smart Cities – Today at 4:00 p.m., the Atlantic Council Global Energy Center holds a forum to discuss community-scale implementation of green urban design and the climate, environmental justice, and economic benefits such infrastructure can provide.

IMF, World Bank Hold Spring Meetings – The International Monetary Fund and World Bank hold their Virtual 2021 Spring Meetings tomorrow to Thursday. Janet Yellen will be among the speakers.

Webinar to Look at Arctic Sea Lanes – Tomorrow at Noon, the Foreign Policy Research Institute holds a webinar on climate, competition and collaboration in the Arctic sea lanes. FPRI has assembled a panel of experts on Arctic Policy including FPRI host Saleem Ali, former NASA Scientist Anthony Strawa, Russian Energy Policy Expert Roman Sidortsov, and the U.S. Naval War College’s Rebecca Pincus.

Forum to Look at US Energy/Employment Report – The National Association of State Energy Officials, Energy Futures Initiative, and BW Research Partnership host a presentation tomorrow at 1:00 p.m. of key data findings from Wages, Benefits and Change: A Supplemental Report to the U.S. Energy and Employment Report, an analysis of workforce wages, benefits, and transitions in the U.S. energy sector.  Energy, climate, and economic policy experts will discuss the potential role of energy careers in just transitions and job creation, as a new Administration, states across the country, and the private sector address challenges and opportunities emerging from the transition to low and carbon free energy and economic recovery.

Forum to Discuss Climate Voices – WRISE holds a conversation tomorrow at 2:00 p.m. about how to amplify the voices of women and people of color working on climate action. Panelists will share insights from participating in the Public Voices Fellowship on the Climate Crisis. This highly competitive, year-long program was developed by The OpEd Project and Yale University to increase the diversity of thought leadership addressing climate change.  Karen Conover, Martha Southgate and Nikayla Jefferson will share lessons learned from the fellowship and how the experience influenced their perception of leadership.

Louisville Mayor to Discuss Infrastructure – The Washington Post Live hosts a forum Wednesday with U.S. Conference of Mayors’ president Greg Fisher, Mayor of Louisville, KY, discusses how mayors view the Biden administration’s proposed infrastructure plan and policy priorities for his city.

Jewell to Join RFF Event – On Wednesday at 1:00 p.m. Resources for the Future (RFF) is holding a Policy Leadership Series event with former US Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell. Jewell served as Interior Secretary under the Obama administration from 2013–2017 and is currently a Global Board Member of The Nature Conservancy, where she previously served as interim CEO. RFF President and CEO Richard G. Newell will sit down with Jewell to discuss a range of public lands and climate issues, including federal oil and gas leasing reform, the Biden administration’s goal to conserve nearly a third of US lands and ocean waters, and the role public lands can play in mitigating biodiversity loss.

Forum to Look at Climate, Florida – The American Security Project holds a virtual discussion Wednesday at 1:00 p.m. on the national security implications of climate change in Florida. Lieutenant General Norm Seip, USAF (ret.) leads a discussion of the climate threats to military infrastructure, operations, and readiness in Florida, as well as the broader threats to U.S. national security interests.

Inslee Headlines Atlantic Council Discussion – The Atlantic Council holds a forum on Wednesday at 2:00 p.m. with Washington Governor Jay Inslee and a distinguished panel of energy and climate leaders from the Evergreen State discuss Washington’s push to become the next U.S. climate frontrunner.

Forum to Discuss Lithium in Argentina – The Woodrow Wilson Center's Argentina Project holds a webinar Wednesday at 3:00 p.m. on Argentina's Lithium industry and its role in the global renewable energy transformation.

Webber Headlines WCEE Book Forum – On Wednesday at 5:30 p.m., the Women’s Council on Energy and the Environment (WCEE) holds its virtual Author Spotlight featuring authors Roger Duncan and Michael Webber as they discuss ‘The Future of Buildings, Transportation, and Power’.  You may recall that Webber wrote ‘Power Trip’ selected reading for WCEE’s December 2020 book club meeting. 

Energy Security Conference Set For Congress – US Energy Stream hold s its in-person Energy Security Forum 2021 on Thursday and Friday at the Petroleum Club of Houston, TX. The Forum is an annual market intelligence platform that brings together powerful U.S. Congressmen, Senators, government leaders, top energy executives, and investors.  Speakers will include API’s Mike Sommers, Reps. Markwayne Mullin, Neil Dunn, Jeff Duncan, Gary Palmer, Randy Weber, John Curtis and Troy Nehls, among others.

Forum to Look at Nuclear in Clean Energy Future – The Atlantic Council Global Energy Center holds a forum on Thursday at 8:30 a.m. on nuclear power.  The event features a conversation with Dr. Sama Bilbao y León, Director General of the World Nuclear Association; Arun Khuttan, COP26 Project Lead for the United Kingdom’s NextGen Nuclear Industry Council; William Magwood, Director General of the OECD’s Nuclear Energy Agency; and Dr. John C. Wagner, Director of Idaho National Laboratory, on the role of nuclear energy in meeting climate goals ahead of the United States’ Leaders’ Climate Summit in April.  This event will be the first in the Atlantic Council “Raising Ambitions” events series, which focuses on the higher climate ambitions that the Biden Administration hopes to realize at home and abroad. It will evaluate key technologies critical to helping reach these goals, emphasize sectoral approaches to decarbonization, and highlight countries increasing their commitments to climate action.

CAP to Discuss Climate Justice – On Thursday at 10:00 a.m., the Center for American Progress will hold a livestreamed event on racial justice and climate action.  The event will provide a U.S. and U.K. perspective and will feature a conversation between British Member of Parliament David Lammy and U.S. Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass).

ELI Looks at Food Waste Issues – On Thursday at Noon, the Environmental Law Institute, BioCycle, American Biogas Council and leading experts hold a forum to explore food scrap recycling questions and seek solutions to diverting food waste from landfills and recycling to create valuable products through anaerobic digestion.

 

Forum to Look at Electrification of Transportation – On Thursday at 1:00 p.m. E, ClimateSolutions April Climate Leaders Live webinar will focus on the particularly vital strategy for cutting climate pollution: how to rapidly and equitably accelerate the electrification of our vehicles. Featured speakers for the conversation include EDF’s Fred Krupp.

Forum Targets Paying for Infrastructure – On Thursday at 3:00 p.m., the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget holds Paying for Infrastructure, a virtual event that will explore possible revenue sources. A panel of experts will discuss options ranging from vehicle miles traveled (VMT) fees to income taxes to carbon pricing. Our panel of experts will also take your questions. Panelists will ITIF’s Robert Atkinson, Jeff Davis of the Eno Center for Transportation, NYU Law’s Chye-Ching Huang and Brookings’ Adele Morris.

AU Forum to Look at Energy Transition – On Thursday at 5:30 p.m. AU’s Center for Environmental Policy will hold a forum to explore climate and economic transition issues looking at economic winners and losers and how the world’s economy can be reshaped, and within a couple of decades. 

Forum to Looks at Sustainable Infrastructure – On Friday at Noon, the New York University in DC holds a webinar on building sustainable infrastructure.  The event will focus on individual efforts to battle climate change and combat environmental degradation.

GW Planet Forward Summit Set – On Friday, GW’s School of Media and Public Affairs holds its annual  2021 Planet Forward Summit.  The Summit is focused on the urgency of the climate crisis, environmental equity, inclusion — and the narratives that propel them. Learn how these environmental change agents use storytelling to transform their audiences from passive listeners to engaged doers. Speakers include National Geographic Explorer & documentary filmmaker John Sutter. TODAY Show Weather and Feature Anchor Al Roker and Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego, among others.

IN THE FUTURE

AFPM Annual Conference Set – The annual conference for the American Fuel and Petrochem Manufacturers will be held virtually on April 12^th - 14^th.  Our friends Christine Tezak of ClearView Energy, Monroe Energy’s Adam Gattuso, AFPM’s Derrick Morgan and Valero CEO Joe Gorder all speak.  

Power Market Conference Set – S&P Global Platts holds its 36^th Annual Global Power Markets Virtual Conference on April 12^th to 14^th. The Conference focuses on the latest trends in energy policy, generation development, power market dynamics, power finance, power asset valuation, A&D, and energy transition.

UT Austin Energy Week 2021 to Focus on Energy Transition – The UT Austin Energy Week 2021 Conference will be held on April 13^th and 14^th focusing energy transition issues.  UT Energy Week 2021 will focus on the intertwined dynamics of how leaders and organizations in the public, private, and non-profit sectors balance the complex suite of pull-and-pushes to position their organizations and communities to not only lead in the energy transition, but also become more equitable and resilient in the process.  Our friends Robert Bryce, former WSJ reporter Jeff Ball and former EERE office head Dan Simmons are among the speakers.

Bloomberg BNEF Forum Looks at Renewable Transition – Bloomberg NEF holds its annual summit on Wednesday April 14^th to look at Renewables and the energy transition.  The BNEF Summit provides the ideas, insights and connections to formulate successful strategies, capitalize on technological change and shape a cleaner, more competitive future.  Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm, White House Climate official Gina McCarthy, Vistra CEO Curt Morgan and many others will speak.  See the list here.

Energy Economists Conference Set – The National Capital Area Chapter of the US Assn for Energy Economics holds their Annual Energy Policy Conference on April 20^th and 21^st. The conference will help make sense of the major shifts taking place across this new energy landscape. Economists, policy analysts, industry experts, and investors will gather to decipher critical emerging trends and policies facing the energy industry. Our friend Richard Meyer of AGA is among the panelists.

Biden Climate Forum Shaping Up – The Biden Administration is expected to hold a climate forum for international leaders on April 22^nd and 23^rd in Washington.  The event is part of Biden’s effort to engage the international climate committee which start with his rejoining the Paris Agreement.  The president has asked leaders of the world’s 17 biggest economies, which account for roughly 80% of GDP and emissions, to take part in the event, as well as the heads of other countries that are demonstrating strong climate leadership, are especially vulnerable to climate impacts, or are charting innovative pathways to a net-zero [emissions] economy. Invitees include Chinese President Xi Jinping, Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, French President Emmanuel Macron, Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and a many others.

Chamber Innovation Forum looks at CCS – The US Chamber’s Global Energy Institute continues its EnergyInnovates Event Series on Thursday April 22^nd at 10:00 a.m.  The event will feature discussions that highlight the need to fund the innovation programs authorized in the Energy Act of 2020, including the important role of carbon removal, and carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS) in achieving global and national climate goals. In this webinar, experts will explore the status of and outlook for carbon removal and CCUS technologies in light of recent legislative changes, as well as the next set of policies necessary to accelerate their scaling and adoption.

SCOTUS Packs Enviro Cases in Late April – Late April will be busy for the Supreme Court on environmental issues.  The Court will hear oral arguments in Guam v. United States on April 26, a case that has attracted the interest of my colleague Scott Segal and looks at a battle over a waste dump that first served as a disposal site for Navy waste during World War II.  The next day, April 27^th, HollyFrontier Cheyenne Refining, LLC v. Renewable Fuels Association is just scheduled which is case over the RFS’s Small Refinery program and a 10^th Circuit ruling that has caused significant controversy.  Then on April 28^th, the Court addresses PennEast Pipeline Co. LLC V New Jersey where PennEast wants to use the Natural Gas Act to use eminent domain to build its 116-mile natural gas pipeline from Pennsylvania to state-owned land in New Jersey.

Bloomberg Green Summit Set – The Bloomberg Green Summit will be Held virtually on April 26^th and 27^th to focus on a net-zero economy, plans to rebuild while calling for real climate action, and what can inspire and enact lasting positive change. Speakers will include former VP Al Gore, American climatologist Michael Mann and the CEOs of Dow and Ariel Investments.

USEA Hosts Discussion of Asia Natgas – The US Energy Assn will host a press roundtable on April 27^th at to discuss natural gas development issues in Asia.  The U.S.-Asia Gas Partnership (AGP) is a public-private partnership that aims to optimize gas network infrastructure planning and develop domestic gas markets across the Indo-Pacific region. AGP shares best practices in the development of secure, reliable, and economic sources of natural gas. AGP convenes a diverse set of stakeholders to optimize gas network infrastructure planning to develop domestic gas markets in Asia. AGP also supports strategic planning to promote the development of resilient and least-cost power systems that will continue to meet demand over time

Chamber Innovation Forum looks at Permitting, Transmission – The US Chamber’s Global Energy Institute continues its EnergyInnovates Event Series on Thursday May 13^th at 10:00 a.m.  The event will feature discussions on growing demand for cleaner energy sources and the need to build new energy infrastructure.  However, the byzantine federal permitting process is neither predictable, nor transparent, and inhibits capital investment to bring new energy platforms to market, including non-emitting electricity generation and transmission.  This webinar will highlight the inefficiencies of the permitting process as well as common sense, bipartisan solutions to unlock investment in the next generations of energy infrastructure.