Energy Update: Week of February 16

Friends,               

Hope everybody had a great Valentine’s Day over the weekend.  While our hearts were warm, in most of the country, it is pretty cold.  And if you are in Texas, Oklahoma, Tennessee or Arkansas, you are not only cold, but seeing some of the white stuff (we call it snow up in the North) or slippery stuff (which is normally only in drinks down there).  This 2021 “Cold Dome” has dropped a blast of cold temps across the country creating near record natgas use to keep most warm and safe.  151.7 Bcf of natural gas was delivered in the US on Sunday February 14^th and 149.8 Bcf was delivered yesterday, setting a record for the largest demand for a two-day period. Even where there are some extended power outages in Texas, it is because it is so cold that some wind turbines have frozen.  Meanwhile, the strong winds have increased production on other turbines that haven’t frozen.  And while natgas has been the savior for many households, Texas grid operator ERCOT says some gas EGU units, along with wind/solar, were forced to shut because of fuel delivery challenges and others tripped off due to the cold.  And all this as FERC was about to close its docket on resilience.  But still, the weather and temps are creating a mess in most of the country and yet there is likely more on the way, so stay safe out there. 

No Congress this week with Presidents’ Day, but still some good action for the short week. 

As schools prepare to re-open in March across the country, the Air-Conditioning, Heating & Refrigeration Institute (AHRI), Heating, Air-Conditioning and Refrigeration Distributors International (HARDI) and the Plumbing, Heating and Cooling Contractor of America (PHCC) hold a webinar today at 2:00 p.m. on steps school officials can take to help make the spaces they control as safe and welcoming as possible.  In this webinar, experts will explain how contractors and distributors can work with school building officials to improve indoor air quality and take advantage of new federal funding available for that purpose.

Then Wednesday, the Business Council for Sustainable Energy (BCSE) and BloombergNEF (BNEF) will hold an embargoed press-only briefing on tomorrow at 11:00 a.m. to release the findings of the 9^th annual edition of the Sustainable Energy in America Factbook. The event features ACP’s Heather Zichal, SEIA’s Abby Hopper, Lisa Alexander of Sempra, Paula Glover of ASE and several others.  The 2021 Factbook will be released to the public on Thursday, attend the virtual release event at 12:00 p.m. or download at bcse.org/factbook. BPC hosts a new Net-Zero Business Coalition forum and the 3^rd Annual Houston Oil & Gas forum will take place Wednesday and Thursday in-person in Houston, Texas. (if anyone can get there due to the weather challenges!!!)

On Thursday, the House Energy panel of Energy & Commerce holds a clean energy hearing at 11:30 a.m.

If you are a little down because of the weather, don’t worry, pitchers and catchers report for MLB Spring Training this week (most tomorrow).  Hope you all remember to stay safe & healthy and get those vaccine shots if you can!

Best,

Frank Maisano

(202) 828-5864

C. (202) 997-5932

 

FRANKLY SPOKEN

“You have to get buy-in from people, and I just don’t see, on any of these issues, that consumers are ready to move as fast as environmental advocacy is demanding. You just don’t rip out your stove for no reason when it seems to be operating just fine.”

Yours truly in Morning CONSULT in a story about electrification policy/polling and consumers’ opinions. 

ON THE PODCAST

Journalists Join Columbia Podcast – In this edition of Columbia Energy Exchange, host Bill Loveless talks to two of the leading energy reporters in California, which has been hard hit by the pandemic even as it copes with wildfires and other environmental disasters made worse by climate change.  Sammy Roth covers energy for the Los Angeles Times and writes the weekly “Boiling Point”. J.D. Morris is a business reporter covering PG&E and the coronavirus for the San Francisco Chronicle. In their conversation, Bill, Sammy and J.D. discuss the impact of the pandemic in California and the implications of it for efforts to address climate change. They also delve into the status of various climate policies undertaken in the Golden State, including its cap-and-trade program and steps taken at the state and local level to promote electric vehicles and restrict installation of natural gas service in new residential and commercial buildings.

NOTE: Both Sammy and J.D. are past participants in the Energy Journalism Initiative at the Center on Global Energy Policy which helps energy journalists gain a deeper understanding of complex issues associated with the beat. CGEP is now accepting applications from energy journalists for the 2021 EJI seminar in June. More information is available on the CGEP website. 

FUN OPINIONS

FORBES: Blizzard Exposes Perils of Electrify Everything – Writing his column in FORBES in the dark and without heat, energy expert Robert Bryce writes massive blast of Siberia-like cold that is wreaking havoc across North America is proving that if we humans want to keep surviving frigid winters, we are going to have to keep burning natural gas. “Attempting to electrify everything would concentrate our energy risks on an electricity grid that is already breaking under the surge in demand caused by the crazy cold weather.  This blizzard proves that attempting to electrify everything would be the opposite of anti-fragile. Rather than make our networks and critical systems more resilient and less vulnerable to disruptions caused by extreme weather, bad actors, falling trees, or simple negligence, electrifying everything would concentrate our dependence on a single network, the electric grid, and in doing so make nearly every aspect of our society prone to catastrophic failure if — or rather, when — a widespread or extended blackout occurs.”

FROG BLOG

Fitzsimmons: Energy Storage Grand Opportunity – A new blog post for ClearPath by for DOE official Alex Fitzsimmons says the Energy Storage Grand Challenge, launched in January 2020 by then-Energy Secretary Dan Brouillette is a huge opportunity for energy storage. Under the Secretary’s direction, I had the honor of co-chairing the internal working group that developed the Energy Storage Grand Challenge Roadmap, which is DOE's first-ever comprehensive energy storage strategy.  The DOE Roadmap sets ambitious performance targets for long-duration grid-scale storage (5 cents/kWh by 2030), with an emphasis on domestic manufacturing and demonstration to de-risk and scale emerging storage tech, while securing our supply chains from foreign adversaries. Armed with the DOE Roadmap, and buoyed by strong bipartisan support in Congress, American innovators are well-positioned to lead the world in the development of next-generation energy storage technologies. 

IN THE NEWS

Polar Blast Hits US, NatGas Usage Sets Record – As the majority of the US gets a massive blast of wintry weather this past weekend, Natural gas stepped in with a near-record demand use to keep American families warm and safe, even despite weather-induced power outages.

Here are some polar blast facts to start with:

• The U.S. has more the 2,500 billion cubic feet of natural gas currently in storage - 6.4% above the five-year average.
• Natural gas utilities buy gas in the summer when it is more affordable and store it to deliver on the coldest days.
• Analysts are predicting that the United States is about to break the previous record for natural gas delivery on a single day set on January 30, 2019 when 155 billion cubic feet of natural gas was delivered or exported.
• On January 30, 2019, 37% percent of natural gas delivered to consumers was sourced from underground storage.
• The natural gas distribution system delivers three times more energy on the coldest day of the year than the electricity grid does on the hottest day of the year.
• On February 11, 2021, the gas system delivered 148 billion cubic feet of natural gas.

The 148 Bcf delivered Friday is 3.15 times more energy than the electric system delivered on July 19, 2019, the date with the highest electric demand since 2015. That number (3.15 times) will be even higher after this weekend.  151.7 billion cubic feet (Bcf) of natural gas was delivered in the United States on Sunday and 149.8 Bcf was delivered on February 15 making Monday the second highest delivery day ever and setting a record for the largest demand for a two-day period. Parts of the United States saw extreme cold and there was sufficient natural gas supply and delivery capacity for space heating, hot water, cooking, manufacturing, electricity generation and our export agreements with foreign allies.   The previous two-day record was set on January 30 and January 31, 2019 when 155 Bcf and 141 Bcf was delivered or exported. Since then, natural gas utilities have added approximately 1.25 million residential customers and 50,000 businesses. More details this week.  You can monitor the play-by-play stats by following AGA energy stat wonk Richard Meyer.

Biz Offshore Group Proposes New Training – The Business Network for Offshore Wind has launched a virtual training course designed to help U.S.-based businesses expand into the growing offshore wind industry – an industry that has received focused attention in the first month of the Biden Administration. The Network’s Foundation 2 Blade training program ensures businesses have the tools and information they need to capitalize on the expanding market. A recent executive order included doubling offshore wind energy in the U.S. in the next ten years and builds off goals set by several pioneering states as a way to address climate change and create well-paying U.S.-based jobs. The offshore wind energy industry is one of the fastest growing renewable energies in the U.S. and globally. As an industry in its infancy in the U.S., it will require companies currently in industries from oil and gas, boating and transportation, and aerospace to civil engineering, composites, and steel manufacturing to diversify into offshore wind. This diversification will create a local supply chain that can meet the growing demand and project pipeline along the East, West, and Gulf Coasts. 

Morning Consult Polling Details Challenges to Abrupt Consumer Changes – Morning Consult last week released a series on energy consumption preferences titled "The Energy Consumer: Will the Public Buy Into the Transition?", exploring the individual consumer’s relationship to energy and climate — by way of purchases, preferences, and behaviors — as the Biden administration works to speed an energy transition with 2035 and 2050 benchmarks for decarbonization. Drawn from three polls of 2,200 U.S. adults each, the series found that about 2 in 3 adults support higher vehicle fuel economy and building efficiency standards, and a comfortable majority says they consider their individual environmental impact on a daily basis. And on the electric vehicle front, just 21% of U.S. adults say they wouldn't be interested in switching to an electric vehicle at any price, though most others are looking for longer range and better infrastructure. Meanwhile, in the home, energy-efficient appliances appeal to most Americans, though 3 in 4 say that saving money and not necessarily emissions is the reason; proposals to ban natural gas in new construction is met with division. 

Climate Team Holds First Meeting – The Biden administration kicked off the first meeting of its climate task force last Thursday, which convened cabinet secretaries and the acting heads of 21 federal agencies to discuss job creation and outline the members' roles in setting a new U.S. goal on global emissions, to be announced April 22. The task force is expected to meet regularly to check in on the country's progress on a range of goals, including eliminating fossil fuel emissions from the electricity sector.  Our friend Lisa Friedman reports.

ON THE SCHEDULE THIS WEEK

MOST EVENTS SCHEDULED ARE NOW ONLINE WEBINARS

FERC’s Clements Headlines WRISE Forum – Women of Renewable Industries and Sustainable Energy (WRISE) announced a dynamic lineup of keynote speakers for the upcoming Leadership Forum taking place virtually today to Thursday.  The 2021 WRISE Leadership Forum Keynote Speakers are FERC Commissioner Allison Clements, Nwamaka Agbo and Dr. Ayana Elizabeth Johnson, Founder of Urban Ocean Lab. The WRISE Leadership Forum is a unique experience, combining professional development with tools to advance renewable energy. Renewable professionals from across the country will connect virtually to discuss current renewable energy trends and policy issues; and gain valuable tools to enhance their careers, companies and organizations.

Bloomberg Holds Net Zero Forum – Bloomberg will host a Net zero conference on Tuesday February 16^th where corporations and investors globally will discuss aligning with the Paris Agreement's goal of limiting warming to well below 2 degrees C and reaching global net-zero emissions by 2050.

Yergin to Headline National Ethanol Conference – Daniel Yergin, a best-selling author and highly-respected authority on energy, international politics, and economics will Keynote the annual National Ethanol Conference tomorrow through Thursday. 

Forum to Look at Southern Gas Corridor – Today at 11:30 a.m., the Atlantic Council Global Energy Center holds a virtual event to reflect on the lessons learned from the successful completion of the Southern Gas Corridor pipeline system and to discuss future opportunities for expansion. The event will feature change-makers that played an essential role in the establishment of the corridor; Elshad Nassirov, vice president for investment and marketing at the State Oil Company of the Republic of Azerbaijan, will deliver keynote remarks and set the scene for the discussion on this multilateral achievement. Then, a panel discussion with former Sen. Lugar staffer Neil Robert Brown, now managing director at KKR Global Institute and KKR Infrastructure; former Azerbaijan ambassador Matthew Bryza; and Professor Brenda Shaffer, adjunct professor at the Center for Eurasian, Russian, and East European Studies at Georgetown University, whose published work on Caspian energy often informs policymakers.

Web Event to Look at EV Policy, Strategies – Abt Associates holds a webinar on electric vehicle policies today at Noon.  This webinar will highlight strategies that public agencies and utilities are implementing to electrify the transportation sector in an equitable way. It will feature the updated AchiEVe Toolkit, a free resource developed by Sierra Club, Plug In America, the Electrification Coalition and Forth Mobility that covers a wide array of policy options and case studies on topics ranging from vehicle purchase to charging infrastructure to battery recycling. Then, the State of North Carolina will share how they are putting the policy pieces together in a comprehensive electric vehicle strategy.  Speaker will include EPA’s Jessica Daniels and Andrea Denny, Sue Gander and Andrew Linhardt, of the Electrification Coalition; Katherine Stainken of Plug In America and Sierra’s Hieu Le, all focused on AchiEVe Toolkit Overview; and finally North Carolina’s Electrification Policies with Jeremy Tarr of NC Gov. Cooper's Office.

HVACR Groups Discuss COVID, Safe Schools – As schools prepare to re-open in March across the country, the Air-Conditioning, Heating & Refrigeration Institute (AHRI), Heating, Air-Conditioning and Refrigeration Distributors International (HARDI) and hold a webinar today at 2:00 p.m. on steps school officials can take to help make the spaces they control as safe and welcoming as possible.  In this webinar led by AHRI Vice President of Public Affairs Francis Dietz, a solid lineup of industry experts will explain how contractors and distributors can work with school building officials to improve indoor air quality and take advantage of new federal funding available for that purpose.

BPC to Launch Net-Zero Business Group – On Wednesday at 10:00 a.m., the Bipartisan Policy Center is launching the Net Zero Business Alliance (NZBA) with a group of leading companies from key sectors of the American economy.  Achieving a net zero economy in the United States is necessary, urgent, and challenging. The public and private sectors must actively collaborate on developing carbon solutions and policy frameworks that enable the energy transition to occur at a scale and speed unlike any prior industrial transformation. Speakers at the kick-off event include Southern CEO Tom Fanning, United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby, John R. Tyson of Tyson Foods and Weyerhaeuser CFO Russell Hagen.

BCSE, BNEF to Release 2021 FactBook – The Business Council for Sustainable Energy (BCSE) and BloombergNEF (BNEF) will hold an embargoed press-only briefing on February 17^th at 11:00 a.m. to release the findings of the 9^th annual edition of the Sustainable Energy in America Factbook. The 2021 Factbook will be released to the public on February 18, attend the virtual release event at 12:00 p.m. or download at bcse.org/factbook. Each year, the Factbook provides comprehensive information and analysis on major sustainable energy facts and trends from the previous year. The Factbook includes energy statistics on market growth and contraction, and analysis of trends in the energy efficiency, natural gas, renewable energy and other clean energy segments. The 2021 Factbook will look back on year-on-year dynamics, including how COVID-19 business conditions impacted U.S. energy markets and the overall energy transition. The press event will cover several core benchmarks – deployment, technology innovation, policy, emissions, and jobs.

Former EIA Head to Address Energy Economists – On Wednesday at 12:00 noon, the US Energy Economists host a forum with former EIA Administrator Adam Sieminski, A former NCAC-USAEE President, Sieminski speaks on “The Role of Circular Carbon Economy.”  The circular carbon economy is an integrated and inclusive approach to transitioning toward more comprehensive, resilient, sustainable, and climate-friendly energy systems. The corollary in the circular carbon economy is that people do not want bio-energy and carbon utilization; they want a safe climate and an improved quality of life. As such, the circular carbon economy welcomes all carbon mitigation options that can help achieve climate goals.

AEE Looks at Clean Energy Washington Policy Environment – Advance Energy Economy (AEE) will hold a webinar on Wednesday at 1:00 p.m. to look at clean energy investment to stimulate a COVID-heavy economy.  With a new FERC Chair and the Biden Administration moving strongly, this webinar will take stock of the shifting winds in Washington, D.C., and what they could mean for industry growth in 2021. AEE experts and Google’s Caroline Golin, Borrego Solar’s Liz Delaney and Apex Clean Energy’s Steve Caminati all speak. 

Green Hydrogen Coalition Webinars Launched – The Green Hydrogen Coalition will debut its 2021 webinar series on Wednesday from 1:00 p.m.  The event will discuss why now is the time for green hydrogen market development in the US and what policies are needed to support green hydrogen project development at scale. We will feature presentations on exciting US project initiatives and have an engaging discussion with green hydrogen champions on how they are crafting their green hydrogen strategies. Speakers include Dominion’s Andrew Hegewald, GHC’s Laura Nelson and more industry leaders to be announced.

DOE Holds Zero Home Program Webinar – The U.S. Department of Energy’s Zero Energy Ready Home program holds a webinar on Wednesday at 1:00 p.m. on zero energy homes. Zero Energy Ready Homes are homes designed to offer a superior homeowner experience. These homes live better, work better, and last longer. DOE’s program combines the best of building science with the latest technologies and systems, innovative building practices, and risk management solutions to offer homeowners complete peace of mind.

New Paper to Address Nuclear Safeguards – The Stimson Center’s Nuclear Safeguards Program presents its latest working paper in a webinar on Wednesday at 1:00 p.m. exploring how emerging or “advanced” reactors will differ from the current fleet in spent fuel disposal, processing, and nuclear safeguards. In this webinar, Rowen Price introduces her findings and, in discussion with James Casterton and Andrew Worrall, examines how these reactors will disrupt conventional spent fuel management and international safeguards. The working paper by Rowen Price, “Bringing the Back-End to the Forefront: Spent Fuel Management and Safeguards Considerations for Emerging Reactors,” will be available prior to the event.

Event Looks at Q4 Power Issues, Clean Energy – S&P Global holds an online event on Wednesday at 1:00 p.m. to look at Q4’s Power Forecast and the energy transition resuming.  Improving economics of renewable energy appears poised to upend power markets this year, as the advancement of electricity storage bridges renewable mandates and resource adequacy. S&P Global Market Intelligence believes these emerging technologies will make near-term generation shortfalls less likely than previously believed. At the same time, policies to encourage decarbonization of electricity are advancing and the challenges are substantial.

Sommers, Sens, Reps to Speak at Oil, Gas Conference – Energy Stream is hosting the 3^rd Houston Oil & Gas Forum 2021 in person on Wednesday and Thursday at the Petroleum Club of Houston, Texas. The Forum is an annual market intelligence platform that brings together powerful U.S. Congressmen, Senators, government leaders, C-level energy executives, and investors.  The latest add to the agenda is API head Mike Sommers.  Other speakers will include Sen Ted Cruz and TX Reps. Lizzie Fletcher, Kevin Brady, Brian Babin and Lance Gooden, as well as Rep Kelly Armstrong of North Dakota. TX Railroad Commission Chair Wayne Christian and DOE officials are also expected to speak.

House Energy Panel Looks at Clean Energy – The Subcommittee on Energy of the Committee on Energy and Commerce will hold a hearing on Thursday at 11:30 a.m. pathways to a clean energy future.  

Forum to Investigate EV Policy – In partnership with the Center for Sustainable Energy, NASEO will be hosting a webinar on Thursday at 1:00 p.m. to explore ways that states can assess the impact and cost of various policies intended to spur EV adoption (this webinar is being rescheduled from the original date of February 9). The webinar will feature a demonstration of the Center for Sustainable Energy’s new platform, Caret, which provides data-driven, real-time answers about the projected cost, EV adoption rate, and emissions reduction that would result from various policy choices. The platform also can calculate how stacking incentives would make specific EV models affordable to low- and moderate-income households to help policymakers advance equity.

GTM Looks at AI, Energy – Greentech Media hosts a conference on Thursday 2:00 p.m. to discuss the environmental applications and implications of Artificial Intelligence (AI).  The event will look at what promise AI holds for environmental protection, concerns it raises and perhaps most importantly, what governance mechanisms are needed to ensure that we harness the opportunity while mitigating environmental harms.

Forum Focused on PA Energy – On Thursday at 4:00 p.m., the Atlantic Council Global Energy Center and the University of Pittsburgh’s Graduate School of Public and International Affairs hold a public conversation on the future of Pennsylvania’s energy sector. Panelists from across Pennsylvania’s energy industry, representing solar, gas, coal, and wind, will provide their insights and perspectives on the future of their respective fields and the state’s energy landscape at large.  Among the speakers will be our friend Andrew Gohn of American Clean Power.

Climate Finance Groups Meets – The Leaders in Energy hold the first meeting of its Climate Finance Working Group on Thursday at 5:00 p.m. to further collaborate on opportunities to develop financing frameworks, tools, and platforms focused on increasing investment in renewable energy and sustainability for the Mid-Atlantic region.

BU Forum Looks at Energy Water Nexus – On Friday at 11:00 a.m., the Boston University Institute for Sustainable Energy continues its series co-sponsored by the Northeast Clean Energy Council and the BU Energy and Sustainability Club.  In an event sponsored by the Edison Electric Institute, experts will discuss new approaches that show promise in creating the future energy and water systems needed based on simultaneously considering the transition of the water and energy nexus.

Forum to Discuss Resilience Report – The Atlantic Council holds an event to discuss the recent Cities Climate Finance Leadership Alliance and the Adrienne Arsht-Rockefeller Foundation Resilience Center brief, “An Analysis of Urban Climate Adaptation Finance,” on Friday at 11:00 a.m.  The report focuses on urban dwellers and aims to assess the volume and quality of finance that currently exists to address climate risk in cities. This event will highlight findings from two recently released reports: Adaptation Finance in the Context of COVID-19 (from GCA and CPI) and Analysis of Urban Climate Adaptation Finance (from Adrienne Arsht-Rockefeller Foundation Resilience Center and Climate Policy Initiative).

Baker Forum Addresses Oil Production in Guyana – On Friday at 11:00 a.m., the Baker Energy Institute at Rice holds a forum looking at oil production in Guyana.  At this webinar, the Honorable Mohabir Anil Nandlall, the attorney general and minister of legal affairs in Guyana, and the Honorable Vickram Outar Bharrat, Guyana’s minister of natural resources, will discuss the new government’s policies.

EESI Forum to Look at Housing Issues – The Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI) holds a briefing on Friday at 2:00 p.m. hosted in coordination with the National Housing Trust and NRDC about the costs and consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic and resulting economic downturn for housing and energy services. Panelists will explore issues faced locally by communities hard-hit by the dual crises, especially in Southern and Midwestern regions, including mounting utility bill arrearages; electric, gas and water shutoffs; and evictions. Speakers will also discuss national policy solutions that can deliver relief and help communities eager to recover. The Biden-Harris Administration and many in Congress are proposing increases in energy, water, and rental assistance and other provisions that protect against shutoffs and evictions. Panelists will have a discussion with participants online about the threats to communities and the different policy solutions already in place—including the CARES Act and the COVID-19 Economic Relief Bill—and those currently being debated, such as President Biden’s American Rescue Plan.

IN THE FUTURE

Event to Look at Electrification of Transportation – The Transportation & Climate Initiative (TCI) holds a forum next Monday at 1:00 p.m. on transportation electrification policies.  TCI is a regional collaboration of 12 Northeast and Mid-Atlantic states and the District of Columbia that seeks to improve transportation, develop the clean energy economy, and reduce carbon emissions from the transportation sector.

NREL Speakers to Address COVID, HVACR – Next Monday at 1:00 p.m., DOE hosts a forum on the energy impact of major HVAC system operation guidance to reduce transmission of COVID-19 inside buildings across the U.S. commercial building stock. Speakers will discuss the energy implications of (1) 100% outdoor air ventilation rates, (2) installing MERV-13 filters or better, (3) disabling demand control ventilation, and (4) HVAC flushing mode operation.  Analysis of these measures using ComStock provides a national view of the energy implications for various commercial building types in all U.S. climate zones.  This is a subject that AHRI and ASHRAE have long been addressing in seminars.  Speaker from NREL will address the topic.

GWU to Host Climate Talk – The George Washington University hosts a forum on Tuesday February 23^rd at Noon that features a panel discussion hosted by the Master of International Affairs Program (and the Global Energy and the Environment Concentration) and the Latin American and Hemispheric Studies Program. In light of the Biden Administration’s Executive Order on Tackling the Climate Crisis at Home and Abroad, the event brings together faculty climate experts from different regional and policy perspectives on development, diplomacy, and defense.

C2ES Forum Looks at  Nature-Based Solutions – The Center for Climate and Environmental Solutions (C2ES) holds a webinar on Tuesday February 23^rd at 1:00 p.m. that will examine how companies can approach using nature-based solutions to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions, including the most effective use of resources when investing in nature-based solutions, understanding the growing role of carbon removal in reaching net-zero emissions, and the criteria companies should consider when selecting projects. The webinar will also explore how to leverage natural solutions to reduce emissions within and outside a company’s value chain.  Our friend Shawn Patterson of DTE Energy is among the panelists. 

House Financial Services to Look at Climate, Social Responsibility – The House Financial Services Committee’s Investor Protection, Entrepreneurship and Capital Markets Subcommittee holds a hearing on Tuesday February 23^rd at 2:00 p.m. on climate change and social responsibility.

Webinar to Look at CCS on Middle East/Gulf Region – The Global CCS Institute holds a webinar on February 23^rd at 6:00 a.m. (3pm in the Gulf) featuring global and regional experts that will share their knowledge with an audience of Gulf region energy, industrial and climate change stakeholders. After a global roundup presented by the Global CCS Institute, executives from ADNOC, Aramco and others in the region will describe their CCS projects in operation and in planning, and how CCS fits into their strategic business plans.

Forum to Address China Energy Finance Strategies – Boston University’s Global Development Policy Center and the Inter-American Dialogue hold a webinar discussion on Wednesday February 24^th at 9:00 a.m. looking at China’s overseas funding to Latin America and global energy projects. The Global Development Policy Center will present updates to its China’s Global Energy Finance Database, an interactive data project that exhibits financing for global energy projects by China’s two global policy banks—the China Development Bank (CDB) and the Export-Import Bank of China (CHEXIM). Following that, the Global Development Policy Center and the Inter-American Dialogue will discuss updates to the China-Latin America Finance Database, a joint project first launched in 2012 that also tracks loans from CDB and CHEXIM to Latin American and Caribbean governments and state-owned enterprises.

Columbia Panel to Look at Hydrogen – On Wednesday February 24^th at Noon, Columbia University’s Center on Global Energy Policy will host a panel of exceptional policy, technology, and commercial experts to discuss how hydrogen can be made and used today in service of economic growth and rapid decarbonization,  Panelists will include Out friend Jack Brouwer of U.C. Irvine and Director of the National Fuel Cell Research Center & Advanced Power and Energy Program, former DOE Official Julio Friedmann, National Grid’s Sheri Givens, NYSERDA’s John Lochner and Kristine Wiley, Executive Director of the Hydrogen Technology Center.

ELI Panel to Talk Climate Migrants – The Environmental Law Institute holds a forum on Wednesday February 24^th at Noon focused on protecting immigrants from adverse impacts of climate change.  Expert panelists to explore these questions and the opportunities and challenges to increase protections for climate migrants.

Power, Gas M&A Forum Set – S&P Global Market Intelligence holds its 34^th Annual Power and Gas M&A Symposium 2021 on Wednesday February 24^th.

CCS Forum to Look at Europe – The European Commission will be hosting EU Industry Week, and the Global CCS Institute is holding a webinar on February 25^th at 8:00 a.m. to discuss Europe’s 2050 net-zero target and the role CCS will play in decarbonizing industry.  Industry accounts for a significant portion of the world’s emissions and decisive action is being taken to try to change that. This online session will convene European-based industry leaders to discuss the current state of climate action plans in energy intensive sectors, and assess how those plans can support Europe’s overall effort to reach net-zero climate targets.

ELI to Discuss Montreal Protocol Issues – The Environmental Law Institute will host a forum on Thursday February 25^th at 12:00 p.m. to discuss protection of the ozone and climate under the Montreal Protocol.  Expert panelists intimately involved in the development, creation, and facilitation of the Montreal Protocol will connect for a roundtable discussion to commemorate the success of this significant agreement, including how they successfully collaborated across multiple administrations, highlighting the challenges faced, and extrapolate lessons that can be applied to future global agreements and environmental governance.

DOE Hosts Solar Webinars – The U.S. Department of Energy Solar Energy Technologies Office (SETO) holds a webinar series on Thursday and Friday at Noon to learn about DOE’s work to develop and demonstrate technologies that enable solar plus energy storage and demand response.  Utilities, researchers, and solar industry stakeholders are encouraged to attend to learn how these projects optimized the overall performance of solar energy systems by connecting them with storage and demand-response technologies. These webinars will feature presentations from several organizations that demonstrated the use of smart inverters in conjunction with smart buildings, smart appliances, and utility communication and control systems.

Forum Looks Building Electrification – The New Buildings Institute holds a webinar on Thursday February 25^th at 2:30 p.m. on building electrification technologies. NBI’s Cathy Higgins and Alexi Miller discuss new research on market-ready and emerging electrification products and their role in supporting California program and policy objectives for building decarbonization. This session will cover the three key areas of the Building Electrification Technology Roadmap: 1) characterizing the status of building electrification technologies; 2) identifying roadblocks to adoption; and 3) providing targeted, near- and long-term actions needed to support building electrification.

GW Continues International Forum Series – On Friday February 26^th at 11:30 a.m., George Washington University and the Security and Sustainability Forum holds its 5^th webinar in the Leadership in Our Time webinar series. Mauro Petriccione will be interviewed by Atlantic Council Senior Fellow, Ambassador András Simonyi. Petriccione is the Director General for Climate Action, in charge of overseeing the climate elements of the European Green Deal.  Topics will include the European Green Deal, challenges Europe faces to meet its net-zero ambitions for 2050, milestones of this journey, the role of government and private sector and European policies for a climate-friendly post-COVID-19 recovery.

EESI Climate Camp Turns to Decarb High-Emissions Sectors – The Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI) continues its Climate Camp online briefing series on Friday February 26^th at 2:00 p.m. looking at Federal policy to decarbonize high-emission sectors. They will go over the basics of the legislative process, highlighting key areas and opportunities for achieving near-term and long-term carbon reductions through policy.

Moler to Headline New Discussions Series – On Thursday, February 25^th at 4:00 p.m., the Center on Global Energy Policy for Columbia Energy holds its first Straight Talk, a new discussion series hosted by for DOE official David Hill and former FERC Commissioner Cheryl LaFleur, both affiliated with the CGEP program.  The series will focus on frank, practical, bipartisan discussions on how to make change happen in the energy world. Each episode will focus on a different topic related to energy and climate change, and will include a special guest. In the premier episode, Cheryl and David will host Betsy Moler, former FERC Chairman and Deputy Secretary of Energy, who led or was involved in every major change in the electricity and natural gas worlds for several decades--including some that were transformative and others that did not move forward. The discussion will focus on what makes policy change successful, and what we can learn from past successes and failures to advance today's efforts on energy and climate change.

Columbia SIPA Women’s Forum Set – On Thursday March 4^th the Center on Global Energy Policy's Women in Energy (WIE) program hold a forum featuring a panel of experts to discuss the policies, finance, and leadership skills that will be needed to drive the energy transition in the United States, and how the leadership of women will shape the transition.  With this event, we’re honored to welcome Tufts University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) to the WIE network. By joining the WIE network, the Climate Policy Lab, an initiative at Tufts University's Fletcher School, and the MIT Energy Initiative (MITEI) will bring WIE programming such as roundtables, site visits, and professional development workshops, to their students, alumni, and the broader Boston area, and support WIE’s mission to bring more opportunities to women who want to work in the energy sector. It will be the first joint Tufts University, MITEI, and Columbia University Women in Energy event.

Manchin, FERC’s Clements Head Line ACORE Policy Forum – On March 10-11, the ACORE Policy Forum will convene leaders from across the U.S. government and the renewable energy industry for a deep dive on climate policy, grid advocacy, and their expectations for progress at the federal and state levels.  Keynote speakers Joe Manchin and FERC Commissioner Alison Clements will provide an outlook for executive, regulatory and legislative action over the coming year.