Energy Update: Week of July 22

Friends,

I hope everybody survived the heat this weekend.  While it is summer and it will be hot, this weekend was a little strong – all made worse by a power outage Friday from a thunderstorm that fried my house’s downstairs AC unit.  Thank goodness, Stacey is in Reno/Cali…if you know what I mean.  Adam, Olivia and I survived and it wasn’t too bad.  At least we watched the British Open.  While not as dramatic as last week’s Wimbledon final, it was a great victory for Ireland’s Shane Lowry, who was able to win the famed Claret Jug after The Open returned to Northern Ireland for the first time in 51 years. 

In Washington, things are starting to race to the August recess, but even though we can see the August break tide rising, it is not quite here looking at this week’s packed schedule. Despite being overshadowed by former special counsel Robert Mueller's high-profile appearance on Capitol Hill, there will be several climate change hearings this week, including a House Budget hearing Wednesday that features our friend Rich Powell from ClearPath.  On Thursday afternoon, the Select Climate Committee will have its own discussion on the costs of climate change, with a specific focus on businesses.  A House Energy Subpanel pathways to decarbonize the economy on Wednesday and it all kicks off today with a House Science field hearing on hurricane response and building resilience in Houston today at 4:00 p.m.

Speaking of resilience and responding to hurricanes, the big event in DC off the Hill is tomorrow’s Build Strong Chamber event targeting the exact subject with a great discussion and participation from the Business Council for Sustainable Energy.  Then on Thursday, POLITICO will host a deep-dive conversation on the potential benefits, costs and impacts of consumer-driven mass electrification in the U.S. and the policy and regulatory topics that need to be addressed in the morning while Brookings holds a day-long forum on how connecting vehicles to smart infrastructure will transform the future of transportation.

Finally, congrats to our friend Malcolm Woolf, who is the new CEO and President of the National Hydropower Association.  Woolf was previously with AEE, an energy adviser to former MD Gov. Martin O’Malley and NGA.  He also worked at EPA and Senate EPW. 

Call with questions,

Best,

Frank Maisano

(202) 828-5845

C. (202) 997-5932

 

FRANKLY SPOKEN

““Governor Cuomo’s vision to power the Empire State with clean, American-made offshore wind power will benefit all New Yorkers. Large-scale wind projects, like those selected today, equal large-scale job creation and infrastructure investment in New York City and the state’s coastal communities.”.”

Laura Smith Morton, Senior Director, Policy and Regulatory Affairs, Offshore, AWEA.

 

ON THE PODCAST

BuildStrong Head Highlights Resilient Solutions for Disasters – The Hard Facts Podcast chats with Pam Williams, Executive Director of the Build Strong Coalition.  Williams talks about resilient solutions to combat the ever-present threat of natural disasters.  Williams first helped write the Disaster Recovery Reform Act from her perch as a key staffer on Capitol Hill. Today, away from Congress, she is working to implement the programs created in the legislation.  Williams visited the Hard Facts studio recently to discuss the law, the need for a new perspective on federal disaster assistance, and plans to help put key pieces of the Act into motion.  Tomorrow, BuildStrong joins with the US Chamber and others to hold an event on these issues. 

 

FUN OPINIONS

Former PA Rep Says RFS Causing More Imports – A new op-ed by former Pennsylvania Rep Ryan Costello in the Washington Times asked if importing renewable fuel from overseas is an America first strategy.  While they may not have grasped the full extent of the RFS’ unintended consequences, the law’s creators knew from the beginning that it could pose unsustainable harm on small refiners across the country. That is why they introduced the idea of providing SREs to those who face disproportionate economic hardship from the ethanol mandate themselves: To fend off the very foreign dependency that the RFS was created to prevent. 

IN THE NEWS

Equinor, Orsted Win NY OSW RFP – The state of New York rolled out its new climate legislation – and as they did, they announced the largest amount of offshore wind projects to Equinor and Orsted.   Equinor’s 816 megawatt winning bid confirms the company’s role as a major contributor in meeting New York State’s clean energy and climate goals, including its goal of 9,000 megawatts of offshore wind by 2035. The state’s project selections resulting from its inaugural offshore wind solicitation represent the largest commitment to offshore wind in the U.S.  This selection also represents an important milestone for Equinor’s ambition of building an offshore wind core area on the U.S. East Coast.

Equinor’s Empire Wind Project – The project is expected to be developed with 60-80 wind turbines, with an installed capacity of more than 10 MW each. Total investments will be approximately $3 billion, and the project will be able to power over 500,000 homes in New York, with an expected start up in late 2024.  Two years after Equinor secured an attractive 80,000-acre lease area in the New York Bight for Empire Wind, the company has been selected to negotiate a long-term contract with the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) for offshore wind renewable energy certificates (ORECs).  The project is expected to create approximately 800 local jobs during construction and operation, including through the creation of locally manufactured turbine foundations in New York’s Capital Region. More broadly, Equinor is committed to developing the nation’s first offshore wind supply chain to support the construction, installation and operation of offshore wind projects. Equinor will also invest over $60 million in port upgrades in New York that will support future offshore wind projects and further strengthen the state’s position as the U.S. hub for offshore wind. Further, Equinor will commit at least $4.5M to community benefits and workforce development, which will further the goals of New York’s National Offshore Wind Training Institute and Community and Workforce Benefits Fund.

Portman, Shaheen Introduce Energy Efficiency Legislation – Sens. Rob Portman and Jean Shaheen reintroduced legislation that focuses on energy efficiency, joining with business leaders and efficiency advocates.  They were also joined by Susan Collins and Joe Manchin to roll out the latest version of their efficiency bill, S. 2137, which would take steps to reduce energy use in homes and commercial buildings.

HVACR Says Shaheen-Portman Shows Bipartisan Promise – The Air-Conditioning, Heating, and Refrigeration Institute (AHRI) wrote a letter expressing support for the Energy Savings and Industrial Competitiveness Act.  AHRI is the trade association representing more than 320 manufacturers, 1.3 million people and generates $257 billion in annual economic activity.  The legislation would implement several energy efficiency measures across the residential, commercial, and industrial sectors. AHRI said “energy efficiency measures are the quickest, cheapest, and cleanest way to tackle growing energy demand. Energy efficiency offers real solutions to deal with the short- and long-term economic and environmental problems associated with rising energy use while saving money, lessening dependence on imported energy sources, reducing pollution, and improving our nation’s global competitiveness.  In addition, these initiatives enable domestic businesses to leverage private capital, provide long-term market certainty, spur economic growth, and create jobs.”

EVA Report Says RFS is Broken – Independent energy consulting group Energy Ventures Analysis unveiled a study today on the effectiveness of the RFS.  The group was asked by the Fueling American Jobs Coalition to probe how the RFS is “performing as an energy policy in the current era of ever-increasing U.S. energy independence.”  EVA used the U.S. Energy Information Administration’s National Energy Modeling System (EVA-NEMS) to consider several scenarios that assess the impacts of continuing the RFS mandate through 2030.  Their key conclusions: “the RFS is no longer an effective energy policy for the United States” and “Energy policy should evolve as energy markets change.”

Study Details? – The study, outlined in a blog on EVA’s site, highlights a few key points:

• Corn growers do not need the RFS to support current production levels: U.S. corn-based ethanol and biobutanol production would remain at nearly the same levels if the RFS were discontinued because ethanol production costs are lower than the cost of gasoline blendstocks produced by refineries.
• The RFS is not needed to advance U.S. energy independence: Gov’t forecasts show the U.S. set to become a net exporter of petroleum and other liquids by 2025.
• Consumers will spend $8.7 billion more in 2025 and $8.4 billion more in 2030 than they would without the RFS, if current RFS standards remain in place.
• On the flip side, significant consumer savings would flow from an RFS focus that shifts away from conventional ethanol: Consumers would save $3.7 billion in 2025 and $5.3 billion in 2030 if the conventional biofuels mandate were removed and the biomass-based diesel mandate were kept at current levels.
• Ethanol consumption under the existing RFS mandate is expected to decrease in the future, stemming from the expected decline in U.S. motor gasoline consumption and rise in EVs, flex fuel vehicles and related infrastructure.
• The RFS distorts the market for refined products from merchant refineries: Merchant refineries who do not own blending facilities must purchase compliance credits on the open market, creating an extra net cost that reduces margins.

EPA Air Report Shows Air Improvements – EPA released its annual air trends report, tracking our nation’s progress in improving air quality since the passage of the Clean Air Act. “Our Nation’s Air: Status and Trends Through 2018” documents the considerable improvements in air quality across America since 1970.  The report shows that, between 1970 and 2018, the combined emissions of six key pollutants dropped by 74%, while the U.S. economy grew 275%.

The Deats:

From 2016 to 2018, emissions of key air pollutants continued to decline:

• Nitrogen Oxides (NOx) ↓ 8.7% 
• Particulate Matter 2.5 (PM 2.5) ↓ 1.9%
• Particulate Matter 10 (Including lead) (PM 10) ↓ 1.2%
• Sulfur Dioxide (SO2) ↓ 7.8%
• Carbon monoxide (CO) ↓ 7.2%
• Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC) ↓ 3.3%

In addition, average concentrations of harmful air pollutants decreased considerably across our nation between 1990 and 2018:

• Ground-level ozone (8-hour) ↓ 21%
• Fine Particulate Matter (annual) ↓ 39% (from 2000)
• Coarse Particulate Matter (24-hour) ↓ 26%
• Sulfur dioxide (1-hour) ↓ 89%
• Nitrogen dioxide (annual) ↓ 57%
• Lead (3-month average) ↓82% (from 2010); and
• Carbon monoxide (8-hour) ↓ 74%

EPA examines long-term trends to track the nation's progress in cleaning the air. Air quality concentrations can vary year to year, even as human-caused emissions continue to decline. Variations in weather and natural events such as dust storms and wildfires can have an impact on air quality in affected areas. As a whole, human-caused emissions of the six common pollutants dropped in 2018, continuing the long-term trend. Despite this, the report shows that monitors in some areas logged increases in concentrations of particulate matter in the outdoor air, due in part to natural events such as wildfires.  The increases in these areas had a small, but noticeable, impact on the national average.

 

ON THE SCHEDULE THIS WEEK

NARUC Sets Summer Policy Summit – The National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners holds its Summer Policy Summit in Indianapolis on today through Wednesday.  The series of meetings provides in-depth analysis of policy issues that are relevant to state utility regulators as well as stakeholder groups and federal regulators.

NAS to Host Deep Decarbonization Workshop – Today and tomorrow, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine host a workshop exploring the challenges and opportunities for deploying and scaling up technologies involved in U.S. deep decarbonization. Speakers will explore issues for deep decarbonization of the U.S. economy through a focus on several key sectors such as electricity, transportation, food production, and heavy industry. The role of negative emissions technologies also will be considered. The discussions will include technology development, deployment, and scale-up; policy drivers, financing, and economics; and societal and political implications. This workshop marks the launch of a new Deep Decarbonization Initiative at the National Academies.

House Science to Hold Field Hearing on Hurricane Resilience – The House Science field hearing this afternoon at the Houston Community College West Loop at 3:00 p.m. CST on improving hurricane resiliency through research.

Chamber, Build Strong Host Resilience Forum – The US Chamber and BuildStrong launch their Disaster Mitigation and Resilience Forum Series tomorrow morning at the Chamber.  The forum unites FEMA and congressional leadership, state and local emergency managers and disaster officials, and leading stakeholders from the insurance and infrastructure industries. Through a combination of compelling keynote speakers and informative, issue-focused panels and roundtable discussions, the forum series convenes essential discussions on the future of mitigation and infrastructure resilience.  Tomorrow’s forum will discuss FEMA’s Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) Grant Program and mitigation priorities, achieving residential and public infrastructure resilience, and more.

Storage Week Program Set – Infocast’s Storage Week Plus will be held tomorrow through Thursday in San Francisco.  The event brings together a who’s who of policymakers, renewable energy and storage developers, utility and corporate customers, and the financiers leading the exponential growth of storage

USEA to Look at Coal Generation – Tomorrow at 10:00 a.m., the US Energy Assn will host a presentation on the challenges associated with flexible operation of conventional coal and combined cycle power plants. It outlines the different effects of solar photovoltaic and wind generation on the dispatch of fossil power plants. Some examples of technical implications for the safe, reliable, affordable and environmentally responsible generation of electricity from these plants are provided. The presentation concludes with a discussion of industry efforts to manage the challenges introduced by flexible operation.  EPRI’s Michael Caravaggio will speak.

Forum to Look at Pipeline Politics in Europe – The Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe (Helsinki Commission) will meet tomorrow at 11:00 a.m. to hold a briefing on pipeline politics, focusing on energy and power in Europe.  Pipeline Politics is the use of energy resources to exert influence and achieve foreign policy goals. This behavior distorts markets that would otherwise be efficient and provide for the energy needs of all countries at a reasonable price and exacerbates corruption in the region.  Panelists will review the history of political influence in European energy markets, focusing on the political vs. commercial viability of Russia’s Nord Stream 2 and Turkstream projects compared to other efforts, such as the Southern Gas Corridor. They also will discuss the impact of pipeline politics on intra-European relations and the transatlantic relationship and explore a comprehensive way forward for the United States to achieve its commercial, national security, and foreign policy goals and allay the concerns of European allies.

Forum to Look at Wildlife Corridors – The Wildlands Network hosts a congressional briefing and reception tomorrow at 3:00 p.m. on saving America's biodiversity and wildlife corridors conservation legislation. 

House Energy Looks at Decarbonization – The House Energy and Commerce’s Environment Subcommittee will hold a hearing Wednesday at 10:00 a.m. on pathways to decarbonize the economy.

House Budget to Look at Climate Change – The House Budget Committee will hold a hearing on Wednesday looking at the costs of climate change, covering many topics. Witnesses include our friend Rich Powell of ClearPath, APHA’s Georges Benjamin, Unilever’s Stefani Millie Grant, Ann Phillips of Gov. Northam’s office and Penn State’s David Titley. 

House Science Marks Up Legislation – The House Committee on Science, Space & Technology will mark up several bills including H.R. 3607, the “Fossil Energy Research and Development Act of 2019” on Wednesday at 10:00 a.m.

Discussion With Sen Whitehouse to Look at Global Affairs – The Hudson Institute hosts a discussion with Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse that will look at Iran and the greater Middle East, a revanchist Russia and transatlantic relations, the growing challenge of China, global kleptocracy, climate change and energy policy.

Forum to Look at Oil/Gas – The American Bar Association holds a conference call briefing on Wednesday at 12:30 p.m. on Federal and state enforcement in the oil and gas sector. This program will consider the instructive history of antitrust enforcement in the oil and gas sector, focusing particularly on the instances where federal and state enforcers have diverged in their decision-making.  The event will look in particular at the California AG's recent Valero action, discussing how the state AG took a different course from the federal enforcer. We will also discuss how best to counsel clients in a world where state AGs may take a different path than federal enforcers.

Forum to Look at Latin America, Climate – Oxfam America and the Latin America Working Group hold a briefing on Wednesday at 12:30 p.m. on climate change and government policies contribute to the migration crisis we are seeing from Central America. With experts from Guatemala and the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), this event will explore the environmental conditions from climate change to mining that cause internal and external displacement, will highlight the environmental and climate just policy approaches the U.S. and Central American governments should implement, and will review US obligations and responsibilities on climate displaced migrants. Reps. Raúl Grijalva and Adriano Espaillat will speak. 

House Oversight Panel Looks at PFAS – The House Oversight Environment Subcommittee holds a hearing on Wednesday on PFAS contamination and the need for corporate accountability. The hearing will examine the history of the science behind the health risks associated with PFAS chemicals; what corporations knew about this science and when they knew it; the current levels of PFAS chemical contamination in the United States; and industry efforts to clean up contaminated sites. The Subcommittee also plans to highlight the steps both Democratic and Republican state governments are currently taking to regulate PFAS chemicals.

Resources Panel to Look at Reclamation Projects – The House Resources Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee holds a hearing on Wednesday at 2:00 p.m. on the status of the Reclamation Fund and the Bureau of Reclamation's future infrastructure funding needs. 

Dabbar Headlines National Lab Day – Wednesday is National Lab Day on Capitol Hill. Paul Dabbar, DOE Assistant Secretary for Science, will hold a fireside chat at 4:00 p.m. in 2253 Rayburn. The event is focused on modernizing the grid for American security, innovation and economic growth. At 5:00 p.m., there be an exhibit and reception in the Gold Room 2168 Rayburn.

POLITICO to Host Electric Revolution Forum – POLITICO will host a deep-dive conversation on the potential benefits, costs and impacts of consumer-driven mass electrification in the U.S. and the policy and regulatory topics that need to be addressed on Thursday at 8:00 a.m. at the Washington Court Hotel.   Featured Speakers include Pennsylvania PUC Chair Gladys Brown Dutrieuille, Sen. Angus King, DOE’s Conner Prochaska and NYPA CEO Gil Quiniones.

Heartland Hosts Its Annual Climate Conference – The Heartland Institute holds its 13^th annual International Conference on Climate Change at the Trump Hotel in Washington, DC.  Lunch Keynoter is Rep. Tom McClintock.

Senate Energy to Look at Energy Innovation – The Senate Energy Committee will hold a hearing on energy innovation on Thursday, with witnesses including NETL’s Brian Anderson, John Deskins of West Virginia University Bureau of Business and Economic Research, ITIF’s David Hart, Lee Ragsdale of the North Carolina Electric Cooperatives and Alaska’s Isaac Vanderburg. The Committee will also hold a hearing tomorrow on the United States’ interests in the Freely Associated States with witnesses Interior’s Doug Domenech, DOD’s Randall Schriver, State’s Sandra Oudkirk and GAO Trade expert Dr. David Gootnick.

Legis Hearing to Look at Renewable on Public Land – The House Natural Resources Committee's Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources will hold a legislative hearing on Thursday at 10”:00 a.m. on increasing renewable energy on public lands, including H.R. 3794 (Rep. Gosar for himself and Rep. Levin) that promotes the development of renewable energy on public lands, and for other purposes. “Public Land Renewable Energy Development Act of 2019”

Forum to Look at CCS – ClearPath, Carbon Utilization Research Council (CURC), the Global CCS Institute, and the Carbon Capture Coalition continue their “Carbon Lunches - A Carbon Capture 101 Briefings Series” Thursday to discuss carbon capture, use, and storage, and how this suite of technologies can deliver steep emissions reductions in the transition to a zero-carbon economy, while supporting clean energy production and creating high-wage energy, industrial, and manufacturing jobs. The Environmental and Economic Benefits of Carbon Capture briefing will take place from 11:45 a.m. in the Capitol Visitor Center Room SVC 212-10. ClearPath’s Executive Director Rich Power will join, U.S. Senators John Barrasso (R-WY) Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), and Senator Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV).

Brooking Hosts Forum on Autonomous Cars – On Thursday, the Brookings Institution will hold a day-long forum on how connecting vehicles to smart infrastructure will transform the future of transportation.  Hardly a day passes without some news about autonomous transportation. Apple, Uber, Waymo, Tesla, Ford, GM, Toyota – it seems as if every automotive and tech company has its horse in the race to bring driverless cars to the United States. Panelists at Autonomous cars: Science, technology, and policy will discuss a specific type of autonomy: infrastructure-enabled autonomous vehicles. Engineers, researchers, economists, and government officials will provide a realistic outlook on the current state of driverless cars.

House Climate Committee Looks at Climate Business Costs – The House Select Committee on the Climate Crisis will hold a hearing on Thursday at 2:00 p.m. on business views on the costs of the climate change.

House Resources to Look at Interior’s Science Issues – The House Committee on Natural Resources and its Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations will convene a hearing on Thursday at 2:00 p.m. on scientific integrity at the Department of the Interior.

ELI Hosts DOJ’s Clark – On Friday, the Environmental Law Institute hosts a lunchtime discussion with Jeffrey Bossert Clark, the Assistant Attorney General of the Environment and Natural Resources Division (ENRD) of the U.S. Department of Justice.  Clark will talk about recent developments in the ENRD, enforcement activities, and other current priorities of the division.  He will also discuss the Affordable Clean Energy (ACE) rule.  A short question and answer session with attendees will follow.  Our friend Granta Nakayama moderates.

 

IN THE FUTURE

BCSE to Host Discussion with Treasury Official – The Business Council for Sustainable Energy (BSCE) will convene a briefing for interested BCSE members and other US businesses on Monday, July 29^th at 1:00 p.m. at the BCSE office and via teleconference. The guest speaker will be Mathew Haarsager, Deputy Assistant Secretary for MDB Operations and Policy at the U.S. Department of Treasury and U.S. GCF Board Member.

Workshop to Focus on DER Integration – EPRI and NREL host a half-day work shop next Monday afternoon to deepen knowledge on issues related to DER integration – specifically those regarding energy storage interconnection – as well as provide feedback and insights based on real-world experiences. The workshop will be oriented toward identifying existing utility, developer, Authority Having Jurisdiction (AHJ), and end-user challenges to interconnecting energy storage and discuss strategies for overcoming them.

NAS Committee to Meet to Discuss Climate Issues – The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine committee advising the US Global Change Research Program will meet next Tuesday and Wednesday to provides ongoing and focused advice to the USGCRP by convening key thought leaders and decision makers at semiannual meetings, providing strategic advice, reviewing draft plans for the Program, and serving as a portal to relevant activities from across the National Academies.  The committee's July 2019 meeting will include a topical session on coasts and urban infrastructure, in addition to regular USGCRP and National Academies updates.

AEE Webinar Looks at New Laws – The Advanced Energy Economy holds a live webinar on Tuesday, July 30^th at 1:00 p.m. on new advanced energy legislation that has become law. With many states having concluded their legislative sessions for the year, this webinar will take stock of the progress made in securing pro-advanced energy legislation in key states around the country – and how it happened. In states including Nevada, Colorado, Texas, and Indiana, significant legislation promoting renewable energy, electric vehicles, and utility reform was approved by lawmakers – and bills hostile to advanced energy were stopped in their tracks. AEE and company experts look at this year’s legislative breakthroughs, how they came about, and what legislative efforts are still under way. Panelists include Suzanne Bertin of the Texas Advanced Energy Business Alliance, Apex Energy’s Mark Stover and AEE experts Matt Stanberry and JR Tolbert.

Chamber Energy Groups Sets Innovation Forum – The U.S. Chamber's Global Energy Institute hosts “EnergyInnovates: All In” on July 31^st.  The event will showcase innovators, projects, and technologies that have shaped today’s energy landscape – and are laying the groundwork for the future.  It will also feature key industry executives and employees, high-level officials, and notable energy experts.  Energy Secretary Rick Perry and ClearPath Founder Jay Faison will be among those speaking at the event.

Forum to Look at Behavior, Climate – The Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment hosts a panel discussion on Wednesday July 31^st looking at how to encourage individual’s behavior and decision-making to have beneficial outcomes for the environment. Many factors, such as economic, psychological, environmental and social norms, influence human choices and actions. Leading Stanford University researchers and other experts will discuss their latest findings on the drivers and motivations influencing environmental decisions and what it will take to encourage the scale of behavior change needed to tackle our most pressing challenges such as climate change and its consequences.  Climate change will be a major theme.  The panel will discuss things like how can we encourage behavior change towards increased emissions reductions as well as looking at adaptive responses to climate impacts such as floods and wildfire.

CSIS to Look at Sanctions – The CSIS Energy & National Security Program is hosting a conference on Wednesday July 31^st examining the state of U.S. sanctions―what is different, what is and is not working, and implications for U.S. foreign policy, the global economy, and the energy sector.  The United States has employed sanctions as a foreign policy mechanism for decades.  In recent years, the United States has developed a new generation of more targeted, more agile economic sanctions.  It has become increasingly reliant on these new tools, and its ambitions for their impact have increased.  This conference will review the efficacy of the new style of U.S. sanctions, understand what is contributing to their success or failure, and gauge their future.  Speakers will also explore how sustained use of sanctions is impacting one universally important sector: the energy sector.  Our friend Kevin Book is among the speakers.

EPA to Hold 2020 Ethanol Hearing – The EPA will announce soon in the Federal Register that it will hold its first public hearing on the 2020 Renewable Fuel Standard on July 31 in Ypsilanti, Michigan.  EPA’s long-time transportation chief, Chris Grundler, posted a letter providing the details of all-day hearing in a pre-publication notice. 

Annual TX Enviro SuperConference Set Austin – The annual Texas Environmental SuperConference begins next Thursday and Friday at the Four Seasons in Austin.  The Texas Environmental SuperConference is the premier environmental and natural resources CLE conference in Texas and the surrounding region. Now into its fourth decade, the Superconference is held the first week of August every year in Austin and features presentations from government agencies, non-profits, private practitioners, and consultants.  Bracewell is a major sponsor, hosts on opening reception on Thursday night with popular Texas band Shinyribs and Bracewell expert Ann Navaro is among the speakers.

Ethanol Conference Set for Omaha – The 32^nd annual American Coalition for Ethanol (ACE) conference is set for Omaha on August 14^th to 16^th. 

Chatterjee, Cruz, Graves to Headline Oil Forum – U.S. Energy Stream’s Houston Oil Forum 2019 will be held on September 4^th and 5^th at the Petroleum Club of Houston, in Houston, Texas.  Sen Ted Cruz, FERC Chair Neil Chatterjee, Reps Garret Graves, Pete Olson and Lizzie Fletcher and many others will speak. 

National Clean Energy Week (NCEW) set for September – The National Clean Energy Week (NCEW) described by POLITICO as “a veritable who’s who of the Clean Energy World” will be September 23-27 and sent out speaker information ahead of its third annual celebration. ClearPath will be involved, celebrating and raising awareness for reducing emissions through clean energy technologies.