Energy Update: Week of June 28

Friends,               

Starting on a bit of a sad note today.  A friend and former Alaska Sen. Mike Gravel passed away late Saturday night at his home in Seaside, CA surrounded by family and friends at age 91.  I have additional info (which I shared with some of you yesterday to highlight Gravel’s outsized influence on energy and political issues when he served in the Senate from 1968-1980 and throughout his public life should you want it.  Here is AP’s obituary from Sunday morning.  Gravel was the Senate’s original maverick and had a full life, well-lived.

What a major week of news last week…  DOJ sued Georgia, VP Harris headed to the US-Mexico Border, Biden/Senators announce a bipartisan infrastructure deal (then not maybe) and a police reform framework, Rs announce a Conservative Climate Caucus, McKinley-Schrader re-intro’d their Clean Energy Standard and SCOTUS ruled in favor of refiners over the unworkable RFS ethanol program.  That is a lot of action… BTW, I wish I could be on that 11:30 a.m. RFA call this morning to hear the whining!!!!

I don’t think this week will be as crazy as we run up to the July 4^th holiday (BTW, July 4^th means the summer and year are about HALF OVER ALREADY, ugh).  Senate is out, but the House is in action, taking up a $715 billion surface transportation reauthorization bill and two bipartisan bills on countering China’s influence with US science and technology research. House Appropriators will mark up EPA and Interior funding bills this week with full committee action by Thursday.  The EPA budget is more than $2B higher than the previous year so we’ll see if that sticks.

Hearings include tomorrow’s House Science Committee hearing Federal wildland fire science as the Pacific Northwest weathers an early summer heatwave while House Energy looks at transmission issues with our friend Rob Gramlich testifying. On Wednesday, the House Select Committee on the Climate Crisis explores investments in transportation infrastructure (our friend Robert Bryce testifies) and House Resources discusses coal ash issues in Puerto Rico.

Our Energy Policy will hold three webinars this week starting tomorrow at 11:00 a.m. they will hold an event on infrastructure and cybersecurity featuring Sen. Ed Markey and ACP’s Heather Zichal while at 12:30 p.m. they will look at the state of the energy transition with new Exxon director Andy Kasner and former DuPont CEO Chad Holliday.  On Wednesday at Noon, they will look at the long-awaited promise of carbon capture with Rep Dan Crenshaw, CATF’s Lee Beck and ClearPath’s Jeremey Harrell.

The Energy Futures Initiative holds a virtual discussion on Wednesday to launch its US Policy Blueprint for gigaton-scale CO2 transport and storage infrastructure. Deputy Energy Secretary David Turk and former Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz speak.  And the Atlantic Council Global Energy Center holds a virtual discussion today at 2:00 p.m. on the role of oil and gas companies in a net-zero world featuring a keynote from Equinor’s Al Cook. And speaking of the grid, Energy Policy Institute of Chicago (EPIC) will host a forum on the challenges facing the electric grid.  Finally, ConservAmerica holds its rescheduled critical minerals webinar on Thursday.

The Aspen Ideas Fest takes place digitally through Thursday and Includes energy-relevant speakers, including Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and GM CEO Mary Barra and OPEC and its allies meet again on Thursday. Experts expect the cartel will increase production given WTI prices hitting over $70/barrel.

Wimbledon is ready to launch at the All England Club, but defending champion Simona Halep and men's No. 5 Dominic Thiem have withdrawn, joining other big names like Rafael Nadal, Naomi Osaka and Stan Wawrinka. Here's the draw (with Djokovic and Federer on opposite sides of the bracket).

No update next week as it is the July 4^th Weekend and I will be traveling in Cali (Finally a chance to get some In ‘n Out burgers.  Hope you have a great holiday weekend, stay safe & healthy and get those vaccine shots if you can.

Best,

Frank Maisano

(202) 828-5864

C. (202) 997-5932

 

FRANKLY SPOKEN

“We need to produce more oil and natural gas in the decades ahead – and preferably more in America, where environmental and safety standards are the best in the world. Renewables are an important and growing part of the pie, but as population grows, the pie itself is growing. Oil and natural gas are critical to scaling lower-carbon solutions. We need more energy across the board to enable both developed and developing economies to grow.”

 API President and CEO Mike Sommers in a speech to the Houston Economic Club last Thursday.

ON THE PODCAST

NRECA Podcast Looks at Grow of DOE Distributed Wind Program – In this episode of NRECA’s Along Those Lines podcast, host Scott Hoffman looks at RADWIND, a new program from the Department of Energy that is enlisting the help of electric cooperatives to broaden the use of wind as a distributed generation resource.  Guests Michael Leitman, NRECA’s system optimization director and RADWIND project manager, and Aaron Ruschy, vice president of operations and engineering at Iowa Lakes Electric Cooperative discusses the untapped potential of wind power.

FUN OPINIONS

FORBES: Heatwaves Test Grid Resilience – In a column in FORBES, Energy writer Ken Silverstein says he wonders how grid operators will deal with the current dynamics and the increased pressure to add renewables and still keep things going as temp reach triple digits, as they currently are in the West. He adds CA utilities move to renewables is helping despite a risk of losing access some hydropower. “Extreme weather events and heatwaves are no longer hypothetical. To prepare, western grid operators say that they are in constant communication with their stakeholders and they are mobilizing their resources — including distributed assets and demand response programs. But consumers must also stand ready and start by dialing up their thermostats and using energy during off-peak times.”

FROG BLOG

CA Energy Prices Hurt Poor – In a piece in Real Clear Energy, Energy author/expert Robert Bryce writes in 2020, California’s electricity prices jumped by 7.5%, making it the biggest price increase of any state in the country last year and nearly seven times the increase that was seen in the United States as a whole. He also underscored the regressive nature of California’s decarbonization policies saying “The surging cost of electricity will increase the energy burden being borne by low- and middle-income Californians. High energy costs have a particularly regressive effect in California, which has the highest poverty rate – and some of the highest electricity prices – in the country. In 2020, California’s all-sector electricity prices were the third-highest in the continental U.S., behind only Rhode Island (18.55 cents per kWh) and Connecticut (19.19 cents per kWh.) Before going further, let me state the obvious: California policymakers are providing a case study in how not to manage an electric grid. Furthermore, that case study shows what could happen if policymakers at the state and federal levels decide to follow California’s radical decarbonization mandates, which include a requirement for 100% zero-carbon electricity by 2045 and an economy-wide goal of carbon neutrality by 2045.

FUN FACTS

California EV Charging Needs:  A report from the California Energy Commission (CEC) projects:

• Over 700,000 chargers are needed to support 5 million ZEVs
• Nearly 1.2 million public and shared private chargers are needed to support almost 8 million ZEVs in 2030.
• There are 70,000 chargers in the state currently.

IN THE NEWS

SCOTUS Rules in Favor of Refiners in RFS Case – The US Supreme Court handed refiners a major victory on Friday when it ruled 6-3 rejecting arguments that EPA’s exemption power is limited to only a handful of refineries that have received uninterrupted annual waivers from the Renewable Fuel Standard.

Writing for the majority, Justice Neil Gorsuch said that nothing in the Renewable Fuel Standard law itself “commands a continuity requirement.” Under President Joe Biden, the EPA is expected to issue fewer waivers and force more refineries to satisfy annual biofuel quotas by either blending plant-based alternatives into their products or buying compliance credits from other companies that have. However, the Supreme Court precedent will give future administrations wide clearance to exempt oil refineries from annual blending quotas.

The Winner Speaks – Following its victory, Holly-Frontier said it was pleased that its longstanding arguments were today validated by the Supreme Court: hardship relief may be granted at any time, as the statute provides, regardless of whether a small refinery also received relief in all prior years.  “As refiners both large and small face all time high renewable identification number (RIN) costs and are recovering from the economic impacts of COVID-19, we urge EPA to immediately take action to make the RFS a workable program for U.S. refiners and consumers.”

McKinley Schrader Reintro CES Legislation – Reps. Reps. David B. McKinley, P.E. (R-W.Va.) and Kurt Schrader (D-OR) today introduced the Clean Energy Future through Innovation Act of 2021, a bipartisan proposal to boost innovation of clean energy technologies and reduce emissions from the power sector while preserving affordability and reliability. The legislation would make significant investments in energy innovation and infrastructure, including carbon capture, advanced nuclear, renewables, efficiency, and storage. After a decade of innovation, it establishes a technology-neutral clean energy standard that would reduce CO2 emissions 80% by 2050. The legislation has bipartisan broad support from utilities to environmental groups to labor.  The bill introduction comes after Reps. McKinley and Schrader released a discussion draft in September and introduced legislation in December 2020. They continued to receive feedback and refined the bill further before reintroducing.  Joining Reps. McKinley and Schrader as original cosponsors are Representatives Claudia Tenney (R-NY) and Jim Costa (D-CA).  For Quotes, Stakeholder comments and Background, LOOK HERE.

API Unveils New Climate Reporting Template for NatGas, Oil Industry – API unveiled the next step in its efforts to accelerate climate solutions – a new template for individual companies in the natural gas and oil industry to more consistently report and track greenhouse gas (GHG) indicators.  While many companies have reported GHG indicators for over 20 years, the template aims to provide a consistent and uniform set of core GHG indicators to enable greater comparability in climate-related reporting. The template—developed in consultation with our members, the financial sector, policymakers, industry customers and other interested parties—includes relevant climate-related information. API expects to release additions to the template focused on GHG emissions intensity indicators later this year.  API’s template standardizes the names of indicators, units of measure and the detailed definitions for reporting boundaries to prompt comparable reporting from one company to another. The template prompts for data on Scope 1 and Scope 2 GHG emissions and consists of core GHG emissions indicators that companies can voluntarily report publicly. The template also includes indicators on a company’s efforts to mitigate GHG emissions and a place to indicate a company’s GHG targets and other climate reporting resources, as well as a section where a company can indicate its third-party verification of GHG reporting. The GHG mitigation section contains indicators on the capture of CO2 for utilization or storage, the purchase of credits for renewable energy, and total offsets retired by the company. This gives a foundational picture of a company’s work to mitigate emissions.  API’s template is the first version of a core set of GHG indicators. API and its member companies expect to update the reporting template periodically to achieve continuous improvement, including additions later this year. Companies that follow the template will likely do so in 2022 to report 2021 data, and it is expected that individual companies will continue to report additional climate-related indicators at their discretion to meet the needs of their stakeholders.

More Open FCC Spectrum Hurting Utilities – Southern Company last week filed a brief with the Federal Communications Commission regarding the FCC’s April 2020 decision to open up a spectrum band that utilities and other critical-infrastructure organizations (fire departments, public safety, et al) use for mission-critical communications. This report demonstrates what folks like the Utility Technology Council have been telling the FCC for years and they promptly ignored: Opening up spectrum bands to others interferes with key utility networks.  As you may recall, the FCC approved this decision in April 2020 and starting in January it has been certifying new devices (like wifi routers) to operate in the band.  Southern Company bought a few of these new devices off-the-shelf and ran tests. The result is what was expected all along—the devices interfere with communications systems in the band, whether electric utilities, fire departments and public safety or others. From the industry’s perspective, it means the grid will go unmonitored when this interference occurs. Here’s a UTC letter summarizing the filing to the FCC.  And somewhat coincidentally, the DC Court of Appeals yesterday afternoon scheduled oral arguments in the litigation against this rule for September 17^th so expect to hear more on this subject this fall.

ON THE SCHEDULE THIS WEEK

MOST EVENTS SCHEDULED ARE NOW ONLINE WEBINARS

Aspen Ideas Forum Set –The 2021 Aspen Ideas Festival started online yesterday and runs to Thursday.  Among the speakers will be Transportation Secretary Buttigieg, GM CEO Mary Barra and Rep. Stephanie Murphy and many more. 

Forum to Look at Disaster Management – The Institute for Defense and Government Advancement holds a virtual conference on disaster management today through Wednesday. Butch Kinerney, chief of communications at FEMA's Federal Insurance and Mitigation Administration, delivers remarks on understanding insurance for hurricane response and recovery.

Forum to Talk to Eco-Futurists – The Security and Sustainable Forum holds a 60 minutes dialogue conversation today at 1:00 p.m. with ecological economist and futurist, Hazel Henderson, and Kate Raworth an English economist working for the University of Oxford and the University of Cambridge. Kate is known for her work on 'doughnut economics, an economic model that balances between essential human needs and planetary boundaries.  Her work shows how we can break our addiction to growth; redesign money, finance, and business to be in service to people; and create economies that are regenerative and distributive by design. Kate is actually building on the insights of Hazel Henderson, host of this SSF webinar series and President of Ethical Markets.

Forum to Look at Role of Oil/Gas in Net-Zero – The Atlantic Council Global Energy Center holds a virtual discussion today at 2:00 p.m. on the role of oil and gas companies in a net-zero world. The event features remarks from Al Cook, Executive Vice President, Exploration & Production International, Equinor, joined in discussion by Juliana Garaizar, Vice President of Innovation, Greentown Labs, and Greg Sharenow, Portfolio Manager, Real Assets, PIMCO, and moderated by Helima Croft, Managing and Global Head of Commodity Strategy, RBC Capital Markets.

Forum on Greening Transpo Sector – Greentech Conferences hold a forum today at 2:00 p.m. on leveraging technology to green the transportation sector. This panel led by Katie Thomson, Vice President and Association General Counsel for Worldwide Transportation and Sustainability at Amazon will explore the use of technology – from air to highways to rail to water – to green the transportation sector.  The panel will also discuss the challenges and opportunities in leveraging technology and the need for collaboration and investment across a diverse group of stakeholders to deliver successful, lasting outcomes.

Forum to Look at Oil, Gas in Net Zero – The Atlantic Council holds a virtual discussion today at 2:00 p.m. on the role of oil and gas in net zero.  The event features remarks from Al Cook, Executive Vice President, Exploration & Production International at Equinor.  He will be joined in the discussion by Greentown Labs’ Juliana Garaizar and Greg Sharenow of PIMCO. 

Forum Hears Perspectives on Resilience – The National Assn of State Energy Officials (NASEO) holds a forum today at 3:00 p.m. local communities facing challenges in planning and implementing a more resilient energy system. This webinar will highlight two State Energy Offices’ projects in the Midwest to support local communities in improving energy resilience. The Missouri Department of Natural Resources' Division of Energy worked with three communities to garner insights into the needs of small- to medium-sized communities and developed a Roadmap to Resilience as well as a Process Guide for replication. The Wisconsin Office of Energy Innovation is currently implementing its Statewide Assistance for Energy Resilience and Reliability (SAFER2) project, through which several templates for local emergency managers as well as a tabletop exercise guide were developed. Cherylyn Kelley from the Missouri Department of Natural Resources' Division of Energy and Megan Levy from the Wisconsin Office of Energy Innovation will outline the details of their efforts and discuss key takeaways for other State Energy Offices.

Forum to Look at Public Power – Today at 4:00 p.m., the Center on Global Energy Policy holds its fourth episode of Columbia Energy Straight Talk, a discussion series hosted by former DOE official David Hill and former FERC Chair Cheryl LaFleur. The hosts will discuss the role of public power entities and hydroelectricity in bringing about America's energy future. For this discussion, Cheryl and David will welcome Gil Quiniones, President and CEO of the New York Power Authority (NYPA) and Steve Wright, General Manager of the Chelan County, WA Public Utility District, and former Administrator of the Federal Bonneville Power Administration.

House Approps Takes Up Funding – The House Appropriations Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Subcommittee holds a markup of the FY2022 appropriations bill for the agencies under its jurisdiction starting at 5:30 p.m.  Full Committee will move the spending bill on Thursday which is expected to be over $11B, way higher than normal.

CSIS Sets Defense Forum – The Center for Strategic and International Studies and European Union Delegation to the United States holds its 10^th annual EU Defense Washington Forum virtually tomorrow and Wednesday.  This year’s forum will bring together leading stakeholders and experts from the transatlantic security and defense communities to focus on developing a shared analysis of the threat environment and of the capabilities required to improve our collective and individual response.

House Science Looks at Wildfire Issues – The House Science, Space and Technology Committee holds a hearing tomorrow at 10:00 a.m. on the state of Federal wildland fire science.  The hearing will exam opportunities for further research and coordination. Witnesses include Craig Clements, professor of meteorology and director of the Wildfire Interdisciplinary Research Center at San José State University;

Jessica McCarty, assistant professor of geography and director of the Geospatial Analysis Center at Miami University; George Geissler, state forester and Washington Department of Natural Resources wildland fire and forest health and resiliency deputy and Erik Litzenberg, International Association of Fire Chiefs' Wildland Fire Policy Committee retired chair.

Forum to Look at Oceans, Climate – The Woodrow Wilson Center's Latin American Program, Atlantic Council's Global Energy Center, Mission Blue and Embassy of Chile hold virtual discussion tomorrow at 10:00 a.m. on ocean and climate ambition from COP25 to COP26 and beyond. The event will focus on international partnership on Marine Protected Areas (MPAs), biodiversity and climate change.

House Energy Tackles Transmission – The House Energy and Commerce Energy Subcommittee holds a hearing tomorrow at 10:30 a.m. on the CLEAN Future Act approach to electric transmission and delivering clean power. Panel members include DOE transmission office veteran Patricia Hoffman, former FERC Commissioner Tony Clark, former DOE official Sue Tierney, Utility Workers Union of America official Lee Anderson and transmission expert/friend Rob Gramlich. 

Our Energy Policy holds Webinars on Infrastructure, Energy Transition, Carbon Capture – OurEnergyPolicy will hold three webinars this week.  Tomorrow at 11:00 a.m. they will hold an event on infrastructure and cybersecurity featuring Sen. Ed Markey and ACP’s Heather Zichal while at 12:30 p.m. they will look at the state of the energy transition with new EOM director Andy Kasner and former DuPont CEO Chad Holliday.  On Wednesday at Noon, they will look at the long-awaited promise of carbon capture with Rep Dan Crenshaw, CATF’s Lee Beck and ClearPath’s Jeremey Harrell.

Conference to Look at Enviro Issues with Electronics – IPC and Information Technology Industry Council hold their 2021 Critical Environmental Requirements for Electronics Conference tomorrow starting at Noon. The forum will address the latest environmental requirements that could impact product design, manufacturing, supply chain management, and technology innovation.  This virtual event will feature conversations on global environmental regulations and issues such as RoHS, TSCA, and the impacts associated with Brexit. DOE’s David Turk is among the speakers.

RFF to Look at Building Initiatives – Resources for the Future (RFF) hosts a conversation among a panel of experts tomorrow at Noon to discuss insights and challenges that could help inform the development of building performance standards (BPS) policy at the federal level. A growing number of cities and states are adopting BPS policies to reduce energy use and emissions from the building sector within their jurisdictions. The panel will feature a city representative who is currently administering BPS policies, along with other NGO and research experts who are instrumental in the thinking around BPS policy design. Together, the group will highlight lessons from past experience and insights that could help inform this BPS policy development process at the federal level.

Commerce Holds Solar Meeting – The Commerce Department and International Trade Administration will hold a meeting by teleconference tomorrow at 1:00 p.m. on challenges and opportunities for strengthening the U.S. solar supply chain for photovoltaic panel manufacturing.

House Resources to Consider Water Legislation – The House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Water, Oceans and Wildlife will consider legislation tomorrow at 1:00 p.m. on water-related legislation, including multiple bills seeking to boost supplies for the drought-stricken West.

Forum to Focus on Financing – DNV hosts a forum tomorrow at 2:00 p.m. to look at financing equity in clean energy. The event will explore collaborative financing partnerships and incentives, as well as alternative clean energy deployment models can address existing gaps. Partnerships among a variety of financial institutions, clean energy developers and operators, and other stakeholders – can help advance a more equitable clean energy transition.

USEA Hosts Women in Energy Forum – The US Energy Assn and Advancing Women in Energy tomorrow at 9:00 p.m. will feature a panel of women from the U.S. and Southeast Asia who have risen to leadership roles in the energy sector. The discussion will focus on the panelists’ professional journeys and reflections on the challenges they faced, the programs or policies that facilitated their professional development and the role that mentors/ corporate leaders played in supporting them in the workplace.  The event is intended to introduce the Female Leaders in Energy (FLIE) partnership implemented by USEA with funding from the U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Energy Resources.

IEA Hydro Report Released – The International Energy Agency holds virtual media briefing on Wednesday in Paris (4:00 a.m. E for those of you who have been following their reporters) to release a new report, "Hydropower Special Market Report."

House Resources Looks At Coal Ash – The House Resources Committee holds a hearing on Wednesday at 10:00 a.m. to look at coal ash and the adverse health effects from a Puerto Rico plant and options for plant closure.  Then at 1:00 p.m., they will consider two pieces of legislation to compensate residents of the Puerto Rican island of Vieques for damage done by the U.S. military.

EFI Focuses on Net Zero – The Energy Futures Initiative holds a virtual discussion on Wednesday at 10:00 a.m. looking at building to net-zero.  The event will present a US Policy Blueprint for gigaton-scale CO2 transport and storage infrastructure. This launch event will share key findings from the report, providing a forum for speakers and participants to discuss the role of CO2 infrastructure in a net-zero future. Deputy Energy Secretary David Turk and former Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz speak. 

EPIC to Look at Revitalizing the Grid – The Energy Policy Institute of Chicago (EPIC) will host a forum

Wednesday at 10:45 a.m. on the challenges facing the electric grid today, and the steps the Biden administration is taking—and could take—to protect and grow it. Rep. Sean Casten will open the event, followed by a conversation with FERC Chairman Richard Glick and EPIC Non-Resident Scholar Steve Cicala. The conversation will be moderated by The Atlantic’s Rob Meyer, EPIC’s journalism fellow. This event is part of a series on topics from EPIC’s U.S. Energy & Climate Roadmap.

FP Events Look at Climate Progress – Foreign Policy, in partnership with the Embassy of the UAE, is launching a three-part event series on Wednesday at 11:00 a.m. to explore global partnerships and solutions for a food-secure future.  The first dialogue will focus on the nexus of climate change and agriculture. To protect farmers’ livelihoods and the ecosystems they rely on, and to ensure food security for humanity’s future, agriculture innovation must be a central focus of global climate action. This dynamic program will bring together policy leaders and experts working to adapt farming to a warmer, more volatile planet to discuss pathways toward a sustainable future for food and farmers.

Forum to Address Climate, Trade Policy – The American Institute for Contemporary German Studies and Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung hold a virtual discussion on Wednesday at 11:00 a.m. to discuss reconciling trade policy and climate goals. The event is part of the "AICGS-KAS Transatlantic Trade Week" series. David Livingston, Senior adviser in the Office of the Special Presidential Envoy for Climate will speak. 

WRI Forum Looks at Climate Policy Options – WRI holds a forum on Wednesday at 12:30 p.m. on the misalignment between companies’ sustainability and political engagement (government affairs) strategies in the U.S.  This online event will tackle this question and highlight how companies can meet the moment, realign their strategies, and champion federal climate policy in the United States.  

Hill Forum Looks at ESG, Corporate Responsibility – The Hill holds a national summit on Wednesday at 1:00 p.m. focused on ESG with CEOs, regulators, investment experts, activists, and others leading the way towards purpose-driven business models. The program consists of three “bands” of speakers who will address 1) What ESG is; 2) Measuring Success; and 3) The Road to Zero-Emission Trucks through Charging Infrastructure.  Among the speakers will be Sen. Sherrod Brown and Rep, Yvette Clark. 

Forum Looks at Cities, Decarb – ICF holds a forum on Wednesday at 1:00 p.m. on decarbonizing the biggest cities in the country. The event will be a live webinar with experts from NYC Mayor’s Office of Sustainability, Con Edison, and National Grid for an important conversation on technology options to drive to carbon neutrality. Drawing from a groundbreaking study that included modeling and predictive scenario analysis, NYC and its utility partners now have a deeper understanding of their options on how to make the city carbon neutral by 2050.

House Select Climate Committee to Look at Transportation – The House Select Committee on the Climate Crisis will hold a hearing on Wednesday at 2:00 p.m. looking at transportation investments for solving the climate challenges.  The hearing will explore how investments in transportation infrastructure can curb harmful pollution, increase climate resilience, redress historical inequities, and increase community quality of life.  Our friend and energy author/expert Robert Bryce is among those testifying.

House Banking Looks at Resilience – The House Financial Services’ Subcommittee on Consumer Protection and Financial Institutions will convene a hearing on Wednesday at 2:00 p.m. on addressing climate as a systemic Risk.  The hearing will address the need to build resilience within the banking and financial system.

Summit to Discuss Climate Challenge – The Wilson Center’s "Austrian World Summit" is the centerpiece of the Schwarzenegger Climate Initiative.  It is one of the largest climate conferences in the world and serves as the leading international "Matchmaker for Green Solutions" by presenting successful policies, best practice projects, and examples of cooperation and innovative solutions.   On Thursday at 4:00 a.m., the Summit will discuss current climate issues such as the re-entry of the USA into the Paris Agreement or the European Green Deal. Speakers in Schwarzenegger, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Greta Thunberg,  European Commission VP Frans Timmermans, UNFCCC Exec Sect Patricia Espinosa, Jane Goodall and many more.

Forum to Look at Critical Minerals – ConservAmerica holds a webinar on Thursday at 9:00 a.m. to explore the threats and challenges created by our reliance on foreign imports of critical minerals, our capacity to develop these resources domestically, and the policy changes needed to make that happen. Speakers will include Rep. Pete Stauber, National Mining Assn CEO Rich Nolan, Tristan Abbey of Comarus Analytics and PolyMet CEO Jon Cherry.  Our friend Abby Smith of the Washington Examiner moderates.

Forum to Focus on Energy innovation –The Tax Foundation, Heritage Foundation and the R Street Institute hold a forum on Thursday at 11:00 a.m. to discuss the important roles of taxes, regulations and subsidies in facilitating the market to adopt new energy technologies—and how some poorly designed policies meant to stimulate innovation can become ironic barriers. Speakers will include the Tax Foundation’s Garrett Watson, Heritage senior Policy Analyst Katie Tubb and R Street’s Philip Rossetti.

Forum to Focus on Accelerating Innovation – The CSIS Energy Security & Climate Change Program holds a forum on Thursday at 11:00 a.m. on accelerating energy innovation in the United States and around the world. David Turk, Deputy Secretary of Energy, will discuss the administration’s approach towards innovation and the Department’s Energy Earthshots Initiative—a new project aimed at advancing innovation in critical technologies needed to reach net-zero greenhouse gas emissions.

IN THE FUTURE

Forum to Feature OPEC Leaders to Discuss Net Zero – The Atlantic Council Global Energy Center holds a forum next Monday at 9:00 a.m. featuring a virtual discussion on the role of oil and gas in a net-zero world. This event will launch the Global Energy Center’s new “Oil and Gas Net-Zero” project, which will build on its 2020 report The Role of Oil and Gas Companies in the Energy Transition, and examine the technologies, policies, and business models that will define the role of oil and gas in a net-zero world.  Speakers include OPEC Secretary General Mohammad Barkindo, Helima Croft of RBC Capital Markets; and Crescent Petroleum CEO Majid Jafar, Chief Executive Officer who will discuss the state of the oil and gas industry’s movement towards net-zero, its geopolitical implications, and the greater role of oil and gas in a net-zero future.

CEI to Look at ESG Questions – CEI will host a forum on Tuesday July 6^th at Noon featuring a robust discussion on the future of finance and ethical investing. For many years, ESG-style investing has been making progress in the finance world. But now that the Securities and Exchange Commission seems poised to actually enforce such a framework, will corporate managers suddenly get cold feet? Questions explored will include whether investors benefit from consistency and certainty of market-wide rules, or is a “comprehensive ESG framework” a serious threat to property rights.  It will also look at if regulators can adjudicate controversial social issues.

NARUC Forum Looks at Virtual Power Plants – The National Assn of Regulatory Utility Commissioners (NARUC) holds a webinar on Thursday July 8^th 3:00 p.m. on Virtual power plants.  VPPs are systems that manage a network of distributed energy resources (DERs) of various types across a geographic area, aggregating control of those resources to provide and be compensated for energy, capacity, and/or services to the grid. During this webinar, participants will hear from speakers who have been analyzing, developing, and operating VPPs. The discussion will focus on specific examples where DERs are being aggregated to act as resources and/or grid assets in addition to providing customer benefits. We will explore how the installed VPPs are working from both an operational/technical and economic/policy perspective.

SIPA Hosts bp’s Spencer Dale Outlook – On Monday July 12^th at Noon, the Columbia Center for Global Energy Policy will host Spencer Dale, bp Chief Economist, as he presents the findings of bp’s Statistical Review of World Energy 2021. Following his presentation, he will join James Glynn, CGEP Senior Research Scholar, and Laura Cozzi, Chief Energy Modeler, IEA, on a panel moderated by Jason Bordoff, Co-Founding Dean, Climate School, Columbia University; CGEP Founding Director; and Professor of Professional Practice in International and Public Affairs, Columbia University.

Poynter Hosts Miles O’Brien – The Poynter Institute hosts a forum on Tuesday July 13^th looking at what’s next in aviation’s race against climate change during an engaging Q&A with PBS NewsHour’s chief science correspondent, award-winning independent journalist and our friend Miles O’Brien.  O’Brien will share more than three decade’s worth of insight as a science and climate reporter for outlets spanning from local broadcast newsrooms in Washington, D.C., Boston, Tampa and Albany to national outlets including CNN and PBS. Plus, as an accomplished pilot who often flies his own plane to cover the latest innovations in flight, O’Brien will describe what it’s like to elevate breakthroughs in aerospace technology.

Bloomberg Sustainability Summit Set – On July 13^th and 14^th, Bloomberg holds its Sustainable Business Summit Global. The Summit bring together business leaders and investors globally to drive innovation and scale best practices in sustainable business and finance. This global event will span key markets and time zones, leveraging Bloomberg's unrivaled markets expertise to convene conversations uniquely focused on the risks and opportunities for corporate executives and forward-thinking investors in a 21^st Century economy.  bp’s Bernard Looney will be among the many speakers.

FERC Open Meeting – Thursday July 15^th

Forum to Look at CO2 Recycling – The Columbia Center on Global Energy Policy will host a webinar on Monday July 19^th at 1:00 p.m. sharing key findings from a new report, “Opportunities and Limits of CO2 Recycling in a Circular Carbon Economy: Techno-economics, Critical Infrastructure Needs, and Policy Priorities.” This report aims to help investors and policymakers understand key issues and technology limits and navigate the dynamic landscape of CO2 recycling for hard-to-abate sectors. This webinar will feature a short presentation by Dr. Julio Friedmann, CGEP Senior Research Scholar, and Amar Bhardwaj, Marshall Scholar and incoming Stanford University PhD Student, followed by a moderated panel discussion with leaders in industry, technology, policymaking and government.  DOE Fossil Asst Sect Jennifer Wilcox will keynote. 

Chamber Forum to Look at Resilience – The U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation, in partnership with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), and U.S. NORTHERN COMMAND, will convene virtually on July 27-28 to host the 10^th Annual Building Resilience Through Private-Public Partnerships Conference.  Discussions will address collaboration required among private, public, and nonprofit sectors to help mitigate the effects of all disasters, while ensuring a resilient future that drives opportunity, prosperity, security, and advancement for all.

Transmission Conference Set – Global Transmission is organizing a two-day virtual conference on Transmission Infrastructure Investment on July 28-29^th.  The mission of the conference is to explore the issues that impact transmission investment and discuss how to finance the needed infrastructure. The conference will bring together policymakers, regulators, utilities, investors and technology providers to discuss what’s needed to build a decarbonized, resilient and modern electricity grid in the US.