Jan 23 2023 Bracewell Energy Update

Jan 23 Bracewell Energy Update: Congress Back in Action, USEA State of Energy Forum Thurs

Frank Maisano, Senior Principal, Policy Resolution Group. Bracewell LLC

Happy Lunar New Year. 2023 is the year of the rabbit, except in Vietnam where it is the year of the cat.

The NFL’s final four is set for next weekend (Eagles-49ers, Bengals-Chiefs rematch) and the first tennis major of the year, the Australian Open, hits the Championship round this week with titles determined this weekend. Finally, SUNDANCE runs this week in Park City. Below we have a link to a few enviro films on the screen.

The SCOTUS has just released Its first decisions of the term this morning and Congress returns this week with the real work of the 118th Congress set to begin. The Senate will vote tonight, while the House is in tomorrow. The House will spend most of the week considering legislation that limits the Biden administration’s ability to tap into the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, despite Energy Secretary Granholm letter last week that says it will cause “more oil supply shortages in times of crisis and higher gasoline prices for Americans.” Not exactly…Not much chance of the senate talking this one up though. Finally, President Biden has a new chief of staff with Jeff Zients replacing Ron Klain.

Tomorrow evening in Houston, OurEnergyPolicy is hosting a forum at the University of Houston Hilton on the road ahead for oil and gas. My colleague Jeff Holmstead moderates a panel with API’s Dean Foreman, Shell’s Aura Cuellar and CITI’s Michael Jamison. BP’s Starlee Sykes will keynote.

In some great DC event news, the US Energy Assn holds its 19th annual State of the Energy Industry Forum on Thursday LIVE at the National Press Club. The event kicks off with Tom Kuhn, Mike Sommers, Maria Korsnick and Karen Harbert. Other great speakers include our friend Dan Whitten of SEIA, NRECA’s Jim Matheson, ACORE’s Greg Wetstone, EPRI’s Arshad Mansoor, NHA’s Malcolm Woolf, INGAA’s Amy Andryszak and LEPA’s Andy Black, among others.

Other events include tomorrow when the Brattle Group will present the results of a new analysis commissioned by the ACP, ACORE, the Clean Air Task Force, GridLab, and NRDC, which finds that efficient and proactively-planned transmission solutions could significantly lower the cost of reaching 2050 offshore wind goals.  Finally on Friday, SAFE’s Center for Critical Minerals Strategy and Trout Unlimited hold a webinar examining the role of abandoned mines across the country that could potentially contain previously overlooked quantities of critical minerals desperately needed, such as cobalt and nickel.  And next Monday at 10:00 a.m., the National Press Club hosts House Oversight Chair James Comer for its first major NPC NEWSMAKER.

Quick news this morning highlighted in WaPo’s Climate 202 that – shockingly – Evergreen Action has a new “report” that says tough EPA climate rules put in place over the next two years will get Biden to his aggressive goal to reduce emissions from the utility sector. Unfortunately, they are an advocacy group that misses the court challenges that have limited EPA’s reach, real political challenges and regional differences. It also once again highlights what is certainly likely to be a better way: bipartisan legislation similar to that introduced last year by former Reps. McKinley and Schrader that incentivizes the utility industry to reduce emissions and advance technology while backing it up with a cap. It is likely to be more successful than just continuously pounding our head against the EPA regs wall which has been happening since the late 1990s without success. More on this tomorrow as Evergreen Action and NRDC roll it out with Sen Tina Smith and others.

Finally, for those of you that haven’t heard or missed it, congrats to our friend Jake Rubin has moved over to Siemens DC office! And Siemens rolled out some cool news today with its new the Energy Transition Readiness Index, which rates each region of the world on its progress toward net-zero energy production. North America was the best at 34%, closely followed by EU at 33%. Finally, sad (for us), but happy (for him) to hear our friend Greg Wetstone of ACORE is soon stepping back from his leadership of the organization. He has been a champion for the business case for clean energy and his efforts made the ACORE significant, respected player.

FRANKLY SPOKEN

“Energy security is national security is economic security, and it is driven by having reliable, affordable, and abundant clean energy. I believe the United States is the one to lead and make it happen.”
– House Energy & Commerce Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-Wash.) at the API State of American Energy 2023 Policy Breakfast

ON THE PODCAST

ClearPath’s Powell joins National Review Podcast – ClearPath CEO Rich Powell joined National Review editor Rich Lowry in the final podcast of a five-part special energy series for The Editors, where the two Rich’s discuss new energy technologies. The other four podcasts in the series include:

CapCrude Talks Key Oil/Gas Issues – S&P Global senior editor Maya Weber joined the Capitol Crude podcast this week to break down what’s happening at FERC and what its agenda could mean for natural gas producers and other stakeholders. She also shed light on climate actions being pursued by the Biden administration that could impact the gas sector and provided some clarity on whether President Joe Biden is really trying to ban gas stoves.

FUN OPINIONS

US Greenhouse Gas Emissions are Falling, But Not Fast Enough – US GHG emissions rose in 2022, for the second year in succession. In this week’s Energy Pulse, our friend Ed Crooks takes a look at the detail of the data. There was one large sector where emissions did not grow last year, however, despite increased activity: power generation. A shift away from coal and towards natural gas, wind and solar power held down emissions while total generation increased. That shift, along with other long-term changes in patterns of energy consumption, is set to have a big impact on US emissions over time. Data from Wood Mackenzie’s Energy Transition Tool show that US emissions from coal use have already dropped by 45% since 2000. In our base case forecast, they are expected to drop by a further 55% by 2030, and then to fall almost to nothing by 2040.

FROG BLOG

Breakthrough: Is this Gas Stove Strategy the Best Approach – In a blog post, Breakthrough Institute Deputy Director Alex Trembath wrote a straight-forward analysis on stove science and whether it is an actual roadblock on the path to electrification.  Trembath says actively courting the culture war and reframing everyday activities into eco-nightmares seems likely to generate backlash and suspicion as it did last week. “To be clear: there are health benefits to switching away from gas stoves…but the risks of gas stoves are highly contingent, significantly mitigatable through ventilation and filtration and not nearly as dire as some headlines and activist campaigns would have you believe.”

FUN FACTS

Clean Energy Jobs: Canary Media report clean energy jobs are booming. What sectors are growing most?  See below.

IN THE NEWS

Energy Transition Nexus Shows Strong Performance in North American, Europe – Siemens Energy is releasing its new Energy Transition Readiness Index. This in-depth study evaluates our progress towards the full transformation of the energy system and boils this down to a single “readiness” figure. It differs from region to region, but all these figures have one thing in common: They are much lower than they should be. The index describes the perceived readiness, on a scale of 0 to 100%, of the energy transition towards net zero. North America has one of the highest levels of emissions per capita in the world. But the region has already achieved significant reductions and is overall making good progress on decarbonization. For further reductions to be possible, a concerted effort is needed at all levels of industry, politics, and society. At 34%, North America shapes the energy transition. Per capita emissions are among the highest in the world, but significant reductions have already been achieved towards decarbonization. Further developments position the U.S. as a role model for advancing green business. Here are four key topics that the North American report highlights:

  1. Renewables are key enablers of new energy systems
  2. Infrastructure needs to be resilient to future technology changes
  3. Fossil fuels, especially gas, still have a role to play
  4. Carbon capture is seen as playing a vital role in decarbonization

Air Liquide, Siemens Deliver Electrolyzer to French Presidential Palace – In an event in Paris over the weekend, Emmanuel Macron and Olaf Scholz marked 60 years of the Élysée Treaty by discussing the joint Siemens Energy-Air Liquide venture to develop industrial-scale hydrogen electrolyzers. A prime example of Franco-German relations driving the energy transition.

Companies Partner on Waste-to-Hydrogen – Raven SR, Chevron New Energies and Hyzon Motors said they are collaborating to commercialize operations of a green waste-to-hydrogen production facility in Richmond intended to supply hydrogen fuel to transportation markets in Northern California. The facility will be owned by a newly formed company, Raven SR S1 LLC. Raven SR will be the operator of the facility, which is targeted to come online in the first quarter of 2024. Chevron holds a 50% equity stake in Raven SR 1. Raven SR holds a 30% stake and Hyzon owns the remaining 20%.

NETL Produces Supply Chain Road Map for US Offshore Wind Energy – The national offshore wind energy target of 30 gigawatts (GW) by 2030 referenced the potential benefits of establishing a domestic supply chain, including providing existing suppliers with the ability to produce thousands of components while creating tens of thousands of US jobs. NREL led the 30 GW by 2030: A Supply Chain Road Map for Offshore Wind in the United States project to create a road map that identifies challenges and solutions to developing a nationally focused offshore wind energy supply chain that has the potential to manufacture all major components domestically by 2030. The project was overseen by the National Offshore Wind Research and Development Consortium and conducted by a partnership among NREL, the Business Network for Offshore Wind, and DNV. Funding and support were provided by the National Offshore Wind Research and Development Consortium, the Maryland Energy Administration, and the U.S. Department of Energy.

Former CSIS Expert Join White House Security Council – Sarah Ladislaw is joining the National Security Council as senior director for climate and energy and special assistant to the president. She previously served as managing director for the U.S. program at the Rocky Mountain Institute.

Groups Challenge New EPA WOTUS Rule – A coalition of business groups led by the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association and including the American Petroleum Institute has filed a lawsuit challenging the Environmental Protection Agency and US Army Corps of Engineers’ new rule redefining the Waters of the US. The group is concerned about the rule’s treatment of wetlands that don’t touch navigable waters.

ON THE SCHEDULE THIS WEEK

SUNDANCE Film Festival Set in Park City – The Sundance Film Festival, which always has a bunch of environmental and energy films, launches in Park City, Utah this week. Enviro films this year include

Deep Rising

  • Matthieu Rytz returns to Sundance (Anote’s Ark, 2018 Sundance Film Festival) with this up-to-the-minute tale of geopolitical, scientific, and corporate intrigue that exposes the machinations of a secretive organization empowered to greenlight massive extraction of metals from the deep seafloor that are deemed essential to the electric battery revolution.

Food and Country

  • Trailblazing food writer Ruth Reichl worries about the fate of small farmers, ranchers, and chefs as they wrestle with both immediate and systemic challenges. As the pandemic takes hold, she reaches across political and social divides to discover innovators who are risking it all to survive on the front lines. The film transcends the health crisis, laying bare how America’s decades-old policy of producing cheap food at all costs hobbles purveyors who are striving to stay independent. What began as a journalistic endeavor blooms into a series of intimate friendships.

King Coal

  • Central Appalachia is a place of mountains and myth. Director Elaine McMillion Sheldon knows this well, calling those mountains home. Coal has had a profound influence on this community’s identity, but Sheldon dares to consider what future stories might look like out of the shadow of coal now that relationships to coal are changing. She takes us on an alluring cinematic journey through the past, present, and future of Appalachia.

CSIS to Look at Supply Chains – Tomorrow at 10:00 a.m., the CSIS Economics Program holds an armchair chat with Under Secretary of State for Economic Growth, Energy, and the Environment Jose Fernandez covering strategic economic competition with China, efforts to make supply chains more secure and resilient, the clean energy transition, and other strategic economic initiatives. 

USEA Hosts NETL Energy Discussion – The US Energy Assn hold a forum tomorrow at 1:00 p.m. focused on the cost of capturing CO2 from industrial sources.  The National Energy Technology has evaluated nine representative industrial facilities (ammonia, ethanol, ethylene oxide, natural gas processing, coal-to-liquids, gas-to-liquids, refinery hydrogen, cement, and iron/steel) to estimate the levelized cost of CO2 capture. The forum will focus on its research.

Brattle to Release Research – In a forum tomorrow at 1:00 p.m., the Brattle Group will present the results of a new analysis commissioned by the American Clean Power Association, the American Council on Renewable Energy (ACORE), the Clean Air Task Force, GridLab, and the Natural Resources Defense Council, which finds that efficient and proactively-planned transmission solutions could significantly lower the cost of reaching 2050 offshore wind goals.

Forum Looks at Decarb – The Energy Management Association holds a forum tomorrow at 2:00 p.m. to explain the fundamentals of decarbonization. As climate change impacts building construction and operation become paramount, building designers, architects, and engineers need to take immediate action.

Forum to Look at CA Waiver – The Federalist Society for Law and Public Policy Studies’ Regulatory Transparency Project holds a webinar tomorrow at 3:00 p.m., on “Litigation Update: Ohio v. Environmental Protection Agency,” focusing on the EPA’s reinstatement of the waiver given to California for its greenhouse gas stands and zero emission vehicle sales mandate, as preempted by the Clean Air Arc. This litigation update will feature a discussion from Jonathan Brightbill, who served as Acting Assistant Attorney General (leading the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division); Robert Percival, University of Maryland School of Law professor and Sohan Dasgupta, who served as the Deputy General Counsel of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

Forum to Look at Road Ahead for Oil, Gas – Tomorrow evening in Houston, OurEnergyPolicy is hosting a forum at the University of Houston Hilton on the road ahead for oil and gas. My colleague Jeff Holmstead moderates a panel with API’s Dean Foreman, Shell’s Aura Cuellar and CITI’s Michael Jamison. BP’s Starlee Sykes will keynote. There will attribute to former Shell head Jon Hofmeister.

WRI to Host Stories to Watch – The World Resources Institute holds its annual “Stories to Watch” for 2023 on Wednesday at 9:00 a.m. The ongoing effects of COVID, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, inflation, climate impacts and more led to major upheaval in people’s lives. World leaders are prioritizing action on nature and climate and multilateral meetings led to new breakthroughs. WRI President & CEO Ani Dasgupta will share insights into our predictions for the big stories coming up in 2023, including what actions governments, businesses, institutions and people must take to get the world on the right path.

CSIS to Look at Mining – On Wednesday at 10:00 a.m., the CSIS Americas Program holds a timely and important conversation on mining, climate risks and the Western Hemisphere. This event will focus on how the US can work with partner countries in Latin America, such as Chile and Peru, to transition to clean energy technologies for mining through development institutions and policy making. Specifically, it will focus on how the mining of resources like copper and lithium, which are necessary to produce clean energy technologies, can be extracted in a sustainable manner, and one which contributes to the economic empowerment of local communities. It will also discuss how the United States can calibrate its policy to build ecologically sustainable and socially licensed mining in Latin America. Our friend Morgan Bazilian of the CO School of Mines is a panelist.

Forum Looks at Ag Innovation – The Business Council for International Understanding holds a virtual discussion on Wednesday at 11:00 a.m. focused on plans for the AIM (Agriculture Innovation Mission) for Climate Summit and building to COP28. Speakers include USDA’s Jaime Adams and David Livingston, Senior adviser at the State Department Office of the Special President Envoy for Climate.

Forum Tackles Energy Storage – On Wednesday at Noon, S&P Global Market Intelligence holds a webinar to discuss the opportunities and the considerable challenges ahead on US energy storage impacts. The Inflation Reduction Act created an up to 30% investment tax credit for stand-alone energy storage projects, along with a host of additional incentives for qualifying solar-plus-storage and stand-alone installations. In place for the next decade, the expanded federal tax credits are widely expected to catapult battery storage assets well beyond early adopters in California and Texas.

Forum Looks at Carbon Emissions – The American Security Project holds an event on Wednesday at 12:30 p.m. on innovating ways to reduce emissions. As the private sector, federal regulators and climate activists search for more tools to keep carbon out of the atmosphere, active carbon management approaches like carbon capture, utilization, and storage – once seen as too costly and/or too risky – are gaining renewed attention. DOE’s Jennifer Wilcox is among the panelists.

Carnegie Looks at Clean Energy Transition – The Carnegie Endowment for International Peace holds a discussion on Wednesday at 1:00 p.m. focused on advancing the clean energy transition in 2023. The event features a with Geoffrey Pyatt, assistant secretary for energy resources at the State Department.

Brooking Hosts Infrastructure Jobs Discussion – On Wednesday at 200 p.m., Brookings Metro will host an event highlighting federal, state, and local perspectives on accessing new funding to address the country’s infrastructure workforce needs. The conversation builds off of new Brookings Metro research that measures the scale of these workforce needs and explains how state and local leaders can use infrastructure funding for workforce development efforts. Two panels—comprised of federal agencies and state/national thought leaders—will examine challenges and opportunities to accelerate workforce development efforts nationally.

Forum to Look at Offshore Wind Equity – The Clean Energy States Alliance holds a forum on Wednesday at 3:00 p.m. on incorporating equity into state offshore wind policies and programs. The development of offshore wind infrastructure has the potential to impact already marginalized communities, including environmental justice communities, low-income communities, and communities of color, in both positive and negative ways. Many states now consider equity an important pillar of their energy policy.

WEN Kicks Off 2023 – On Wednesday evening, the Women’s Energy Network in DC kicks off 2023 at Lady Bird rooftop bar atop the Kimpton Banneker Hotel.  Enjoy food, drinks and lively conversation while taking in the breathtaking views of Washington.

Mexico Energy Infrastructure Forum Set – The 8th Mexico Infrastructure Projects Forum will take place in Monterrey on Wednesday and Thursday. In its eighth year, this unique energy infrastructure event brings together high-level executives from various industries and provides access to key decision makers. Fields of interest are engineering, construction, hydrocarbon, energy, decarbonization, renewables, logistics, service providers, investors, and lenders. The forum connects attendees with international speakers from the private and public sector, including multi-lateral development banks and project sponsors from Mexico, Texas and the US.

Forum Looks at Offshore Wind in Brazil, Denmark, Indonesia – The US Commercial Service and the Business Network for Offshore Wind hold a forum on Thursday at 10:30 a.m. offshore wind opportunities in Brazil, Denmark, and Indonesia. As offshore wind grows in the United States, it is also a rapidly expanding energy market segment in many countries around the world. This webinar will highlight opportunities in three dynamic markets around the world — Brazil, Denmark, and Indonesia.

SEIA Forum Looks at Recycling Panels – The Solar Energy Industries Association holds a webinar on Thursday at 1:00 p.m. on turning solar panel recycling woes into industry wins. Panelists will discuss responsible solutions to solar panel recycling that are both ecological and economical, including how to extend solar asset longevity, as well as share what owners can do with panels after they are decommissioned or damaged.

EESI Starts Climate Camp Explainers – On Thursday at 2:00 p.m., the Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI) holds its start-of-the-new Congress briefing series, Climate Camp. EESI will go over the basics of the legislative process, highlighting key areas and opportunities for climate mitigation and adaptation policy. The first session in EESI’s Congressional Climate Camp series will bring you up to speed on the budget and appropriations process already underway for fiscal year 2024. Panelists will draw on examples of funding for climate, energy, and environment programs to bring the process to life and show how it plays out in practice.

Beaudreau, DOE Headline Supply Chain Issues Forum in CO – The Colorado School of Mines Payne Institute holds a forum on Thursday and Friday in Golden, CO. The event will be a two-day forum looking at supply chain transparency for mines. Speakers will include Interior’s Tommy Beaudreau, DOE’s Doug Hollett and Zack Valdez and Circulor’s Ellen Carey.

USEA Energy Forum Set – The US Energy Assn holds its 19th annual State of the Energy Industry Forum on Thursday at the National Press Club. The event will feature CEOs from all Washington’s key top trade association heads on current policy drivers, objectives and priorities for the coming year.

Press Club to Host National Geographic Magazine Founder – The National Press Club hosts Gilbert Grosvenor, the former chairman of the National Geographic Society and editor of its magazine, to discuss his half-century career with one of the world’s most recognizable magazines at 2:00 p.m. Friday in the Fourth Estate room.

SAFE Event Looks at Abandoned Mines, Tech – On Friday at 2:00 p.m., SAFE’s Center for Critical Minerals Strategy and Trout Unlimited holds a webinar examining the role of abandoned mines across the country, many of which include contaminated piles of tailings and waste rock that could potentially contain previously overlooked quantities of critical minerals the United States and its allies desperately need, such as cobalt and nickel. Reprocessing existing mine waste on inactive or abandoned mine lands could help society achieve clean energy and advanced technology goals while preserving untouched landscapes and reclaiming contaminated ones. Speakers Include USGS’s Darcy McPhee and Dan West of Rivian

Baker Forum Looks at Pakistan, Climate – On Friday at 5:30 p.m. at Rice University’s Baker Institute, the Center for Energy Studies holds a forum on climate Issues facing Pakistan. Experts will discuss how Pakistan can reconcile its energy and water security while facing geopolitical turmoil, and in particular how the country’s relationships with its neighbors influence its development and diplomacy. Pakistani barrister and author Dawood Ghazanavi will address the country’s current situation in an opening lecture, followed by a conversation between Baker Botts Fellow in Energy & Environmental Regulatory Affairs Gabriel Collins and Middle East fellow Kristian Coates Ulrichsen. The discussion will explore the importance of Pakistan’s water conflicts, energy security and geopolitical relationships in the midst of climate disaster.

IN THE FUTURE

House Oversight Chair to Address Press Club – The National Press Club will host Rep. James Comer (R-KY) at a Club in-person Headliners Newsmaker on Monday, January 30th at 10:00 a.m. in the Fourth Estate Room. Comer is expected to serve as the next chairman of the House Oversight Committee when Republicans take control of the House of Representatives on Jan 3. Comer has said the Oversight Committee under Republican control will focus on rooting out waste, fraud, abuse, and mismanagement in the federal government and holding the Biden Administration accountable.

Forum Looking at Storage – The Clean Energy States Alliance holds a forum on Tuesday January 31st at 1:00 p.m. assessing the value of energy storage for states. The event will discuss a new report, Energy Storage Benefit-Cost Analysis: A Framework for State Energy Programs. The report provides guidance for state energy agencies in such areas as how to quantify the value of energy storage services, which cost-effectiveness test to use, how to pick a discount rate, and how to ensure an equitable process that takes stakeholder input into account. In this Clean Energy States Alliance webinar, report authors Liz Stanton and Bryndis Woods of Applied Economics Clinic will discuss the report’s findings with CESA’s Todd Olinsky-Paul.

Forum to Look at Climate, Security – The American University’s School of International Service holds a forum on Tuesday January 31st at 4:00 p.m. looking at the effects of Climate Change on Security. Joshua Busby explains, with case studies, why climate leads to especially bad security outcomes in some places but not others.

USEA Forum Looks at DER – On Wednesday February 1st at 10:00 a.m., USEA’s Energy Management webinar will be hosted by USAID’s Bureau for Development, Democracy, and Innovation (DDI), with experts from PJM Interconnection and XM.  Invited speakers will include Jaime Alonso Castillo Marin from XM’s Office of Planning and PJM Interconnection’s Vice President of Federal Government Policy, Craig Glazer and Lead Business Solutions Analyst, Scott Baker.

Forum to Look at ‘Buy Clean’ Programs – The Environmental Law Institute holds a forum on Wednesday February 1st at 12:00 noon. Featuring an update on “Buy Clean,” emissions, LCAs, EPDs and funding. With merely 7 years remaining to meet 2030 emission targets, where do we stand with new policies and legislation? Panelists will provide an update on Buy Clean policy, green funding, the status of carbon emissions, and a primer on environmental product declarations. C2ES’s Chris Kardish and Ken Berlin of the Atlantic Council are among the speakers.

Forum Looks at Climate Impacts in Middle East – The Middle East Institute and the Tahrir Institute for Middle East Policy holds a forum on Thursday February 2nd at 10:00 a.m. assessing MENA’s 2022 climate implications and exploring policy opportunities for 2023. The event features a discussion of opportunities for more meaningful and transformative climate action in the region for 2023.

Forum to Look at NETL Carbon Capture Study – The US Energy Assn holds an event on Thursday February 2nd at 1:00 p.m. on NETL’s updated performance and cost estimates for power generation facilities equipped with carbon capture. Based on new analyses by the National Energy Technology Laboratory, this presentation will review the performance and cost assumptions for the solvent-based post-combustion capture systems used with natural gas combined cycle and pulverized coal plants.

Forum Looks at Green Hydrogen – The Environmental Law Institute holds a forum on Thursday February 2nd at 3:00 p.m. exploring green hydrogen’s role in our energy future. Green Hydrogen presents an opportunity to aid the transition to net-zero, with the potential to save the 830 million tons of CO2 that are emitted annually when this gas is produced using fossil fuels. Hydrogen is storable, versatile, and sustainable, yet challenges remain to its adoption. DOE’s Sunita Satyapal leads the panel.

Hydrogen-Fuel Cell Seminar Set for Long Beach – The Fuel Cell & Hydrogen Energy Assn holds its 2023 Hydrogen & Fuel Cell Seminar in Long Beach on February 7th to February 9th. The event includes a half-day workshop sponsored by the Department of Energy, morning plenary program featuring talks from government and private sector leaders, over 120 afternoon breakout presentations. Speakers include DOE’s Jeff Marootian, FCHEA head Frank Wolak and my colleague Tim Urban, among many others.

Forum Looks at Clean Energy Opportunities for Indigenous People – On February 8th at 6:00 p.m., the Center on Global Energy Policy at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs will feature a panel of experts for a discussion about opportunities and risks for indigenous communities in the North American energy transition. The panel will discuss the Biden administration’s efforts to strengthen indigenous consultation and environmental justice around natural resources and renewable energy development with US native communities. They will also explore how Canadian indigenous leaders are developing equity-based partnerships to develop renewable energy and critical minerals projects under the principles of Free Prior and Informed Consent–and whether such partnerships can meet the needs of indigenous groups in the US as well as ESG-focused investors and project developers.

Governors Talk with POLITICO –POLITICO holds a forum on Thursday February 9th at 9:00 a.m. at World Wide Technology’s D.C. Innovation Center for The Fifty: America’s Governors. In a divided Congress, more of the legislative and policy enforcement action will shift to the states, ensuring Governors set the agenda for much of the country. Among the topics will be being on the frontlines of climate change.

Distributed Wind Forum, Lobby Day Set – The Distributed Wind Energy Association (DWEA) holds Distributed Wind 2023 on February 27th at the Residence Inn in Arlington, VA. The event is the tenth annual where the leaders of the distributed and community wind industry convene to showcase this sector of the wind industry to an audience of policy makers, agency staff, and renewable energy industry leaders.

Annual Ethanol Forum Set – The Renewable Fuels Association holds its 28th annual National Ethanol Conference in Orlando from February 28th to March 2nd. The 2023 event theme “Ready. Set. Go!“ reflects the US ethanol industry’s momentum moving forward into new markets and opportunities. The NEC is the nation’s most widely attended executive-level conference for the ethanol industry. There is much to learn and experience at the NEC, where sessions featuring globally renowned speakers are interspersed with numerous networking opportunities to help the industry connect and collaborate.

CERA Week Locked In – The energy industry’s biggest event, CERA Week will be held on March 6th to March 10th in Houston. CERAWeek brings together global leaders to advance new ideas, insight and solutions to the biggest challenges facing the future of energy, the environment, and climate. CERAWeek is widely considered to be the most prestigious annual gathering of CEOs and Ministers from global energy and utilities, as well as automotive, manufacturing, policy and financial communities, along with a growing presence of tech. Speakers include White House Advisor John Podesta, former Energy Secretaries Ernest Moniz (now at EFI) and Dan Brouillette (now at Sempra Infrastructure), State’s Amos Hochstein, IEA’s Fatih Birol and dozens of energy CEOs.

ACORE Policy Forum Set – The annual ACORE Policy Forum on March 9th in Washington, D.C. with the annual ACORE Awards Gala the evening before. The event will feature important discussions around ensuring the success of the Inflation Reduction Act, building the clean energy workforce of tomorrow, and what is needed to catalyze a domestic clean energy supply chain and upgraded electric grid to meet our decarbonization goals and achieve the clean energy transition.

Granholm to Headline Energy Track at SXSW Conference – The South by Southwest Festival and Conference will be held on Friday March 10th to Sunday March 19th. The Energy track runs From Friday to Sunday and will feature Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm. Our friend Morgan Bazilian of the Payne Institute at the Colorado School of Mines will discuss the EV battery supply chain, Jane Stricker of the Houston Energy Transition Initiative will look at energy Transition issues and another friend Julian Spector of Canary Media will also talk energy. There will also be a Climate and Transportation track.  The SXSW Conference provides an opportunity for the global community of digital creatives to encounter cutting-edge ideas, discover new interests, and network with other professionals who share a similar appetite for forward-focused experiences.

SAFE Summit To Address EV Supply Chains, Infrastructure – Senior business leaders from the world’s leading automobile, mining, and transportation corporations as well as White House and senior government officials are scheduled to headline the SAFE Summit: A Pathway to Electrification from Minerals to Market, on March 28-29th in Washington, D.C. The summit aims to seize the historical moment provided by the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. The two-day event, co-hosted by SAFE and the Electrification Coalition, will offer practical next solutions that will, in collaboration with U.S. allies and partners, build out robust and reliable supply chains and supporting infrastructure for the mass adoption of electric vehicles (EVs) and the broader energy transition. John Podesta, Senior Advisor to the President for Clean Energy Innovation and Implementation will address the summit on the Biden Administration’s agenda and priorities; as will Jigar Shah, Director of the Loan Programs Office at the Department of Energy. Top-tiered sponsors and speakers include FedEx Chairman Fred Smith, Nissan Motor Company, and Teck Resources Limited CEO Jonathan Price. Additional SAFE Summit sponsors include Lithium Americas, Lyten, The Metals Company (TMC), and DLT Labs.

MIT Energy Conference Set – MIT holds its annual energy conference on April 11th and 12th in Boston.