Big Green's Payday

View this email in your browser

DAILY ENERGY NEWS | 12/03/2024

Subscribe Now

A live look at what Team Biden is concerning themselves in the waning days of their tenure.

US News (12/3/24) reports: "U.S. President Joe Biden's administration has awarded over $100 billion in grants created by its signature climate law, the Inflation Reduction Act, a senior administration official said. The administration hopes the spending milestone will help to continue the deployment of clean energy even after President-elect Donald Trump, a climate change skeptic who has pledged to rescind all unspent IRA funds, takes office. 'When funds are obligated, they are protected,' the official told Reuters. 'They are subject to the terms of the contract, so when those contracts are signed and executed, this becomes a matter of contract law more than matter of politics.' The official said the administration is on track to exceed its goal of 'obligating' over 80% of IRA grant funding by the end of Biden's term next month. The IRA also offers a decade's worth of tax incentives for clean energy projects, including for wind and solar installations, and ending those subsidies would likely require an act of Congress...Among the recent awards that pushed the grant funding over the $100 billion milestone are a $119 million contract issued by the General Services Administration to electrify five federal buildings in the D.C. region; $147 million to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration for science and data collection to account for the effects of climate change on fisheries; and an additional $256 million in Rural Energy for America Program grants and loans from the U.S. Department of Agriculture."

"It is appalling that wealthy California, with its 'green mandates,' continues to burden its residents with humongous costs to transition to just electricity and support unethical, immoral, and hypocritical actions to obtain exotic minerals and metals from poorer developing countries to achieve that electricity transition. The minuscule impact of the 40 million Californians on this planet of 8 billion is analogous to an individual urinating in the ocean, which will not change the temperature of the ocean waters!"

– Ronald Stein,
The Heartland Institute

In other news, the CEO of Stellantis has abruptly resigned "amid differences with the board."

Washington Free Beacon (11/25/24) reports: "The three largest American automakers, Ford, General Motors, and Stellantis, are, according to a recent New York Times report, planning a coordinated lobbying push to convince President-elect Donald Trump to maintain a suite of climate rules forcing electric vehicle purchases. The Thursday report—titled 'Automakers to Trump: Please Require Us to Sell Electric Vehicles'—cites unnamed 'lobbyists and officials from several car companies' who say manufacturers want Trump to keep the Biden administration's tailpipe emissions regulations, fuel economy standards, and generous tax credits for electric vehicle purchases. But at least one of the referenced automakers, the multinational automaker Stellantis, is pushing back on the Times's reporting. Beyond that, a letter from the Alliance for Automotive Innovation, the nation's lead auto industry group, sent to Trump on Nov. 12, and obtained by the Washington Free Beacon, indicates that climate rules pushing electric vehicles are among the major 'headwinds' facing the industry. A spokesman for Stellantis told the Free Beacon that the company is not pushing the administration to preserve EV mandates, directly contradicting the Times's report. 'The New York Times story characterizing Stellantis as preparing to lobby the incoming Trump Administration to preserve EV mandates is not accurate,' Stellantis told the Free Beacon in a statement. 'Stellantis was not among the 'lobbyists and officials from several car companies' the story cites as its sources.'"

Californians are struggling under the highest electricity rates in America and solar farms are powering down...

SF Gate (12/2/24) reports: "Over the past two decades, California has become a juggernaut of solar energy production. But that doesn’t mean its residents are reaping huge benefits. A new analysis by Los Angeles Times staff writer Melody Petersen found major problems in the state’s current solar economy. Oversupply of solar power is causing California’s operators to regularly halt production or even pay electricity traders to take power off their hands. Sometimes, other states snag the extra energy for cheap. Meanwhile, California residents, businesses and factories pay around two to three times as much for power as the national average. There are a range of factors at play, but a key takeaway from the Times’ analysis is that California’s most-in-the-nation solar panel buildup isn’t enough for an ideal alternative energy model. Millions of dollars of electricity go to waste because the infrastructure isn’t in place to store or move all the solar power...Despite the high prices, the Times found that California’s solar farms have curtailed production — meaning slowed or stopped — of more than 3 million megawatt hours over the past 12 months. That’s more than twice the amount from 2021, per the outlet, and is enough wasted energy to power 518,000 average Californian homes for a year. Meanwhile, the state is trying to build more solar plants to reach its renewable energy goals."

...Meanwhile, Mary Barra has assured us that battery powered cars are the future.

The Detroit News (12/2/24) reports: "General Motors Co. is selling its stake in the Ultium Cells LLC battery plant planned for Lansing to its joint-venture partner LG Energy Solution, the automaker said Monday. GM, which expects to recoup $1 billion from the investment, made the announcement amid a push by executives to be more capital-efficient and make its electric vehicles profitable. 'Our EV profitability is rapidly improving thanks in part to our strategic decision to build battery cells in the U.S. with LG Energy Solution. It will be years before some of our competitors approach this level of performance,' said Paul Jacobson, GM executive vice president and CFO, in a statement. 'We believe we have the right cell and manufacturing capabilities in place to grow with the EV market in a capital efficient manner. When completed, this transaction will also help LG Energy Solution meet demand by leveraging capacity that's nearly ready to come online and it will make GM even more efficient.' The move to sell its stake in the Lansing plant does not change GM’s ownership interest inUltium Cells, its battery joint venture with LG, and does not affect the Ultium battery plants in Warren, Ohio, and Spring Hill, Tennessee. GM's joint venture agreement with Samsung SDI to open a battery plant in Indiana remains intact. LG Energy Solution will take over the Lansing facility to install equipment for a new customer."

Energy Markets

WTI Crude Oil: ↑ $68.92
Natural Gas: ↓ $3.11
Gasoline: ↓ $3.03

Diesel: ↑ $3.54
Heating Oil: ↑ $220.38
Brent Crude Oil: ↑ $72.68
US Rig Count: ↓ 603

Donate

Subscribe to The Unregulated Podcast

Subscribe to The Plugged In Podcast

Connect with us on Facebook

Forward to a Friend

Our mailing address is:
1155 15th Street NW
Suite 525
Washington, DC xxxxxx

Want to change how you receive these emails?
update your preferences
unsubscribe from this list