The Beijing blues

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DAILY ENERGY NEWS | 12/12/2024

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The Inflation Reduction Act IS a giveaway to China, but Biden wants people to think the opposite.

NBC (12/11/24) reports: "In legacy mode, outgoing President Joe Biden’s White House is warning the Republicans who are about to take power against repealing his biggest achievements. 'Repealing President Biden’s signature laws would be an historic redistribution of wealth from working Americans to Big Pharma and China,' Andrew Bates, a senior White House spokesperson, writes in the subject line of a new memo being circulated to interested parties and allies, which was first obtained by NBC News The memo makes an economic and political case against undoing Biden-era laws that President-elect Donald Trump and other Republicans have put on the chopping block in major party-line legislation that they’re eyeing for next year, most notably the clean energy and health care provisions in the Inflation Reduction Act. 'Depriving the American people of these benefits would be a gut-punch to our economic growth,' the memo says, and it 'would provoke a tidal wave of opposition from the American people.' It serves as a mix of messaging advice for Democrats and a preview of the fight to come next year as Trump and a GOP-controlled Congress seek to use the budget 'reconciliation' process to advance key parts of Trump’s agenda along party lines. During the campaign, Trump said, 'We will rescind all unspent funds under the misnamed Inflation Reduction Act.'"

“Countries that might be having second thoughts about the immense damage that net zero climate policies are doing to their economies should be encouraged to follow the United States out of the Paris agreement. They are less likely to do so if the U.S. can rejoin at the stroke of a president’s pen. One way of achieving a definitive exit would be to do what President Obama did not: send the agreement to the Senate. In dangerous times, peace through strength demands economic strength—and that means rejecting net zero and the Paris agreement in toto.”

– Rupert Darwall, Real Clear Energy

You aren't going to believe this, but a government EV is behind schedule...

Washington Post (12/12/24) reports: "A multibillion-dollar program to buy electric vehicles for the U.S. Postal Service is far behind its original schedule, plagued by manufacturing mishaps and supplier infighting that threaten a cornerstone of outgoing President Joe Biden’s fight against climate change. The Postal Service is slated to purchase 60,000 “Next Generation Delivery Vehicles,” or NGDVs — mostly electric — from defense contractor Oshkosh, which has a long history of producing military and heavy industrial vehicles, but not postal trucks. Congress provided $3 billion for the nearly $10 billion project in the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act, one of Biden’s chief legislative accomplishments. But as of November, the Postal Service had received only 93 of the Oshkosh trucks, the agency told The Washington Post — far fewer than the 3,000 originally expected by now. Significant manufacturing difficulties that were not disclosed to the Postal Service for more than a year have stymied production, according to internal company records and four people with knowledge of the events, speaking on the condition of anonymity to avoid professional reprisals...The wide-ranging production problems have not been previously reported and were not mentioned in an inspector general audit published in October. A senior company executive tried to alert the mail agency to the problems in 2022, but was blocked by superiors, four of the people said. 'This is the bottom line: We don’t know how to make a damn truck,' said one person involved in production."

The AI revolution will be powered by natural gas.

New York Times (12/11/24) reports: "Demand for electricity is rising so quickly in the United States that even Exxon Mobil, the country’s largest oil and gas company, is planning to get into the power business. Exxon is designing a massive natural-gas fueled plant meant to directly supply electricity to data centers. The company says the plant will be fitted with technology that can capture more than 90 percent of the facility’s carbon dioxide emissions, the leading cause of climate change. The project, which is in the early stages of development, would be the first time that Exxon built a power plant that did not supply electricity to its own operations. In addition, only a very small number of power plants have systems to capture the carbon dioxide released by the burning of fuel before it reaches the atmosphere. Such systems have been slow to take off because they are incredibly expensive, even with federal subsidies. However, technology giants have been willing to pay a premium for cleaner sources of electricity that can operate continuously, including nuclear power plants. Exxon said it had secured land and was talking with potential customers. The company also said it could have the power plant running within the next five years, faster than new nuclear reactors could probably be built."

What? Alcoholics want more alcohol?

E&E News (12/12/24) reports: "The solar industry on Thursday released its policy priorities for the incoming administration and Congress, framing itself as a key part of an 'all-of-the-above strategy' and a supporter of jobs in the American heartland. In its policy requests, the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) said the Trump administration should 'keep taxes where they are,' including clean energy incentives under the Inflation Reduction Act that have helped boost deployment of U.S. solar. The ask comes as Republicans are weighing whether parts of the climate law should be rescinded. Additionally, SEIA — the industry’s largest trade group — calls for the White House to maintain tax incentives and other policies that reward companies that use domestically produced solar equipment, while reducing dependence on Chinese imports."

Energy Markets

WTI Crude Oil: ↓ $70.20
Natural Gas: ↑ $3.46
Gasoline: ↓ $3.02

Diesel: ↓ $3.50
Heating Oil: ↑ $224.26
Brent Crude Oil: ↑ $73.57
US Rig Count: ↓ 600

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