** ExxonMobil attacks wind power, carbon tax in Texas ([link removed])
------------------------------------------------------------
By Dave Anderson on Jul 06, 2020 04:23 pm
ExxonMobil, Kinder Morgan and Occidental Petroleum are part of a coalition of companies that opposed a utility’s plan to provide 309 megawatts of new wind energy to customers in Texas. The oil and gas companies succeeded last week when the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) of Texas rejected the plan by the utility, a subsidiary of American Electric Power (AEP).
The oil and gas companies are part of the Texas Industrial Energy Users (TIEC), which opposed AEP’s plan. In January, TIEC disclosed a “LIST OF PARTICIPATING MEMBERS ([link removed]) ” in the PUC’s docket for AEP’s wind power plan ([link removed]) [link removed] response to an information request ([link removed]) from the utility’s Texas subsidiary. The list filed by TIEC’s attorneys at Thompson & Knight LLP included ExxonMobil, Kinder Morgan, Komatsu Mining, Occidental, and U.S. Steel Corporation.
IFRAME: [1]//www.documentcloud.org/documents/6981464-List-of-Texas-Industrial-Energy-Consumers.html?embed=true&responsive=false&sidebar=false
AEP said it will still move forward with its North Central Wind Energy project, ([link removed]) a plan to invest ~$2 billion to acquire 1,485 MW of power from three new wind farms in Oklahoma. AEP already won approvals from Arkansas, Louisiana, and Oklahoma to sell the power to customers of its subsidiaries Southwestern Electric Power Company (SWEPCO) and Public Service Company of Oklahoma (PSO). AEP projects the investment in low-cost wind power will ultimately save its customers in those states $3 billion.
A copy of the Texas PUC’s order is not yet available, but an earlier Proposal for Decision by the State Office of Administrative Hearings ([link removed]) (SOAH) recommended the PUC reject AEP’s plan.
SOAH sided with project opponents like TIEC, the East Texas Electric Cooperative and Northeast Texas Electric Cooperative that challenged AEP’s calculations of the costs and benefits of the North Central Wind Energy project.
SOAH argued that AEP had “not met its burden of proof to show that the Project will result in lower costs to SWEPCO’s Texas customers.”
The Proposal of Decision also noted “similarities between this case” and AEP’s earlier Wind Catcher proposal, a plan to build the nation’s largest wind farm that died after it was rejected by the Texas PUC. TIEC opposed Wind Catcher ([link removed]) on behalf of U.S. Steel, which owns coal subsidiaries ([link removed]) .
** ExxonMobil says it supports a carbon tax, but backs industry group that claims a carbon tax is “unlikely” in its attacks on wind power projects
------------------------------------------------------------
Facing multiple lawsuits ([link removed]) for its role in climate change, ExxonMobil says ([link removed]) that its support for a revenue-neutral carbon tax demonstrates “our commitment to reducing the risks of climate change.”
AEP’s forecasts of the benefit of the North Central Wind Energy project assume the adoption of a carbon tax by 2028. Under that scenario, the wind power project will result in millions of dollars in savings over natural gas.
Backed by ExxonMobil, the TIEC argued that “Congress has never enacted a tax on carbon, it is unlikely that a carbon tax will be imposed in the foreseeable future…,” according to SOAH’s Proposal for Decision.
TIEC made a similar argument against a carbon tax ([link removed]) in the earlier Wind Catcher case.
AEP countered by pointing out “that many of the TIEC members participating in this proceeding, including Air Liquide, Eastman Chemical, Komatsu, and Occidental Petroleum, have indicated that they also assign a price on carbon for internal business planning,” SOAH said.
ExxonMobil has also “set a price on carbon that is used in investment decisions,” according to a 2018 Climate Accountability Scorecard by the Union of Concerned Scientists ([link removed]) . The scorecard described ExxonMobil’s use of an internal price on carbon in investment decisions as “Poor” due to a lack of transparency about the price used.
ExxonMobil has also opposed carbon tax bills at the state level ([link removed]) .
** Expert for the Texas Industrial Energy Users also works with a front group for the coal industry
------------------------------------------------------------
Charles S. Griffey, a consultant for the electric, gas and coal ([link removed]) industries, testified on behalf of TIEC in the North Central Wind Energy project case.
Griffey works with the Energy Policy Network, a coal-backed group that has opposed plans to shut down coal-fired power plants and invest in new renewable energy projects and energy storage in states like Colorado ([link removed]) and Indiana ([link removed]) .
A 2019 presentation by Randy Eminger, who leads the Energy Policy Network, titled “How to Save a Coal Plant ([link removed]) ” described Griffey as a member of “Our Team ([link removed]) ” and pointed to the group’s work to build a coalition that includes anti-wind activists in Indiana.
Griffey also works with the Texas Public Policy Foundation ([link removed]) , a Koch-backed group ([link removed]) that is involved in fomenting “grassroots” opposition to renewables ([link removed]) , and particularly wind farms ([link removed]) .
** Wind power opponents spent millions of dollars, but wind farms are moving forward
------------------------------------------------------------
The Wind Catcher project died in Texas, but it appears that the North Central Wind Energy project will move forward with the support of Arkansas, Louisiana, and Oklahoma.
New information about the opposition to the Wind Catcher project continues to come to light. Two shadowy groups that opposed Wind Catcher project have filed annual Form 990 reports with the IRS. Protect Our Pocketbooks ([link removed]) and Americans for Affordable Energy ([link removed]) raised and
spent a total of $2.2 million in 2018. The IRS reports don’t disclose who funded those groups.
A lawyer at the Arkansas-based firm Wright, Jennings & Lindsay ran Protect Our Pocketbooks. The name of that law firm later appeared on a mailing list ([link removed]) filed by coal producer Murray Energy in its bankruptcy case. Murray Energy CEO Robert Murray pointed to the Texas PUC’s decision to reject Wind Catcher ([link removed]) in a 2018 opinion piece defending his company’s opposition to an offshore wind power project on Lake Erie.
Other Wind Catcher opponents ([link removed]) included the Koch-backed group Americans for Prosperity, and the Windfall Coalition backed by oil and gas producer Harold Hamm.
The post ExxonMobil attacks wind power, carbon tax in Texas ([link removed]) appeared first on Energy and Policy Institute ([link removed]) .
References
1. [link removed]
Read in browser » ([link removed])
[link removed] [link removed]
** Recent Articles:
------------------------------------------------------------
** Alabama Power earned $1+ billion in profits over industry average on the backs of customers since 2014 ([link removed])
** Georgia Power Set to Automatically Enroll New Residences in Demand Charge Rates ([link removed])
** Michigan’s new PSC members will decide whether DTE electric customers should pay for some NEXUS gas pipeline costs ([link removed])
** TVA Cuts “Flexibility” Promises to Local Power Companies by 80%, Enters Into Questionable Contracts ([link removed])
** Southern Company Pledges Net Zero Emissions by 2050 but Doubles Down on Fossil Fuels ([link removed]
============================================================
** Facebook ([link removed])
** Twitter ([link removed])
** Website ([link removed])
Copyright © 2020 Energy and Policy Institute, All rights reserved.
You are receiving this email because you opted in at our website via our Contact Us page.
Our mailing address is:
Energy and Policy Institute
P.O. Box 170399
San Francisco, CA 94117
USA
Want to change how you receive these emails?
You can ** update your preferences ([link removed])
or ** unsubscribe from this list ([link removed])
.
Email Marketing Powered by Mailchimp
[link removed]
