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This week’s Resources Intelligence Report has a Cajun flavor, with stories on Louisiana’s potential for carbon capture and offshore wind.
The Louisiana Illuminator reports that two dozen carbon capture projects are proposed in the state, but their locations are unknown because a 2021 state law allows companies to claim a wide range of project information as trade secrets. While some say the state has the ideal geology for carbon sequestration, there are concerns its abundance of existing oil and gas wells could result in leaks, says 1012 Industry Report.
After an offshore wind lease auction in the Gulf of Mexico drew no bids for sites off Texas last year, federal regulators are proposing two new lease areas off Louisiana. And one state representative is proposing a constitutional amendment to dedicate revenue from OSW and other alternative energy to the state’s coastal fund, which is running out of oil spill money.
In other offshore wind news last week, NetZero Insider’s Jon Lamson reported that the federal government issued its final Record of Decision approving Avangrid Renewables’ New England Wind project about 23 miles south of Martha’s Vineyard.
The decision included an approval by the National Marine Fisheries Service. Nevertheless, the fishing industry remains wary of OSW, as illustrated by legal challenges in California, a call to halt a planned auction off Oregon and opposition on Long Island. But Sweden’s Hexicon is hoping to win friends by anchoring fish-catching boxes to its floating twin turbines.
And The Wall Street Journal reported on a startup’s effort to build the world’s biggest plane. The vehicle would be big enough to carry wind turbine blades the length of a football field — ones that are currently used only offshore because they can’t be transported over highways. The plane could land on a packed-dirt runway, which would need to be built for each project. Providing a better way to transport the blades could open their use to land-based wind projects — producing about double the energy current onshore installations do.
There was some good news on battery energy storage systems. Price declines over the last year mean many marginal projects in merchant markets can now produce the rate of return needed for investment, Energy Storage News reported.
Here’s what else you may have missed last week in NetZero Insider:
All this and more in this week’s Intelligence Report:
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International
Made from heating wood and other biomass at high temperatures with no oxygen, biochar mixed in soils dominated the carbon offset marketplace last year in tons of warming gases absorbed from the atmosphere. Inside Climate News
U.S.
Startup Graphyte is joining efforts to store biomass underground. Its technique is one of many that aims to use nature's scraps to help the world decarbonize. Canary Media
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Florida
Hillsborough commissioners on Wednesday took a step toward greenlighting a carbon capture pilot program that has seen backlash from local environmental groups since it was proposed in January. Yahoo! News
Idaho
A bill approved by the Iowa House on March 28 would allow landowners who are subject to eminent domain requests by carbon dioxide pipeline companies to challenge the legitimacy of those requests in court earlier in the permit proceedings. House File 2664 was approved by a bipartisan, 86-7 vote. Its future in the Senate is unclear. Iowa Capital Dispatch
Illinois
Safety concerns are at the heart of opposition to a proposed carbon dioxide pipeline in central Illinois, which would connect an ethanol plant to a proposed sequestration site about six miles away. Local leaders say county and city emergency responders, relying largely on volunteer firefighters, are ill-equipped to prepare for possible leaks or ruptures. Energy News Network
Indiana
Martin Keighley, CEO of CarbonFree, thinks his carbon capture company offers a "unique proposition" compared to its competitors: It can actually make money, today. Canary Media
International
In the effort to combat the catastrophic impacts of global warming, we must accelerate carbon emissions reduction efforts and rapidly scale strategies to remove carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere and the oceans. The technologies for reducing our carbon emissions are mature; those for removing carbon from the environment are not, and need robust support from governments and the private sector. Phys.org
Louisiana
While two dozen carbon capture projects are proposed in Louisiana, figuring out exactly where companies plan to inject carbon dioxide underground for storage is a bit of a mystery. That's because a state law passed in 2021 regulating carbon capture includes a provision allowing companies to claim a wide range of project information -- including location -- as trade secrets. Louisiana Illuminator
Louisiana
Louisiana has the ideal geology for carbon sequestration, but an abundance of existing oil and gas wells and the inability of industry to detect carbon leaks across vast areas could be the proverbial flies in the ointment. 1012 Industry Report
Mississippi
Today's energy economy is at an important crossroads that will impact every home, business and factory in our state. Energy is critical to Mississippi's economic future and as global demand for low-carbon products continues to grow, we need to make smart, common-sense decisions that allow all technologies to compete fairly, says former Gov. Haley Barbour. Clarion Ledger
North Dakota
The North Dakota Public Service Commission held a vote on if a delay should be issued in the Summit Carbon Solutions pipeline project. The delay was requested by attorneys representing Burleigh County, who said there was a scheduling conflict. The meeting with Summit Carbon Solutions, set for April 22, would be for the Burleigh County Attorneys to ask questions to the pipeline company in a nonpublic hearing setting. WDAY
U.S.
Wind turbines can affect the carbon dioxide concentration in their wake, leading to potential synergies with carbon capture technologies. American Institute of Physics
U.S.
ION Clean Energy (ION) announces it has raised $45 million from Chevron New Energies (CNE), a division of Chevron U.S.A. Inc., who is leading the round, and Carbon Direct Capital. ION is a Boulder-based technology company that provides post-combustion point-source capture technology through its third-generation ICE-31 liquid amine system. Business Wire
Wyoming
Two electric utility companies in Wyoming will advance engineering studies and analysis to potentially retrofit four coal-burning units with carbon capture technology, but significant costs and logistic challenges remain, recent filings with the state show. WyoFile
Wyoming
A carbon capture project in Campbell County recently got more than $4 million in federal funding. Wyoming Business Report
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Montana
A bill that would have allowed coal mines to violate water quality standards if excess pollution was only for a limited amount of time won't become law in Montana, according to plaintiffs who challenged it and another related bill. Daily Montanan
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U.S.
We are in one of the biggest transitions in history with the way we generate, transmit and use electricity, and the stakes couldn't be higher. The question for lawmakers, state energy offices and regulators is whether we want to use the power of the private market, customer demand, industry competition, innovation and decentralization to shift risk off ratepayers and improve our centuries old grid. It's time we say enough to the bogeyman and start democratizing the energy grid with community solar, write Jeff Cramer, CEO of Coalition for Community Solar Access, and John Farrell, co-director of the Institute for Local Self Reliance. Utility Dive
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U.S.
Sunnova is ramping up its use of VPPs to help balance its PV portfolio in six states and Puerto Rico PV Tech
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Georgia
Environmental and consumer groups are urging state regulators not to approve Georgia Power's plans to increase its use of fossil fuels to meet a rapidly growing industrial demand. Georgia Power and the Public Service Commission staff reached a tentative agreement recently that several clean energy and consumer advocacy groups contend skirt an important regulatory process while failing to adequately protect ratepayers from more expensive electric bills. The state's largest electricity supplier says it is seeking to amend its 2022 resource plan in a way that temporarily reduces the cost of electricity for its residential customers as it builds new natural gas and oil generators and solar battery storage facilities. Georgia Recorder
Ohio
The Ohio Power Siting Board is directed to engage in an ethical quest for truth. It must discriminate between those motivated by vested interest and those whose only motivation is to provide a ray of hope for our children who will otherwise have to suffer the desiccating droughts, food shortages, mass migrations and governmental breakdowns that will occur because grown-ups failed to act before a climate tipping point was crossed, writes Gary Houser, a volunteer with Agrivoltaics Solutions, working to raise awareness about how dual use solar can be a win/win in Ohio. Ohio Capital Journal
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U.S.
Recently, scientists conducted the first outdoor test in the United States of technology designed to brighten clouds and bounce some of the sun's rays back into space, a way of temporarily cooling a planet that is now dangerously overheating. The scientists wanted to see whether the machine that took years to create could consistently spray the right size salt aerosols through the open air, outside of a lab. If it works, the next stage would be to aim at the heavens and try to change the composition of clouds above the Earth's oceans. The New York Times
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Colorado
The State of Colorado has started the application round for a tax credits program incentivizing electricity generation from geothermal resources. Think GeoEnergy
International
A study from the University of Glasgow compares the thermal and hydraulic performance of different single-well borehole heat exchanger systems. Think GeoEnergy
Texas
Houston knows how to dig holes. Perhaps when historians look back at this great city, when it has either returned to wetland prairie and piney woods or has advanced to its rightful place among the great cities of the world, it won't be oil and gas per se that define us, but our general knack for poking, cracking, extracting and moving all manner of molecules into and out of the earth. Victoria Advocate
Texas
In 2009, on a plot of shrub-covered cattle land about 45 miles northwest of McAllen, Shell buried and abandoned a well it drilled to look for gas. The well turned out to be a dry hole. Vegetation grew back over the site.In 2021, a Houston-based energy company run by former Shell employees came looking for it. This company wasn't drilling for oil or gas, though. Its engineers were looking for a place to experiment with their technology for producing geothermal energy, created by Earth's underground heat. Longview News-Journal
U.S.
Researchers from Stanford University have created a temperature-by-depth model for the continental US that predicts subsurface temperatures to 7 kilometers in depth. Think GeoEnergy
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International
We need to grow clean hydrogen demand as fast as we scale production. However, this does not mean we should default to indiscriminate use of clean hydrogen. We need to focus on sectors where hydrogen can have the most significant impact, ensure the efficient utilization of our resources and consider the long-term economic viability of hydrogen applications, write Cihang Yuan, senior program officer for international corporate climate partnerships, and Daniel Riley, director of corporate climate and renewable energy at World Wildlife Fund. Utility Dive
U.S.
Some companies have voiced support for requiring green hydrogen to be produced from new clean energy, contradicting pushback from elsewhere in the industry. Energy News Network
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Vermont
Morrisville Water and Light said Monday that it hopes the state will maintain the dam, but the Agency of Natural Resources said it has made no such commitments. Vermont Digger
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California
San Francisco will keep enforcing natural gas ban, despite Berkeley settlement that caused its suburb (first mover on policy) to abandon it. KQED
Colorado
OP Ed from former US Rep Bob Beauprez (R) argues Colorado Democrats are "waging war" on oil and natural gas The Denver Post
Illinois
Chicago natural gas ban continues to be debated before city council Chicago Tribune
International
Fossil fuel producers see AI as a boon for natural gas demand due to higher computing needs Financial Times
International
Focus on how domestic politics around natural gas in US could impact European trading partners who now rely on it after Russia's invasion of Ukraine POLITICO Europe
International
An examination of whether synthetic natural gas can help address climate change better than naturally occurring methane Financial Times
International
Natural gas glut in global market is as big as world has seen in decades after two mild winters, US storage is 41% above normal for time of year OilPrice.com
Maine
Maine is considering ban on natural gas and op ed from environmentalist lays out the case for doing so Bangor Daily News
Maine
Maine House passes compromise legislation that would only require PUC to study banning natural gas, not move forward with it. Republicans call it unneeded Press Herald
Oregon
None of the three LDCs in Oregon won approval from PUC for long term GHG cutting plans Oregon Capital Chronicle
South Carolina
The S.C. Public Service Commission suspended proceedings on Duke Energy's proposed combined heat and power plant after host Clemson University said it was reevaluating the location of the project. The Tiger
Texas
UT Prof Michael Webber, a gas/power expert, argues against local bans for any kind of energy - gas or renewables included - because we need to expand energy production to meet new demand. The University of Texas at Austin
Texas
ERCOT queue is dominated by renewables, which will continue to dominate new build even with state funds for natural gas Recharge
U.S.
16 Republican State AGs file a lawsuit against Biden's LNG approval pause JD Supra
U.S.
After light demand this winter, natural gas is looking forward to summer demand - though it has competition on the grid from wind/solar Natural Gas Intelligence
U.S.
Freeport LNG outage helps keep exports flat for the month of March Natural Gas World
U.S.
A look into how natural gas producers are responding to very low natural gas prices (not just curtailing production) Natural Gas World
U.S.
Biden Admin rejects reports that it is willing to end LNG pause in a deal for Ukraine funding Yahoo! Voices
U.S.
The United States exported more liquefied natural gas than any other country in 2023. U.S. LNG exports averaged 11.9 billion cubic feet per day -- up 12% over 2022, according to data from EIA's Natural Gas Monthly. Energy Information Administration
Washington State
Gov. Inslee signed bill that encourages move away from natural gas, but does not force it KING5.com
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California
Morro Bay and Port San Luis fishermen filed a lawsuit against the California State Lands Commission, the California Coastal Commission, three offshore wind developers awarded leases by the federal government, and one survey company issued a permit to engage in site surveys. National Fisherman
California, Oregon
At least five tribes along the West Coast have announced their opposition to proposed offshore wind development. Five areas off the California coast were auctioned off in late 2022 to build floating wind turbines. And the federal government is considering sales off the Southern Oregon coast. Jefferson Public Radio
International
Sweden's Hexicon is already known in the wind-energy world for its unique twin turbine concept for floating offshore projects. Now the company is looking at how the burgeoning sector can better share the oceans with the crucial fishing industry. The Cool Down
Louisiana
Money to address Louisiana's land loss crisis will soon be in far shorter supply as oil spill money runs dry. But part of the solution may be arriving with the winds. One state representative is proposing a constitutional amendment that would dedicate future revenue from offshore wind and other alternative energy to Louisiana's coastal fund. NOLA
Louisiana
Political winds, rather than the strength of actual air currents, are steering offshore wind energy development from Texas to Louisiana. After the Gulf of Mexico's first-ever offshore wind lease auction drew zero bids for sites in the waters off Texas last year, federal regulators plan to tilt the second auction toward Louisiana. Last week, the U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management proposed two new lease areas, totaling about 200,000 acres, in federal waters south of the Texas-Louisiana line, an area that may strike a balance between the stronger winds near Texas and the more welcoming politics of Louisiana. Verite News
Massachusetts
Three offshore wind projects familiar to Cape Cod, plus one, vie for contracts in Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Connecticut. Cape Cod Times
Massachusetts
The City of Boston put its support behind a company vying for multi-state offshore wind contracts, which, if selected, would make Boston the first city to enter an agreement for offshore wind energy. Boston Globe
New York
Engineers and construction crews completed construction at a dozen-turbine wind farm about 35 miles off Montauk, marking the first utility-scale wind farm in U.S. federal waters. But commercial fishermen remain staunchly opposed to wind farms, saying the massive, 50-story turbines could irreparably damage the local marine ecosystem and displace them from areas they've fished for decades or even generations. They also contend that the Department of the Interior's Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, which oversees federal wind farm projects, is failing to heed the warnings. Riverhead News-Review
Oregon
A coalition of independent fishing boat operators, seafood companies and industry groups is calling on Gov. Tina Kotek to ask the federal government to stop a planned auction for floating wind energy projects off the Oregon Coast. Oregon Capital Chronicle
Virginia
Avangrid's 3.5-gigawatt Kitty Hawk Wind could deliver around $5 billion in economic impact across Virginia; here's where the project stands. The 180-turbine Kitty Hawk Wind is an offshore wind project proposed in federal waters over 36 miles from Virginia Beach. It will be capable of generating enough renewable power for more than 1 million homes and businesses annually and reduce emissions by more than 1.5 million metric tons -- equivalent to taking 500,000 cars off the road annually. Electrek
Virginia
Residents in the Croatan neighborhood of Virginia Beach recently got an update on the Dominion Energy offshore wind turbine project. After meeting with Dominion representatives, many residents say they still have concerns regarding the construction noise, environmental damage and ocean views. WTKR
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California
Phillips 66 Co. has put into service a former traditional refinery converted into a renewable fuel facility in San Francisco, Calif. The new facility now processes only renewable feedstocks and produces about 30,000 barrels per day (bpd) of renewable diesel, the downstream energy company said in a news release. Rigzone
U.S.
An extension ag economist suggests renewable diesel could be for soybeans what ethanol has been for the corn market. But Chad Hart with Iowa State University says expectations should be tempered and that he's still bullish on renewable diesel despite recent reports of plant closures and projects being paused. Brownfield Ag News
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Massachusetts
The Massachusetts Commission on Energy Infrastructure Siting and Permitting has sent Gov. Maura Healey (D) a report recommending the state hasten clean energy deployment through changes to the siting process such as consolidating permits and setting deadlines for permit decisions. Utility Dive
Nebraska
While not everyone agrees as to all facets of wind and solar and renewable energy -- and no energy generation is consequence free -- renewable energy continues to attract and spur new economic activity in both rural and urban regions of our state. Now is no time to use government overreach to pump the brakes and discourage business investment. LB 399 is simply more needless regulation, and it's bad for business and agriculture in Nebraska, writes David Bracht, an attorney practicing agribusiness and energy law with Kutak Rock in Omaha and director of the Nebraska Energy Office from 2015 to 2018. Nebraska Examiner
U.S.
Investments in clean energy manufacturing will play a key role in enabling that transition: Some of the new advanced batteries will be used on the grid, providing backup energy storage for times when renewable energy generation slows or electricity demand is especially high, writes James Morton Turner, a researcher on the recent history of U.S. environmental politics and policy, including public lands, climate change, and science and technology. Indiana Capital Chronicle
U.S.
The sun and the wind have been the country's fastest growing sources of energy over the past decade, according to a report released by the nonprofit Climate Central. Meanwhile, coal power has declined sharply, and the use of methane to generate electricity has all but leveled off. With the Inflation Reduction Act poised to kick that growth curve higher with expanded tax credits for manufacturing and installing photovoltaic panels and wind turbines, the most optimistic projections suggest that the country is getting ever closer to achieving its 2030 and 2035 clean energy goals. Grist
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Hawaii
Hawaiian Electric is replacing most of its rooftop solar programs with its Smart Renewable Energy program, also known as Smart DER, which sets payment rates for homeowners with solar panels who return electricity to the grid. Participants in Hawaiian Electric's Customer Self Supply or Standard Interconnection Agreement programs are not required to switch to Smart Renewable Energy, but they will only get paid for electricity they send back to the grid if they switch. Utility Dive
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West Virginia
West Virginia's solar advocates are unhappy with Gov. Jim Justice's decision to veto House Bill 5528, which aimed to boost solar energy capacity for utility companies. The governor cited concerns about limitations on coal-based energy production. The bill had bipartisan support but was vetoed, disappointing solar advocates who believe it hinders the state's economic progress. WVNews
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Arizona
LG Energy Solution's new U.S. battery manufacturing complex in Arizona is on track to be completed in two years, with the first round of hiring expected to begin at the end of this year. The $5.5 billion facility consists of two manufacturing facilities which are the company's first stand-alone cylindrical and ESS battery plants in North America. The cylindrical battery plant will produce 46-Series batteries for electric vehicles and lithium iron phosphate pouch-type batteries for energy storage systems. Auto Futures
California
Calpine's billion-dollar, 680-megawatt project in Menifee will be one of the biggest batteries in the U.S. when it comes online this summer. Canary Media
Idaho
In a noteworthy advancement toward a more resilient and reliable energy grid, Idaho Power has teamed up with Prevalon Energy, a subsidiary of Mitsubishi Power Americas, to significantly expand its energy storage capabilities. This strategic move involves the deployment of a large-scale Battery Energy Storage System designed to regulate energy supply during peak demand times, thereby enhancing grid stability. YTech
U.S.
BESS price falls have pushed many marginal projects in merchant markets into a rate of return needed for investment, U.S. developer Available Power told Energy-Storage.news amid the sale process for its own 100MW/200MWh ERCOT project. The falling prices of BESS over the course of the last 6-12 months has been well-documented by Energy-Storage.news recently, and Available Power's president Ben Gregory said this has significantly boosted the market for projects in merchant markets (like Texas, where ERCOT is the grid operator). Energy Storage News
U.S.
A modeled commercial-scale project storing energy in heated sand could produce 135 MW of power for five days. The U.S. Department of Energy is funding a pilot project intended to demonstrate commercial viability. pv magazine
U.S.
The Renewable Energy Siting through Technical Engagement program will dole out money to projects in Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina and Wisconsin intended to smooth the approval process for wind turbines, solar farms and energy storage projects. The money comes from the $1.2 trillion Inflation Reduction Act, which was signed into law in 2022, and federal officials hope the funding will speed the construction of projects that need a green light from state and local governments. Utility Dive
U.S.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk said the demand for its stationary energy storage products is "super high" and hinted that the company might make more batteries for energy storage than cars in the long term. In the first quarter of 2024, Tesla deployed 4,053 MWh of energy storage products, representing its highest quarterly deployment to date and a year-on-year increase of 4.2%. Benzinga
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U.S.
But where the northern part of MISO meets the southern end -- a narrow corridor that traverses a corner of southeast Missouri and northeastern Arkansas -- there's a bottleneck that can hurt electric customers and create major inefficiencies on both sides of the divide. Arkansas Advocate
U.S.
As large manufacturers invest in the nation's economy, we encourage FERC and all stakeholders to implement these recommended practices to ensure a robust and reliable grid of the future, writes Karen Onaran, president and CEO of the Electricity Consumers Resource Council. Utility Dive
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Wisconsin
In response to the climate crisis and customer demand, utilities are closing coal plants and rapidly replacing them with massive solar-panel arrays. Farmers and rural Wisconsinites worry about thousands of acres being taken out of agriculture production at a time. Local researchers and environmental advocates are looking to agrivoltaics to determine if we can do both. The Cap Times
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International
Radia, a unicorn startup, plans to use rocket science to overcome one of the wind power industry's biggest hurdles with a giant cargo plane. The Wall Street Journal
U.S.
Developers and investors should build wind portfolios over range of geographies to avoid swinging from "very good" to "very bad" years, study author suggests. Recharge
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