Energy Policy Now

Natural gas market expert Anne-Sophie Corbeau explores the global outlook for LNG demand, and the potential for this demand to support the rapid expansion of U.S. LNG export capacity. --- The United States emerged as the leading global exporter of liquefied natural gas (LNG) in 2023, surpassing long-standing leaders Qatar and Australia. Looking ahead, U.S. LNG exports are projected to double by the end of the decade as new export facilities are developed along the U.S. coastline. This rapid expansion has intensified concerns regarding the environmental and community impacts of extensive LNG export projects. Additionally, the swift development of LNG projects raises questions as to whether the global market for natural gas, often referred to as a “bridge fuel”, will support substantial investment and long-term operation of new LNG projects. Anne-Sophie Corbeau, a global research scholar at the Center on Global Energy Policy at Columbia University, examines the future of global LNG demand and how it may support future supply additions in the U.S. She also discusses the potential for global LNG oversupply and factors that could affect the competitiveness of the U.S. industry in a potentially saturated market. Anne-Sophie Corbeau is a global research scholar at the Center on Global Energy Policy at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs, and a former head of gas analysis at BP. Related Content Coordinated Policy and Targeted Investment for an Orderly and Reliable Energy Transition https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/research/publications/coordinated-policy-and-targeted-investment-for-an-orderly-and-reliable-energy-transition/ Europe Confronts the Reality of Energy System Sabotage https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/podcast/europe-confronts-the-reality-of-energy-system-sabotage/ Energy Policy Now is produced by The Kleinman Center for Energy Policy at the University of Pennsylvania. For all things energy policy, visit kleinmanenergy.upenn.eduSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

As the nation’s reliance on natural gas as a fuel for electricity generation has grown, so have reliability challenges. --- Over 40% of U.S. electricity is generated by gas-fired powerplants yet, double the role the fuel played two decades ago. Yet the past few years have exposed risks arising from our growing reliance on gas-fired generation. Major power outages in Texas and the Eastern U.S. have highlighted the fact that gas generators are vulnerable to disruption of the natural gas supply networks that fuel them. And, while the electricity and natural gas systems have become increasingly interdependent, there remains surprisingly limited coordination of the planning, operation, and regulation of the two industries. This fact complicates efforts to address reliability concerns. Seth Blumsack, director of the Center for Energy Law and Policy at Penn State University, discusses the challenge of coordinating the nation’s natural gas and electricity systems as gas has become the predominant fuel for generators, and a key balancing resource for intermittent renewable energy. Blumsack explains the growing interdependence of the nation’s natural gas and electricity networks, and explores efforts to address reliability concerns through better coordination of the systems. Seth Blumsack is director of the Center for Energy Law and Policy at Penn State University. Related Content The Key to Electric Grid Reliability: Modernizing Governance https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/research/publications/the-key-to-electric-grid-reliability-modernizing-governance/ Coordinated Policy and Targeted Investment for an Orderly and Reliable Energy Transition  https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/research/publications/coordinated-policy-and-targeted-investment-for-an-orderly-and-reliable-energy-transition/   Energy Policy Now is produced by The Kleinman Center for Energy Policy at the University of Pennsylvania. For all things energy policy, visit kleinmanenergy.upenn.eduSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Canary Media senior editor Eric Wesoff explains the latest in a history of solar PV trade disputes involving the U.S. and China, and what it could mean for the growth of solar power and domestic solar manufacturing. --- In April, a coalition of U.S. photovoltaics manufacturers petitioned the Department of Commerce to impose anti-dumping tariffs on solar panels from four Southeast Asian countries. The move is the latest in a long history of solar trade disputes involving China and, more recently, Chinese PV manufacturers operating throughout Asia. Canary Media senior editor Eric Wesoff explains the foundations of the latest complaint, and how this case is substantively different from earlier trade disputes including the Auxin Solar case of 2022. He explores the competing priorities of the domestic solar manufacturing industry and solar project developers on the issue of tariffs, and how tensions within the industry create a Catch-22 for the Biden administration as it seeks to grow the solar industry through IRA incentives. Eric Wesoff is senior editor at Canary Media, and former editor in chief at Greentech Media. Related Content California’s Solar Equity Challenge https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/podcast/californias-solar-equity-challenge/ The Key to Electric Grid Reliability: Modernizing Governance https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/research/publications/the-key-to-electric-grid-reliability-modernizing-governance/ Energy Policy Now is produced by The Kleinman Center for Energy Policy at the University of Pennsylvania. For all things energy policy, visit kleinmanenergy.upenn.eduSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Kleinman Center visiting scholar Severin Borenstein discusses California’s struggle to balance residential solar growth with electricity rate equity. --- California’s residential solar market is at a critical inflection point after years of strong growth. Last year the state, which has more rooftop solar than any other, lowered the net metering rate that it pays solar households for the excess electricity that they feed into the electric grid. The policy change contributed to a steep decline in residential rooftop solar installations. This could complicate the state’s task of achieving 100% carbon free power in just over 20 years. Yet the reasons behind California’s decision to reduce its solar subsidy are complex and reflect growing tensions over the private versus public costs of rooftop solar. These costs are particularly controversial in a state that already has among the highest electricity rates in the country, as well as aggressive targets for home electrification. On the podcast Severin Borenstein, a Kleinman Center visiting scholar and faculty director of the Energy Institute at the Haas School of Business at the University of California, Berkeley, discusses California’s residential solar energy policies and the challenge of balancing equity, solar growth, and the pace of electrification. Borenstein also explores the lessons from California’s experience that might be applied to other states where rooftop solar power growth is poised to accelerate. Severin Borenstein is a visiting scholar at the Kleinman Center for Energy Policy and faculty director of the Energy Institute at the Haas School of Business at the University of California, Berkeley. Related Content Overcoming Economic Barriers to Electrifying Everything (podcast) https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/podcast/overcoming-economic-barriers-to-electrifying-everything/ Residential Battery Storage: Reshaping the Way We Do Electricity https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/research/publications/residential-battery-storage-reshaping-the-way-we-do-electricity/   Energy Policy Now is produced by The Kleinman Center for Energy Policy at the University of Pennsylvania. For all things energy policy, visit kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Kelli Joseph, a senior fellow with the Kleinman Center for Energy Policy, dives into the complexities of competitive electricity markets. She highlights the challenges market price signals face in attracting necessary investments for flexible resources essential to grid reliability. Joseph discusses the evolution of the U.S. electricity system, questioning if current market structures can support the shift to renewable energy. She emphasizes the need for government policies to complement market dynamics in ensuring a reliable and clean electricity future.

Senator Sheldon Whitehouse discusses the prospects for bipartisan U.S. carbon border fee legislation, and the need to protect the Biden administration’s clean energy and climate achievements.--- (This episode was recorded on March 15, 2024, during Penn Energy Week) Senator Sheldon Whitehouse has a reputation as an advocate for strong climate policies in Congress. The Rhode Island Democrat gained national attention over a decade ago when he gave the first of more than 290 “Time to Wake Up” climate speeches to date on the floor of the U.S. Senate. Many of the speeches were delivered at times when the prospects were bleak for significant leadership from Washington on climate and clean energy issues. Yet the past three years have been very different. Through the passage of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and, most pointedly, the Inflation Reduction Act, Congress has made concrete steps to grow domestic clean energy and improve the nation’s climate resilience. Recently, Senator Whitehouse reintroduced a bill that would levy the first carbon border fee on goods imported to the U.S., and effectively reward American industry for its leadership in energy efficiency and emissions reductions. On the podcast, Whitehouse discusses his plan for a carbon border adjustment. He also considers an upcoming election that will prove critical for continued progress, and that could jeopardize the full realization of recently passed energy and climate laws and the fate of the Biden administration’s related regulatory accomplishments. Related Content The Key to Electric Grid Reliability: Modernizing Governance https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/research/publications/the-key-to-electric-grid-reliability-modernizing-governance/ Advancing the Social License for Carbon Management in Achieving Net-Zero GHG Emissions https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/research/publications/advancing-the-social-license-for-carbon-management-in-achieving-net-zero-ghg-emissions/ Coordinated Policy and Targeted Investment for an Orderly and Reliable Energy Transition https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/research/publications/coordinated-policy-and-targeted-investment-for-an-orderly-and-reliable-energy-transition/   Energy Policy Now is produced by The Kleinman Center for Energy Policy at the University of Pennsylvania. For all things energy policy, visit kleinmanenergy.upenn.eduSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The U.S. Department of the Treasury is finalizing rules that will determine which new clean hydrogen projects will receive the IRA’s generous 45V tax incentives, and whether those projects will deliver promised climate benefits. --- The Inflation Reduction Act provides a range of incentives for the development of clean energy resources in the United States. Highest profile among those incentives are hundreds of billions of dollars in tax credits earmarked for new wind and solar power projects. Yet the IRA’s most aggressive incentives aren’t directed at renewables but at clean hydrogen, which is a fuel that is viewed as crucial to decarbonizing parts of the economy that aren’t readily electrified, such as steel making, air travel and shipping. Over the past few months, the Department of the Treasury and the Internal Revenue Service have been developing rules to define what will qualify as clean hydrogen, and what level of financial incentive hydrogen producers should receive based on the climate impact of the hydrogen they will make. Final rules are expected this year, and will ultimately determine whether clean hydrogen delivers on its climate promise. Danny Cullenward, Vice Chair of California’s Independent Emissions Market Advisory Committee and a Senior Fellow at the Kleinman Center, explores the climate stakes surrounding the Treasury’s 45V hydrogen production tax credit. Cullenward explains the draft clean hydrogen rules, and why certain interests would like to see those guidelines relaxed. He also explores what the final rules might mean for the pace of clean hydrogen growth, and for the ability of clean hydrogen producers to thrive after the incentives expire. Danny Cullenward is a Senior Fellow with the Kleinman Center for Energy Policy. He is also Vice Chair of California’s Independent Emissions Market Advisory Committee, and a Research Fellow with the Institute for Carbon Removal Law and Policy at American University. Related Content Coordinated Policy and Targeted Investment for an Orderly and Reliable Energy Transition https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/research/publications/coordinated-policy-and-targeted-investment-for-an-orderly-and-reliable-energy-transition/ Why the IRA’s Carbon Capture Tax Credit Could Increase Greenhouse Emissions (Podcast) https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/podcast/why-the-iras-carbon-capture-tax-credit-could-increase-greenhouse-emissions/   Energy Policy Now is produced by The Kleinman Center for Energy Policy at the University of Pennsylvania. For all things energy policy, visit kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Physical attacks on critical European energy infrastructure have risen since the outbreak of the war in Ukraine, threatening energy security and the pace of the low-carbon transition. --- Sabotage of critical energy infrastructure has been on the rise, most prominently in Europe, where multiple attacks have targeted subsea electric transmission cables and natural gas pipelines, including Nordstream, since the start of the war in Ukraine.    These disruptions come at a time of upheaval in the energy system, as nations push forward with the construction of expansive carbon-free energy infrastructure, spanning renewable generation and electric transmission networks. Simultaneously, European countries have raced to develop new LNG import terminals and pipelines to replace natural gas that had been supplied by Russia. Yet, until recently relatively little public attention has been paid to the challenge that physical sabotage presents to energy security and climate goals. Benjamin Schmitt, a senior fellow with the Kleinman Center, explores the daunting task of protecting vast networks of often remote infrastructure from everything from hostile nations to small bands of rogue actors. He also discusses why culprits can be so difficult to identify, and how threats to energy infrastructure might undermine public support for the expansive projects needed to transition to a low-carbon energy system in Europe, the US, and elsewhere. Benjamin Schmitt is a Senior Fellow here at the Kleinman Center whose research has focused on the physical security on the energy system.  Related Content Coordinated Policy and Targeted Investment for an Orderly and Reliable Energy Transition https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/research/publications/coordinated-policy-and-targeted-investment-for-an-orderly-and-reliable-energy-transition/ America’s Electric Power Transmission Crisis https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/podcast/americas-electric-power-transmission-crisis/   Energy Policy Now is produced by The Kleinman Center for Energy Policy at the University of Pennsylvania. For all things energy policy, visit kleinmanenergy.upenn.eduSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this engaging discussion, Alexandra Klass, a law professor at the University of Michigan, explores the innovative concept of 'repurposed energy.' She highlights how redirecting clean energy projects to abandoned fossil fuel sites can ease community resistance and accelerate the energy transition. Klass delves into significant provisions from the Inflation Reduction Act and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law that support this approach. She also offers impactful policy recommendations to enhance clean energy development in legacy energy communities.

Each fall, the Kleinman Center for Energy Policy hosts a student blog competition, where students from any field of study can showcase their creativity, innovation, and passion for energy policy and sustainability. This year, we welcomed audio submissions, and we’re featuring our first-place audio blog here. This year’s winner is Benjamin Chen, a junior majoring in economics and minoring in computer science and environmental management. Ben’s winning audio blog is titled “Corporate Disclosure Law on Energy Policy”. Benjamin Chen is a junior majoring in economics at the University of Pennsylvania.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.