Energy Policy Now

What might the EPA look like without current Administrator Scott Pruitt? Two regulatory experts discuss the future direction of the agency. --- EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt has come under bipartisan fire for an array of ethical missteps that range from lavish spending on travel to the granting of illegal pay raises for select EPA staffers. Over the past week, staunch Pruitt supporters such as Senate Environment and Public Works Chairman John Barrasso have questioned the transparency with which Pruitt has run his office, and legislators from both sides of the aisle have suggested that Pruitt may not be fit to lead the agency. Could Pruitt’s tenure at the EPA be coming to an end? And if so, what direction might the embattled agency take under new leadership, such as that of recently confirmed Deputy EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler? In this special episode of Energy Policy Now, Penn Law energy and environment legal experts Cary Coglianese and Daniel Walters discuss the swirl of possible ethical violations that have led to the Pruitt controversy. They explore what Pruitt's departure could mean for his efforts—and those of the Trump administration—to deprioritize environmental protection at the EPA and roll back environmental regulations. Cary Coglianese is the Edward B. Shils Professor of Law and a professor of political science at the University of Pennsylvania, and the founding director of the Penn Program on Regulation at Penn Law. Daniel Walters is a Regulation Fellow with the Penn Program on Regulation at Penn Law. Related Content: The Future of the EPA and Clean Power https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/energy-policy-now/future-epa-and-clean-power The Many Fronts of Trump’s Environmental Deregulation Effort https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/energy-policy-now/many-fronts-trumps-environmental-deregulation-effort Hot Topics on Climate Change https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/policy-digests/hot-topics-climate-changeSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

How far can the states go in implementing climate regulations against Washington’s will? Two regulatory experts discuss the legal limits to local climate action. --- Over the past 15 months the Trump administration has moved to eliminate or water down a host of environmental regulations tied to energy use. The administration has rejected the Clean Power Plan, sought to relax rules that limit methane emissions from oil and gas wells, and announced that it will lower national car and truck fuel economy standards. Simultaneously, the federal government has been working to counter state and municipal efforts to strengthen local environmental rules. And recently, concern has been raised that the Environmental Protection Agency, under Secretary Scott Pruitt, might try rescind the waiver that allows California to set its own automotive emissions standards. Cary Coglianese of the Penn Program on Regulation, and Shana Starobin of Bowdoin College, discuss the legal limits to state and municipal efforts to take climate action, and at the tools Washington can use to rein in local regulations. Cary Coglianese is a professor of law and political science at the Penn Law, and Director of the Penn Program on Regulation. Shana Starobin is an assistant professor of government and environmental studies at Bowdoin College and a former fellow at the Penn Program on Regulation at the University of Pennsylvania Law School. Related Content: A City Blazes its Clean Energy Trail: https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/energy-policy-now/city-blazes-its-clean-energy-trailSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

As sea levels rise, nuisance flooding is the first wave of assault on coastal cities. Can we protect our coasts from inundation, or is retreat inevitable? --- Jeff Goodell, author of the New York Times award-winning book, The Water Will Come: Rising Seas, Sinking Cities, and the Remaking of the Civilized World, talks about the impact of rising seas on America’s coastal centers in the decades to come. Will innovative engineering allow cities and towns to be protected, and at what cost? Or, will the seas prevail, leaving some areas abandoned? Billy Fleming, research director for the Ian L. McHarg Center at the Penn School of Design and an expert on climate adaptation planning, weighs in as well. The U.S. government estimates that sea levels will rise by two feet by the middle of this century due to a warming climate. Already the impact of higher water is being felt in points around the country. In many coastal communities, nuisance flooding has become the predictable norm. Miami Beach is spending half a billion dollars to elevate roads and install pumps in an effort to stay dry. And Houston, New York, and New Orleans, all cities that are just feet above sea level, have recently seen unprecedented and devastating flooding. Goodell and Fleming look at the political and human costs of taking action. Jeff Goodell is a contributing editor with Rolling Stone magazine, where his writing focuses on environmental and climate issues. Last year he published his sixth book, The Water Will Come: Rising Seas, Sinking Cities, and the Remaking of the Civilized World, which earned a Critics’ Top Book award from the New York Times. Billy Fleming is research director for the Ian L. McHarg Center at the University of Pennsylvania’s School of Design. His research focuses on climate adaptation planning along the U.S. coast. Related Content Water Issues in California https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/policy-digests/water-issues-california Hot Topics on Climate Change https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/policy-digests/hot-topics-climate-changeSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Carbon Cap and Trade is gaining momentum, most recently with China’s plan to build the largest carbon market. But how successful has cap and trade been in limiting emissions, and what can new markets learn from past mistakes? --- Carbon cap and trade has made headlines in recent months as governments turn to carbon markets to limit greenhouse emissions. The biggest announcement came in December, when China formally announced the establishment of a national carbon trading system that will initially cover its electric power industry. Once China’s market is up and running, it’ll dwarf the largest existing cap and trade market, the European Emissions Trading System that started in 2005. Developments are underway in the U.S. as well. In January, New Jersey announced that it will rejoin the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, commonly called RGGI, which it had previously abandoned. And Virginia has announced its intention to also join the carbon market, which spans nine northeastern states. Kleinman Center Faculty Fellow Arthur van Benthem discusses how cap and trade cost-effectively limits carbon dioxide emissions. He also examines the economic competitiveness of cap-and-trade programs. Arthur van Benthem is a Faculty Fellow with the Kleinman Center and Assistant Professor of Business Economics and Public Policy at the Wharton School of Business. His research and teaching focus on the economic efficiency of energy policies, and the unintended consequences of environmental legislation. Earlier, he worked as an economist and strategist at Royal Dutch Shell. Related Content China Introduces Emissions Trading System. https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/blog/2017/12/21/china-introduces-emissions-trading-system Hot Topics on Climate Change https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/policy-digests/hot-topics-climate-change Climate Policy in a Disorganized World https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/policy-digests/climate-policy-disorganized-worldSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Self-driving trucks promise to revitalize the trucking industry. But increased energy demand and air pollution are possible downsides. --- Self-driving technology is making its way onto America's roads. Companies including Lyft, Ford and Google's Waymo are investing heavily to develop driverless vehicles and transportation services. Driverless technology is also being developed for the trucking industry, a cornerstone of the economy that moves 70% of manufactured goods yet finds itself challenged by high fuel costs, safety concerns, and a shortage of drivers. Guest Steve Viscelli, Senior Fellow with the Kleinman Center, looks at the potential for driverless trucks to stake their claim on the nation's highways and create a more efficient transportation system. He also talks about potential impacts that vast fleets of driverless trucks may have on energy demand, air quality, and traffic congestion, and the choices policy makers face in balancing these outcomes. Steve Viscelli is a Senior Fellow with the Kleinman Center and a lecturer in the University of Pennsylvania's Department of Sociology, where he researches policy in the areas of energy efficiency and employment relations. Steve also worked as a truck driver while researching his 2016 book, The Big Rig: Trucking and the Decline of the American Dream. Related Content Stalled: Make Big Trucks More Fuel Efficient https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/policy-digests/stalled-make-big-trucks-more-fuel-efficientSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Nuclear power plants pump millions of dollars into local economies. As the rate of nuclear retirements accelerates, will surrounding communities find a way forward? -- A growing number of U.S. nuclear power plants are threatened with early retirement as the combination of rising operating costs, and low electricity prices, have eroded the nuclear industry's profits. The reactors are often the economic life blood of the mostly rural communities where they're located. When they close, many good paying jobs, and generous funding for school and community services disappear. And, unlike most one-company towns, nuclear host communities are burdened with a legacy of nuclear waste that can create barriers to redevelopment. Guests Jennifer Stromsten, Program Director with the Institute of Nuclear Host Communities, and Saqib Rahim, an E&E News reporter who's written extensively on nuclear plant closures, discuss community efforts to navigate the closure of the Vermont Yankee nuclear station in southern Vermont. They also look at the impact that the ongoing storage of nuclear waste at the site is having on efforts to redevelop, and initiatives at the state and national level to give communities more say in the decommissioning process and, by extension, control over their path forward. Jennifer Stromsten is Program Director with the Institute of Nuclear Host Communities and works for the economic development agency that serves the region surrounding Entergy Corporation's Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant. The plant closed in 2014 and is now in the process of decommissioning. Saqib Rahim is a reporter with E&E News who has written at length about Vermont Yankee and the legacy of nuclear plant closures. Related Content: Nuclear Decommissioning: Paying More for Greater, Uncompensated Risks: https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/paper/nuclear-decommissioning A Clean Grid is a Diverse Grid https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/clean-grid-diverse-gridSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Today's electric grid will need to be reimagined to deliver carbon-free power. MIT's Jesse Jenkins talks about what a deeply decarbonized electricity system might look like, and how to build it at lowest cost. --- In its 2014 report on global warming, the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change concluded that carbon dioxide emissions must fall by as much as 70% by mid century to avoid the most "severe, pervasive and irreversible" damage from climate change. A key to reducing carbon emissions will be the near complete decarbonization of the global electricity system, which is today's largest source of greenhouse gasses, and remains largely dependent on fossil fuels. Kleinman Center Visiting Scholar Jesse Jenkins discusses the economics of building a 'deeply decarbonized' electricity system. Jesse, and a group of MIT engineers, have modeled future electricity systems to determine the mix of low carbon energy resources that will create tomorrow's most resilient, cost-effective, and low-carbon electricity systems. Their research is currently working its way through peer review and will be released later this year. Jesse Jenkins is a researcher with the Electric Power Systems Center at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He is former Director of the Breakthrough Institute's Energy and Climate Program, where he led research into energy, climate change and innovation policy. Related Content: Solar Industry Growth Set to Slow: https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/blog/2018/01/23/solar-industry-growth-set-slow Clean Energy Costs Continue to Fall: https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/blog/2018/01/22/clean-energy-costs-continue-fall Climate Policy in a Disorganized World: https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/policy-digests/climate-policy-disorganized-world Tilting at Windmills: https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/policy-digests/tilting-windmills A City Blazes Its Clean Energy Trail: https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/energy-policy-now/city-blazes-its-clean-energy-trailSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The view of Americans on the environmental and economic implications of fracking continues to be sharply divided a decade after the shale revolution began. But the author of a new book, The Fracking Debate, finds more nuanced perspectives in wellhead communities. -- The shale revolution in the United States is now more than a decade old. In the intervening years, energy companies have tapped vast, previously uneconomical oil and natural gas resources through a suite of technologies, including hydraulic fracturing, commonly called fracking, and horizontal drilling. The results have been dramatic. Today the U.S. is a leading producer of oil, and the top global supplier of natural gas. But the shale revolution has also bred controversy as the country has struggled to balance fracking’s economic and environmental impacts. Those for and against fracking have often gone to great lengths to promote their views. Along the way, previously quiet communities, from Pennsylvania to North Dakota, have struggled to accommodate waves of drilling rigs and energy workers. Guest Daniel Raimi spent several years traveling the country to get to know the communities where fracking takes place. His travels led to a new book, The Fracking Debate: The Risks, Benefits, and Uncertainties of the Shale Revolution. In it Raimi seeks to relate the perspective of communities, and citizens, on fracking’s front lines, and provide unbiased answers to some of the biggest questions surrounding fracking. Related Content Pennsylvania’s Gas Decade: https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/paper/pennsylvanias-gas-decade Polar Stress Test Revisits Gas-Powered Grids: https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/blog/2018/01/03/polar-stress-test-revisits-gas-powered-gridsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

U.S. corporations increasingly look to manage their carbon footprints, and energy costs, by entering into clean energy power purchase agreements (PPAs). The contracts offer a tailwind to renewable energy developers, but can challenge traditional utility-customer relationships. --- Ninety-five percent of the world’s largest 250 companies by revenue issue sustainability reports that disclose their environmental and social impact. On the energy front, this often translates into companies setting goals for clean energy use, with Google, Microsoft and Wal-Mart having set 100% clean energy targets for parts of their businesses. As companies look to aggressively reduce their carbon footprint, some are taking the step of making direct investments in clean energy projects through contracts known as wind and solar Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs), under which they buy electricity directly from clean energy generators. Such deals ensure that clean energy purchases pass the additionality test, yet can disrupt traditional utility-customer relationships. Energy legal and regulatory expert Ken Kulak provides insights into corporate America’s efforts to clean up its electricity supply, even as the bulk of America’s electric generation continues to be powered by fossil fuels. Ken Kulak is Partner with the Morgan Lewis law firm in Philadelphia, and a Senior Fellow with the Kleinman Center for Energy Policy. Related Content Utilities Continue Coal Retreat, Advance on Gas and Renewables https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/blog/2017/12/13/part-3-utilities-continue-coal-retreat-advance-gas-and-renewables Tilting at Windmills https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/policy-digests/tilting-windmillsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Energy Department’s proposal to shore up coal and nuclear power plants could undermine the very foundations of competitive electricity markets. PJM Interconnection’s Stu Bresler, SVP for Operations and Markets, weighs in on DOE’s proposal, and explains PJM’s price formation alternative. --- In October, Department of Energy secretary Rick Perry grabbed the attention of US competitive wholesale electricity markets when he issued an unusual request to the federal agency tasked with overseeing these markets, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. Perry’s proposal, known as the resiliency NOPR (or Notice of Proposed Rulemaking), asked that subsidies be paid to electricity generators that the Energy Department maintains are critical to the resilient operation of the electricity system. More specifically, the subsidies would go to coal and nuclear power plants that can store a 90-day supply of fuel on-site. DOE maintains that this would ensure the plants’ continued operation in the event of fuel supply disruptions, for example during extreme weather. But the move to favor certain generators threatens to undermine competitive market principles that are the foundation of electricity markets. It could also disadvantage other forms of generation, mainly natural gas and renewables which, the Energy Secretary maintains, are less resilient. PJM Interconnection, the largest competitive electricity market, has been outspoken in its concerns around the DOE proposal and the resiliency assumptions that underlie it. In this episode, PJM’s Stu Bresler, Senior Vice President for Operations and Markets, presents PJM’s alternative proposal, which aims to reform the way prices are set in energy markets. Critically from PJM’s perspective, it’s price formation reforms would preserve market-based principles. PJM’s proposed plan would increase revenues to electric generators, ultimately benefitting the same endangered coal and nuclear plants that the DOE aims to support. The Kleinman Center’s Christina Simeone, Director of Policy and External Affairs, who has written extensively on issues related to PJM, and handles the questioning. Related Content Initial Questions on PJM’s Price Formation Proposal http://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/blog/2017/11/21/initial-questions-pjm’s-price-formation-proposal What the Heck is “Enhanced Price Formation” in PJM http://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/blog/2017/11/21/what-heck-“enhanced-price-formation”-pjm PJM Governance http://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/paper/pjm-governance Department of Energy Grid Resiliency Pricing Rule NOPR https://www.energy.gov/sites/prod/files/2017/09/f37/Notice%20of%20Proposed%20Rulemaking%20.pdf Initial Comments of PJM Interconnection, L.L.C. on the United States Department of Energy Proposed Rule http://www.pjm.com/-/media/documents/ferc/filings/2017/20171023-rm-18-1-000.ashx DOE Staff Report to the Secretary on Electricity Markets and Reliability https://energy.gov/downloads/download-staff-report-secretary-electricity-markets-and-reliabilitySee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.