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Climate

Los Angeles’ Ferocious Fires

On the emergency in California, clean energy tax credits, and Exxon Mobil

Los Angeles’ Ferocious Fires
Heatmap Illustration/Getty Images

Current conditions: It is 27 degrees Fahrenheit in Dallas, Texas, and snow is expected • The whole of England is under a cold weather health warning until Sunday • A water boil advisory is in effect for Richmond, Virginia, after a winter storm cut power to the city’s water treatment plant.

THE TOP FIVE

1. Los Angeles fire emergency forces thousands to evacuate

At least three wildfires are raging in Los Angeles, fanned by strong Santa Ana winds, warm weather, and exceptionally dry conditions. The largest blaze, the Palisades fire, has consumed some 3,000 acres in the Pacific Palisades area since it ignited yesterday and remains uncontained. More than 30,000 people have been told to evacuate. Two other blazes – the Eaton fire in Altadena and the Hurst fire near San Fernando – have also forced people to flee. Gov. Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency yesterday. Wind gusts in some areas are near 100 mph. The National Weather Service warned the windstorm is likely to be the most destructive in over a decade.

NWS/NOAA

Eric Thayer/Getty Images

Southern California usually gets some rain over the colder months, but just 0.29 inches of rain has fallen in L.A. since May of last year. On top of that, the area saw record-breaking heat over the summer, so conditions are exceptionally dry. “Locally record hot summer followed by a near-record dry fall followed by the strongest wind event in 14 years,” said Anthony Edwards, a meteorologist at the San Francisco Chronicle. “Energized power lines strung across a landscape that is home to tens of millions of people. Disaster recipe.” Some firefighters reported hydrants were not supplying water. The NWS issued a warning for extremely critical fire weather for Wednesday. Some 200,000 people are without power. “Hell of a way to start a new year,” Gov. Newsom said.

2. Trump complains about electric heaters, low-flow shower heads

President-elect Donald Trump held a lengthy press conference at Mar-a-Lago yesterday, repeating some familiar climate and energy falsehoods and trotting out a few new ones. Trump threatened again to reverse President Biden’s newly-announced offshore drilling ban and the non-existent EV “mandate,” and also hinted at trying to ban the construction of new wind turbines. He took the opportunity to lament electric heaters because he said they make you “scratch and itch,” as well as low-flow shower heads because “no water comes out.” There is no time like the present to peruse Heatmap’s extensive fact-check of Trump’s climate and energy claims.

3. Biden administration finalizes clean energy tax credits

The Biden administration rolled out the pièce de résistance of its Inflation Reduction Act tax credits yesterday, publishing the final rules for its overhaul of the clean energy subsidies at the heart of both the bill and United States alternative energy policy going back decades. The final rules define what sources of energy are eligible for production and investment tax credits (known as 45Y and 48E) by lumping together all zero-emissions energy sources into one big group of winners and then letting developers choose which credit they want to use.

The tax credits cover “wind, solar, hydropower, marine and hydrokinetic, geothermal, nuclear,” according to a Treasury Department release, as well as “certain waste energy recovery property” (heat from buildings), and sets out a process for determining how combustion-dependent sources such as biogas, biomass, and natural gas derived from sources like cow manure could qualify. And unlike the tax credits they replaced, which had fixed time periods they were in effect, the tech neutral credits either begin phasing out in 2032 or when electricity sector greenhouse gas emissions are a quarter of their 2022 level, whichever comes second. “With Trump set to take office again in less than two weeks, these rules will be cast into doubt almost as soon as they’re rolled out,” wrote Heatmap’s Matthew Zeitlin. “So the administration is trying to cast the tax credits as a money-saving proposition for energy consumers — especially households — and a spur for investment across the country.”

4. Exxon sues California attorney general

Fossil fuel giant Exxon Mobil is suing California Attorney General Rob Bonta and some environmental groups, alleging they participated in a conspiracy to defame the firm and hurt its business. In recent lawsuits against Exxon, Bonta and the groups – including the Sierra Club – have accused the oil company of lying to the public about the recyclability of plastic (which, if you didn’t know, is mostly made from fossil fuels). Exxon now says those accusations were false and defamatory. “This is another attempt from Exxon Mobil to deflect attention from its own unlawful deception,” a spokesperson for the California Department of Justice told Grist. “The attorney general is proud to advance his lawsuit against Exxon Mobil and looks forward to vigorously litigating this case in court.” The Sierra Club called the lawsuit a “shameless attempt at intimidation.”

5. Carmakers will pool emissions to avoid fines under new EU emissions rules

Car manufacturers in Europe are looking to “pool” their emissions and buy credits from major electric vehicle companies as a workaround to comply with the EU’s new emissions rules, Reuters reported. Companies including Ford, Toyota, Stellantis, and Subaru are looking to pool their emissions, and then buy surplus carbon credits from Tesla; Mercedes is eyeing a similar initiative with Polestar. The EU’s new rules, which came into effect on January 1, mean carmakers have to reduce emissions by 15% compared to 2021, or face steep fines. Many manufacturers called for the rules to be eased or delayed due to sluggish EV demand.

THE KICKER

A recent report from the Department of Energy found that about 90% of wind turbine parts and “wind systems” can be recycled.

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Hotspots

More Turbulence for Washington State’s Giant Wind Farm

And more of the week’s top news around development conflicts.

The United States.
Heatmap Illustration/Getty Images

1. Benton County, Washington – The bellwether for Trump’s apparent freeze on new wind might just be a single project in Washington State: the Horse Heaven wind farm.

  • Intrepid Fight readers should remember that late last year Rep. Dan Newhouse, an influential Republican in the U.S. House, called on the FAA to revoke its “no hazard” airspace determinations for Horse Heaven, claiming potential impacts to commercial airspace and military training routes.
  • Publicly it’s all been crickets since then with nothing from the FAA or the project developer, Scout Clean Energy. Except… as I was reporting on the lead story this week, I discovered a representative for Scout Clean Energy filed in January and March for a raft of new airspace determinations for the turbine towers.
  • There is no public record of whether or not the previous FAA decisions were revoked and the FAA declined to comment on the matter. Scout Clean Energy did not respond to a request for comment on whether there had been any setbacks with the agency or if the company would still be pursuing new wind projects amidst these broader federal airspace issues. It’s worth noting that Scout Clean Energy had already reduced the number of towers for the project while making them taller.
  • Horse Heaven is fully permitted by Washington state but those approvals are under litigation. The Washington Supreme Court in June will hear arguments brought by surrounding residents and the Yakima Nation against allowing construction.

2. Box Elder County, Utah – The big data center fight of the week was the Kevin O’Leary-backed project in the middle of the Utah desert. But what actually happened?

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Q&A

What the ‘Eco Right’ Wants from Permitting Reform

A conversation with Nick Loris of C3 Solutions

The Fight Q&A subject.
Heatmap Illustration

This week’s conversation is with Nick Loris, head of the conservative policy organization C3 Solutions. I wanted to chat with Loris about how he and others in the so-called “eco right” are approaching the data center boom. For years, groups like C3 have occupied a mercurial, influential space in energy policy – their ideas and proposals can filter out into Congress and state legislation while shaping the perspectives of Republican politicians who want to seem on the cutting edge of energy and the environment. That’s why I took note when in late April, Loris and other right-wing energy wonks dropped a set of “consumer-first” proposals on transmission permitting reform geared toward addressing energy demand rising from data center development. So I’m glad Loris was available to lay out his thoughts with me for the newsletter this week.

The following conversation was lightly edited for clarity.

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Spotlight

How to Get Away with Murdering an Energy Industry

And future administrations will learn from his extrajudicial success.

Donald Trump and wind turbines.
Heatmap Illustration/Getty Images

President Donald Trump is now effectively blocking any new wind projects in the United States, according to the main renewables trade group, using the federal government’s power over all things air and sky to grind a routine approval process to a screeching halt.

So far, almost everything Trump has done to target the wind energy sector has been defeated in court. His Day 1 executive order against the wind industry was found unconstitutional. Each of his stop work orders trying to shut down wind farms were overruled. Numerous moves by his Interior Department were ruled illegal.

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