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Policy Watch

Nothing Is Safe from Trump

The week’s top news around renewable energy policy.

Trump.
Heatmap Illustration/Getty Images

1. Forget about the IRA – As the dust has settled post-election, it’s becoming clearer far more than the IRA is at stake in the coming Trump 2.0 administration – namely, whether what people expect in the normal course of governing will resume at all.

  • Case in point: Massachusetts electeds just learned they will not be able to complete talks on new offshore wind procurement contracts until after Trump takes office. Will any of these projects even be able to pursue federal permits?
  • Or take statutes and agencies once considered sacrosanct. Overnight, The Washington Post reported Trump may seek to unilaterally cut programs with expired authorizations. That includes the Energy Policy Act of 2005 – and the statute creating NOAA.
  • I covered Trump from the day he was sworn in, with most of my time spent in Congress. And I’ve kept tabs with some in his braintrust over the years. So I can tell you confidently: expect the unexpected, and don’t count on your permits.

2. Money and time – Biden agencies are (predictably) starting to get rules out the door to wrap up whatever they can before Trump takes office.

  • The EPA just finished its methane flaring rule and the BLM put out a new proposed sage grouse strategy. Heatmap previously reported the IRA’s hydrogen tax credit will also get this treatment.
  • I’d expect the Energy Department to also get as many contracts and dollars out of the door so they can’t be impounded or rescinded. My vibe checks with lobbyist friends indicate they believe all bets are off once Trump 2.0 begins.
  • Are there any regulations or financing decisions you’re watching for in the final days? Give us a holler.

3. California counter-weight – California regulators just approved updates to their fuel standard that will accelerate adoption of lower-emissions cars.

  • The state is also convening a special legislative session to consider additional measures to prepare for legal and regulatory challenges from Trump 2.0, including climate. The last Trump administration had sought to undo the state’s EPA waiver allowing stricter vehicle emissions standards than federal ones.

4. Compensation fund – East Coast states this week announced they would select BrownGreer and the Carbon Trust to help create a compensation fund for fishermen impacted by offshore wind.

  • The fund is intended to give money that can offset the costs of any reduction in fish stocks or fishing periods from developing offshore wind.
  • Commercial and recreational fishing entrepreneurs will help manage the fund. So will offshore wind companies, though a list of industry participants has not been announced.

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Spotlight

Is the California Battery Fire an East Palestine Moment?

Moss Landing is turning into a growing problem for the energy storage industry.

Moss Landing in the crosshairs.
Heatmap Pro/Getty Images

The Moss Landing battery fire now may be the storage industry’s East Palestine moment – at least in California.

In the weeks since Vistra’s battery plant south of San Francisco caught fire on January 16, at least two lawsuits have been filed against Vistra, PG&E, and battery manufacturer LG Chem by people and business owners claiming damages from the blaze. I have learned at least one more will be filed by individuals who’ve conducted headline-grabbing soil samples that found toxic metals.

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Hotspots

The Vineyard Wind Lawsuit 2.0

And more of the week’s top conflicts around renewable energy.

The Vineyard Wind Lawsuit 2.0

1. Nantucket County, Massachusetts – Welcome to the Vineyard Wind lawsuit 2.0.

  • Fishermen represented by a conservative legal group – the Texas Public Policy Foundation – filed a petition to the Supreme Court this week asserting that the justices can now reconsider approvals for the Vineyard Wind offshore wind project because of the high court’s decision to overturn the Chevron doctrine, a now-defunct judicial precedent that courts defer to agencies on statutory interpretation.
  • It’s not entirely clear whether overturning Chevron will produce a different outcome than the Court’s decision to ignore the last petition from fisherman about Vineyard Wind’s permits. But the argument is definitely different, as the new petition argues a lower court wrongly deferred to agency interpretation of federal laws used to approve the project.
  • The Texas Public Policy Foundation did not respond to requests to discuss this case.

2. Carroll County, Maryland – Carroll County commissioners are intervening in the state permitting fight over two relatively small solar projects, in what has become a wider proxy battle between the county and the state over solar on farmland.

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Q&A

The Case for Agrivoltaics

A conversation with Samantha Levy of American Farmland Trust

The Case for Agrivoltaics

Today’s conversation is with Samantha Levy, senior policy manager for conservation and energy at American Farmland Trust, an agriculture and energy advocacy organization I became familiar with through covering the conflict over solar on farmland. I reached out to Levy after the organization released new recommendations for agrivoltaics policy last week – just before a large agrivoltaics project was canceled in Ohio over local opposition. I wanted to ask: are there any bright spots for the future of solar and farms commingling?

Today’s conversation was lightly edited for clarity.

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