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MANCHIN ON TRANSMISSION LINES: Sen. Joe Manchin zeroed in on the lack of transmission lines and increasing threats of power outages at a Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee hearing this morning, amid an intense heat wave that has blanketed large swaths of the country and added new demand concerns.
“Transmission is a key electric reliability tool, particularly during weather events that span hundreds of miles,” Manchin said.
Long distance transmission and interconnectivity lines enable power to move where it’s needed, and can help avoid blackouts or rolling outages during heat waves like the ones affecting much of the U.S.
Manchin was hosting the hearing on permitting as he tries to keep reform legislation—a longtime policy priority — alive in Congress and in the minds of voters. It’s a new angle on the same, long-sought goal.
The problem: Witnesses noted that 2021 saw the lowest build-out of extra high voltage transmission construction in the last decade. “Big, interstate transmission lines just aren’t getting built,” Manchin said.
Witnesses also noted that these projects take years to build and permit. Currently, “it can take 10 or more years to permit and build transmission projects,” Antonio Smyth, the vice president of grid solutions for American Electric Power, told lawmakers.
Lawmakers in both parties cited the need for more interstate, cross-region transmission lines, which are more critical in light of the Biden administration’s plans to massively ramp up renewable energy sources (as well as to increase demand for electricity with its goals for electric vehicles). Energy imports are key to many states, allowing them to tap into other resources in the event of a supply emergency to avert rolling blackouts or collapse. California, for example, receives roughly 25% of its electricity from other Western states.
In 2021, these transmission lines and imports were considered a major factor in keeping California’s grid from collapsing completely as it battled intense heat, drought, and wildfire conditions.
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TC ENERGY DECLARES FORCE MAJEURE, ISOLATES SECTION OF GAS PIPELINE IN VIRGINIA: TC Energy’s Columbia Gas Transmission pipeline declared a force majeure along its gas pipeline in Virginia yesterday and isolated a large section of the line after it detected a pressure drop due to an “unplanned incident” along a section of the line.
TC Energy, which also owns the Keystone oil pipeline, said late yesterday that the rupture occurred in Strasburg and is being investigated by the Transportation Department’s Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration.
Also yesterday, the company issued a roughly 1,650 foot isolation radius to help ensure public safety—a zone it said will remain in place until “further notice.”
The pipelines span more than 15,000 miles and are considered key to helping the U.S. meet domestic supply and international exports. The Columbia pipelines alone transport roughly 20% of U.S. LNG supplies to other countries, underscoring the need to resume operations quickly.
CALI EMERGENCY ENERGY ALERT: California issued an energy emergency alert watch Tuesday night due to a potential energy shortage that lasted between 7 p.m. and 12 a.m.
According to the California Independent System Operator, the agency issued the EEA Watch due to “higher than anticipated loads and temperatures across the grid” – during which entities were encouraged to offer available energy and ancillary services, while customers were directed by utilities to use generators approved for emergencies, or reduce their usage.
It’s that time of the year again: As temperatures in California continue to reach highs and the Golden State stumbles through its dry season, expect more energy alerts like this one.
MASS STRANDING OF PILOT WHALES: More than 50 pilot whales have died after a mass stranding on a remote beach in Australia, Reuters reports.
The whales were washed up near Cheynes Beach, near the southwest corner of the island, with 51 whales found dead by authorities. Marine experts and volunteers camped overnight to try and return 46 remaining whales to deeper waters during the course of the day.
According to Reuters, pilot whales are known for their social bonds, so it’s common for other whales to follow if one gets stranded. But why they get trapped on the beaches remains a mystery.
RUSSIA PLANTING EXPLOSIVES IN UKRAINE: Russian forces occupying one of Ukraine’s power plants have placed explosive mines near the facility, according to the U.N.’s Director General of International Atomic Energy Agency.
As reported by Politico EU, the mines were spotted during a Sunday walk-around by IAEA inspectors, and marks the second month in a row that the U.N. watchdog reported the presence of explosives both outside and inside the perimeter of the nuclear plant, which Russian security personnel on site reasoned was for defensive purposes.
ON THIS DAY IN HILL HISTORY: As we inch closer to the one year anniversary of the Inflation Reduction Act’s passage (August 16), expect more press events from lawmakers marking the milestones toward passage of the historic climate change bill. (If you’ll recall, Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Manchin announced they had a deal for the energy and climate bill one year ago tomorrow.)
Schumer, along with Democratic Sens. Ron Wyden of Oregon, Debbie Stabenow of Michigan, and Tina Smith of Minnesota, are holding a press conference on the bill’s passage this early afternoon.
LATE RULES COMMITTEE MOVES: The House Rules Committee voted late last night to move forward with two disapproval resolutions that would curtail the Biden administration’s protections for two species, the northern long-eared bat and the lesser prairie chicken, and nullify the rules implemented by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
The disapproval resolutions would overturn rules published by the agency last November that list the two species as “endangered” under the Endangered Species Act — a move Republicans decried as government overreach and would hamper agricultural and infrastructural development.
“At every turn, the administration seeks to expand the scope of environmental laws and to give into environmental activists,” said House Rules Committee Chairman Tom Cole of Oklahoma. “The end result is to force private landowners to shoulder heavier burdens and to tie up development projects with more red tape.”
In a party-line vote, the committee voted to proceed with the rule governing consideration of the two measures brought up under the Congressional Review Act, slating the bills for a floor vote. The timing of the floor vote has yet to be determined as lawmakers prepare for their six-week August recess. Read more on that here.
EXTREME WHITE PAINT INVENTOR SEES ENERGY COST REDUCTIONS OF UP TO 40%: An extremely white shade of paint created by a team of Purdue University engineers could keep temperatures lower and reduce costs for consumers to the tune of up to 40%, according to Purdue professor Xiulin Ruan. Depending on the climate zone, he told The Hill, it can help save energy costs “anywhere from 10% to 40% depending on the climate zone.”
“So that can really change from a life-threatening situation to maybe not so comfortable but no longer life-threatening,” he added.
The Rundown
Wall Street Journal Pouring ice into concrete: builders adapt to extreme heat