OVERNIGHT ENERGY: CEOs from BP, General Motors on deck at major gathering

ALSO ON TAP WEDNESDAY:

Climate science in focus at House hearing

The House Science, Space and Technology subcommittee on Environment will take a look at climate science and regulations during a Wednesday hearing.

{mosads}The 10 a.m. hearing will focus on climate science and the executive actions President Obama could take to limit greenhouse gas emissions. 

Green groups and many Democrats want the president to use administrative authority to curtail emissions in the name of public health and climate change. 

The chances of climate legislation clearing Congress are grim, as the GOP-controlled House has proven resistant to climate measures that they say would increase energy costs and hurt the economy. 

Given the witnesses, Wednesday’s hearing likely will cast a more skeptical view of climate science.

Witnesses include Judith Curry, a professor with the Georgia Institute of Technology’s School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, and Bjorn Lomborg, president of the Copenhagen Consensus Center.

For more on the hearing, click here.

Homeland Security chief joins House panel to talk grid cybersecurity

The House Homeland Security Committee will discuss how best to secure critical infrastructure networks like the electric grid from cyberattacks.

“In recent months we have seen worldwide cyber attacks against the U.S. come to light, and it has never been more important for us to work together to defend against them,” Committee Chairman Michael McCaul (R-Texas) said in a statement about the hearing.

Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano will testify, as will Gary Haynes, chief information officer with Centerpoint Energy.

Click here for more on the 10:30 a.m. hearing.

Energy hits The Hill’s opinion pages

Oil-and-gas drilling, green jobs, the Keystone XL pipeline, R&D, environmental regulations and energy efficiency all are in focus in a slate of opinion pieces from lawmakers running Wednesday in The Hill.

The lawmakers penning the op-eds are House Energy and Commerce Chairman Fred Upton (R-Mich.); Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), who chairs the Senate Environment and Public Works subcommittee on Green Jobs and the New Economy; Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-Texas); and Rep. Pete Olson (R-Texas).

Readers who just can’t wait for the print edition can read them online Tuesday night.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT:

Check out these stories than ran on E2-Wire Tuesday …  

— State Dept. official: US oil boom won’t sap focus on Middle East stability
— Chinese oil exec attacks ‘misconception’ about country’s global intentions
— Watchdogs say Chevron made illegal donation to GOP super-PAC
— CEO of oil sands giant ‘very encouraged’ by Keystone report
— Canadian official raps greens on oil pipeline in Chicago speech
— Top oil exec praises Obama’s energy pick

— ConocoPhillips CEO: Social media is ‘double-edged sword’
— Report: US oil-and-gas production up despite drop on federal lands

— ConocoPhillips chief: ‘Misinformation and fear’ could thwart shale energy boom
— Exxon official: Pipelines preferred, but railroads a viable option to move oil sands
— Environmental activists reeling as Keystone pipeline gains momentum

NEWS BITES:

Interior nominee agrees to drop oil-and-gas holdings

Sally Jewell said she would divest from her oil-and-gas interests if confirmed to run the Interior Department.

In a Feb. 8 letter to Interior’s ethics office, Jewell, who currently heads outdoor gear giant REI, said she would divest from several oil-and-gas companies.

Those companies include Anadarko Petroleum Corp., Chevron Corp., ConocoPhillips, ExxonMobil Corp., Marathon Oil Co., Marathon Petroleum Corp., Occidental Petroleum Corp., Phillips 66 and Valero Energy Corp., among others.

Jewell’s Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee confirmation hearing is scheduled for Thursday.

Sequester hits Treasury green energy program

Grants awarded through a Treasury Department green energy program between March 1 and Sept. 30 will be cut 8.7 percent due to sequestration, according to Treasury.

In a Monday advisory, the department said the across-the-board cuts that went into effect Friday triggered reductions in its 1603 program.

The program began offering cash grants instead of tax credits to encourage solar and other renewable energy investments as part of the 2009 federal stimulus.

The tax credit financing market had bottomed out in the global economic downturn, which precipitated the change in financing.

Venezuelan leader Chavez dies

Venezuela President Hugo Chávez died Tuesday after a long battle with cancer. He was 58.

The controversial leader and fierce U.S. critic used his nation’s vast oil wealth to remake the country into a socialist state.

The Hill’s Julian Pecquet has more here.

House Science Committee names environment chair

Rep. Chris Stewart (R-Utah) will head the House Science, Space and Technology Environment subcommittee, the committee announced Tuesday.

“I feel honored to be working with Chairman Lamar Smith (R-Texas) and other members of the Committee in overseeing the EPA, researching scientific issues related to environmental policy and climate change, and ensuring that government agencies employ sound science when making decisions,” Stewart said in a statement.

The full committee oversees federal R&D programs and deals heavily with innovation, including in the energy sector.

Please send tips and comments to Ben Geman, ben.geman@digital-staging.thehill.com, and Zack Colman, zcolman@digital-staging.thehill.com.

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