OVERNIGHT ENERGY: Kerry, Lew weigh US-China climate ties

ON TAP WEDNESDAY: Climate change and energy security will be high on the agenda when top Obama administration officials meet with their Chinese counterparts in Washington, D.C.

Day 1 of the U.S.-China Strategic and Economic Dialogue will feature separate sessions on climate and energy security.

Treasury Secretary Jack Lew is slated to attend both sessions. Secretary of State John Kerry planned to attend the U.S.-China talks, but a department spokesman held open the possibility he might return to Boston to be with his wife, who is recovering following a weekend seizure.

THE REST OF WEDNESDAY’S AGENDA:

House battle over Energy funding

{mosads}The House is likely to pass Energy Department spending legislation that would sharply cut funding for the department’s green energy research and development programs.

Keep an eye on our E2-Wire and Floor Action blogs for updates.

Power regulators, White House officials headline electric grid event

Administration and White House officials will address a two-day
conference on advanced electric grid technology that begins Wednesday.

The National Town Meeting on Demand Response and Smart Grid features
speakers from the electric utility industry, as well as technology
vendors and state regulators.

Speakers include Jon Powers, federal environmental executive with the
White House Council on Environmental Quality; Federal Energy Regulatory
Commission Commissioner Cheryl LaFleur; and Patricia Hoffman, the Energy
Department’s assistant secretary for the Office of Electricity Delivery
and Energy Reliability.

The conference touches on smart-grid technology, a term that refers to
a range of electric grid devices that communicate with utilities and
consumers through the Internet to deliver real-time energy consumption
data in hopes of encouraging conservation.

Click here for more.

Climate advisers assemble



Wednesday brings Day 2 of the meeting of the National Climate Assessment and Development Advisory Committee, which helps craft a major, inter-agency federal report on climate change.



Click here for more on the meeting of the federal advisory panel.

House subpanel considers natural-gas pipeline, regs bills

The House Energy and Commerce subcommittee on Energy and Power will weigh bills designed to reduce regulations during a Wednesday markup.

Rep. Mike Pompeo’s (R-Kan.) measure, H.R. 1900, would impose deadlines on federal agencies for issuing permits for new natural-gas pipelines.

And Rep. Bill Cassidy’s (R-La.) legislation, H.R. 1582, would bar the Environmental Protection Agency from finishing energy-related regulations until the Energy Department, and in some cases other agencies, assess their impact on prices and the economy.

Click here for more on the markup, which will be webcast.

Rep. Lummis to talk natural resources, science research policy

Rep. Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.) will discuss energy and other policy issues facing a trio of House committees at a Wednesday discussion hosted by the American League of Lobbyists.

Lummis will touch on matters facing the three panels on which she serves: Natural Resources, Oversight and Government Reform, and Science, Space and Technology.

Click here for more on the event.

Rep. Boustany to discuss natural-gas exports, Asia

The Center for Strategic and International Studies will host a Wednesday discussion on the impact of expanding U.S. exports of liquefied natural gas.

Rep. Charles Boustany Jr. (R-La.) will participate in the panel, which will focus on the effect exports could have on relationships with Asia.

From an advisory:

Rapidly growing Asian economies will need energy of all types creating a major opportunity for US gas exporters to provide clean natural gas and deepen the commercial relationship between our country and the Asian region.

Click here for more.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT:

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

– Key Republican won’t filibuster EPA nominee
– Senate Dems, Obama adviser huddle on climate plan
– House advances energy spending bill
– Boxer calls on states, EPA to strengthen safety regs after Texas factory blast
– Interior’s offshore drilling safety chief stepping down
– Dems pitch national park on moon
– Obama picks green advocate as Navy energy chief

NEWS BITES:

GOP blasts Obama climate agenda for coal plant closings

Republicans on Tuesday blamed President Obama’s climate policies for a utility’s decision to shutter a pair of coal-fired power plants in Pennsylvania.

They said electric utility FirstEnergy’s decision to shut the plants down by Oct. 9 — axing 380 jobs they support in the process — are a result of current regulations and expected rules floated in the climate agenda Obama announced at the end of last month. That push includes greenhouse gas emission rules for new and existing power plants as its centerpiece.

“I am very disappointed that — due to the Obama administration’s policies — FirstEnergy is deactivating coal-fired power plants in Fayette and Washington counties today and leaving hundreds out of work. These unemployed Pennsylvanians are unfortunate casualties in the President’s ‘war on coal,’ ” Sen. Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) said in a statement.

Rep. Ed Whitfield (R-Ky.), who chairs the House Energy and Commerce subcommittee on Energy and Power, added in a statement that “with the president’s announced plan to regulate greenhouse gas emissions of existing power plants, we are likely to see even more plants close in the coming months.”

The utility said current and expected greenhouse gas rules played a part in the move, as did low electricity prices — which are largely the result of new-found supplies of cheap natural gas.

“The decision is based on the cost of compliance with current and future environmental regulations in conjunction with the continued low market price for electricity,” the utility said.

The White House, as well as liberal Democrats, has said inexpensive natural-gas plants have had more to do with the coal industry’s struggles than forthcoming regulations.

Study: Gulf Coast restoration an economic boon

A report released Tuesday by the Environmental Defense Fund and the Walton Family Foundation urged Gulf Coast states to spend settlement money from the 2010 BP oil spill to revitalize their coastlines.

From The Associated Press:

Wildlife tourism, from hunting and fishing to bird and dolphin watching, is a $19 billion-a-year business along the Gulf of Mexico, and states spending their settlement money from the 2010 BP oil spill should focus on restoring ecologically sensitive areas that keep guides, hotels and others working, a study says.

Click here for the full story.

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