Overnight Energy: GOP lawmaker eyes subsidies for coal power | Group sues for details on Interior’s hunting policy panel | Perry not interested in VA job

REPUBLICAN WANTS TAX CREDIT FOR COAL PLANTS: A Republican lawmaker is proposing a tax credit that would subsidize the operation of coal-fired power plants.

Rep. Larry Bucshon’s (R-Ind.) bill, the Electricity Reliability and Fuel Security Act, seeks to stem the tide of hundreds of recent coal plant closures — an issue driven primarily by economic concerns and environmental regulations.

“Without the reliable baseload power provided by coal-fired generation, the power grid may not be able to handle the electricity needs of American consumers during a sustained period of peak demand like 2014’s Polar Vortex or the recent Bomb Cyclone,” Bucshon said in a Wednesday statement announcing the bill.

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“It is critical that we ensure our nation enjoys a reliable and resilient grid, and that consumers continue to have access to affordable and reliable electricity,” he said.

“The Electricity Reliability and Fuel Security Act will help achieve this by leveling the playing field and help avoid more coal-fired power plant retirements while Congress, the Department of Energy, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, grid operators, and the North American Electric Reliability Corporation continue working together to ensure that the nation’s electricity grid is both reliable and resilient.”

The bill would let coal-fired power plant operators take a tax credit to recover up to 30 percent of the costs of their operation and maintenance expenses. It would last for five years.

The coal industry applauded Bucshon’s bill.

“We support the Electricity Reliability and Fuel Security Act because the continued retirement of coal-fired power plants across the country is threatening the reliability and resilience of the nation’s electricity grid,” said Paul Bailey, president of the American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity.

“We are grateful that Congressman Bucshon has introduced legislation that would provide a temporary solution to coal retirements while policymakers evaluate what steps should be taken to ensure the grid is reliable and resilient.”

Read more here.

 

GROUP SUES FOR DETAILS ON INTERIOR’S PRO-HUNTING PANEL: An animals rights group is suing the Interior Department after the agency failed to provide details on a new advisory group created to advocate for international hunting.

Born Free USA, the animal rights group, filed a suit against Interior’s Fish and Wildlife Service on Wednesday, arguing that the agency failed to provide details they requested in a November Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request about the agency’s International Wildlife Conservation Council (IWCC).

Interior announced in early November that it would create the council to “advise the Secretary of the Interior on the benefits that international recreational hunting has on foreign wildlife and habitat conservation, anti-poaching and illegal wildlife trafficking programs, and other ways in which international hunting benefits human populations in these areas.”

That announcement came mere days before Interior said that it would be reversing an Obama-era ban on African elephant trophy hunting imports. FWS has since announced that it would be determining elephant trophy permits on a case-by-case basis.

Read more here.

 

PERRY PASSES ON VA: Energy Secretary Rick Perry says he’s not interested in becoming the next secretary of Veterans Affairs.

Speaking with reporters after a Wednesday congressional hearing, Perry called the idea that he would move to the VA “fake news” and said he is staying at the Energy Department “until the foreseeable future — happily,” The Associated Press reported.

Multiple news outlets, led by The New York Times, reported Tuesday that President Trump was considering firing VA Secretary David Shulkin and moving Perry into the job.

The Times reported that Trump is growing increasingly frustrated with Shulkin. The secretary has been accused in multiple recent scandals regarding the spending of taxpayer money. Other reports have detailed conflicts between Shulkin, a holdover from the Obama administration, and Trump allies in the department.

Read more here.

 

DEM CALLS FOR PRUITT TO TESTIFY ON SOUNDPROOF BOOTH: The top Democrat on the House Energy and Commerce Committee is calling for Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Scott Pruitt to testify over the installation of his $43,000 soundproof booth.

Rep. Frank Pallone Jr. (D-N.J.) tweeted Wednesday, “While I’m glad GAO is investigating, it’s long past time for Congressional Republicans to hold Administrator Pruitt accountable for his abuse of taxpayer funds. It’s time for Pruitt to explain himself before our committee.”

The lawmaker weighed in on news that Pruitt’s previously reported request for a soundproof booth would be costing taxpayers tens of thousands dollars more than previously estimated.

The Washington Post reported that Pruitt’s in-office sensitive compartmented information facility (SCIF) will likely cost $43,000 total to install, a stark increase from the $25,000 it initially reported back in September.

No previous EPA administrators have had such a setup.

The total amount includes costs associated with the SCIF as well as construction costs that include removing television surveillance equipment and installing a drop ceiling, the Post reported.

Read more here.

 

GREEN GROUP TAKES ON GIANFORTE: The League of Conservation Voters (LCV) launched a $244,000 advertising campaign Wednesday criticizing Montana Rep. Greg Gianforte (R) for his “assault on public lands.”

In the ad, the lobbying and activist group calls out Gianforte for supporting a House bill that would restrict presidential national monument designation powers.

The ad called “Shadow” depicts a darkness looming over the state of Montana.

“Somebody’s attacking our way of life and assaulting our public lands and national monuments,” the narrator says in the ad. “It’s Washington politician Greg Gianforte.”

The ad ends saying “Tell Greg Gianforte: these aren’t Montana values. Stop voting to assault our public lands.”

Gianforte pleaded guilty in June to a misdemeanor offense for assaulting a reporter for The Guardian at the end of his congressional campaign. LCV uses the words “assault” and “attack” repeatedly in the commercial.

 

ON TAP THURSDAY I: The House Appropriations Committee’s energy and water subcommittee will hear from Rick Perry on the Trump administration’s Energy Department budget request for fiscal 2019.

 

ON TAP THURSDAY II: The House Natural Resources Committee will hear from Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke on the Trump administration’s Interior Department budget request for fiscal 2019.

 

Rest of Thursday’s agenda …

The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee will meet to consider two Energy nominees: Theodore Garrish to be assistant secretary for international affairs and James Edward Campus to be director of the office of minority economic impact.

The House Natural Resources subcommittee on energy and mineral resources will hold a hearing on the role of non-governmental entities in cleaning up abandoned hardrock mines.

The Advanced Research Projects Agency – Energy will wrap up its annual Energy Innovation Summit.

 

AROUND THE WEB:

Saudi Aramco wants to build mobile carbon dioxide capture systems that could be mounted on trucks, the Houston Chronicle reports.

The Washington Post explores the infrastructure of the Mississippi River and what Trump’s infrastructure push might change.
India and France are committing billions of dollars to fund solar power projects in the developing world, Nature reports.

 

FROM THE HILL’S OPINION SECTION:

– Jamie McInerney, executive director of the Trade Leadership Coalition, says that Trump’s steel tariff is a threat to the U.S. natural gas industry.

– Barry Smitherman, a member of the Department of Energy’s Electricity Advisory Committee, argues that investment in modernizing America’s electricity transmission network is crucial.

 

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT:

Check out Wednesday’s stories …

-NASA study: Astronaut’s DNA no longer identical to his identical twin’s after year in space

-House panel begins evaluation of expired tax breaks

-Animal rights group sues for details on Interior’s pro-hunting group

-GOP lawmaker proposes tax credit for coal plants

-Perry says he doesn’t want VA secretary job

-Key Dem: EPA chief should be ‘held accountable’ for soundproof booth expense

-Oregon governor says Zinke told her offshore drilling isn’t ‘lucrative’ there
-Cost of Pruitt’s soundproof booth close to $43k: report

-Trump considering firing VA chief: report