The EnerKnol Week Ahead is back to give you the key energy policy events happening next week, all powered by the EnerKnol Platform. Coming up, New York seeks stakeholder feedback in advance of its first solicitation focused exclusively on offshore wind supply chain development.; the Iowa Utilities Board considers Summit Carbon Solutions' pipeline project designed to carry carbon dioxide from more than 30 ethanol plants across five Midwest states; Maine regulators discuss a procurement strategy to promote rate stability for residential customers who receive standard-offer service.
BLM
BOEM
California EC
DOE
Iowa UB
Maine PUC
Washington ECY
The Bureau of Land Management is due to receive public input on four parcels totaling about 3,498.34 acres for an oil and gas lease sale in Nevada. The sale, scheduled for Dec. 5, will include updated fiscal provisions authorized by the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act, including a royalty rate of 16.67 percent.
The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management will hold Gulf of Mexico Oil and Gas Lease Sale 261 pursuant a ruling issued by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit on Sept. 25. The court directed the bureau to include lease blocks that were previously excluded due to potential impacts to the Rice’s whale population from oil and gas activities in the Gulf of Mexico. Pursuant to direction from the court, the sale will offer about 13,618 blocks on 72.7 million acres on the U.S. Outer Continental Shelf in the Western, Central, and Eastern Planning Areas in the Gulf of Mexico. The Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 directed the bureau to hold Lease Sale 261 by the end of September. The bureau rescheduled the sale from the originally planned date of Sept. 27 in response to the court ruling. The order provided BOEM additional time for a more orderly lease sale process. READ MORE
The U.S. Energy Department is due to receive applications for a $150 million funding opportunity to support cost effective and environmentally responsible processes for producing and refining critical minerals and materials from domestic sources. Critical minerals and materials are key to domestic manufacturing of clean energy technologies such as solar panels, wind turbines, electric vehicles, and hydrogen fuel cells. The funding, provided by the 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, will help meet growing demand for critical minerals, as well as reduce reliance on foreign sources. The program will support communities that historically have depended on mining and energy production, advancing the administration’s efforts to maximize the benefits of the clean energy transition.
The Maryland Public Service Commission is due to receive comments on Washington Gas Light Company’s application for adjustments of retail rates and charges applicable to natural gas services. The WGL Holdings subsidiary is seeking a net increase of $49.4 million, which is expected to increase the average residential heating and cooling customer’s bill by 5.3 percent per year, with a return on equity of 10.75 percent. 9704
The Maine Public Utilities Commission seeks information on the potential development of a procurement strategy that could be used to promote rate stability for residential customers that receive standard-offer service. Following the deregulation of electric supply service in the state in the year 2000, customers can choose the provider of their electric supply. Those who do not choose a competitive electricity provider receive their supply from the standard offer service provider(s) by default. The commission seeks responses to a series of questions including how contracts with standard offer providers for longer or shorter periods than the current calendar year better promote rate stability. 2023-00258
The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority is due to receive proposals for a $12 million funding opportunity to support the development and demonstration of innovative, replicable solutions that advance electric vehicle adoption and integration with the electric grid. The initiative seeks innovative demonstrations of medium- and heavy-duty electric and hydrogen fuel cell technologies. The competitive grant aims to advance EV charging infrastructure and reduce grid integration costs, improve the economics of EV ownership for consumers, and demonstrate medium- and heavy-duty vehicle electrification through fuel-cell EVs or standard battery operated vehicles. The opportunity will award up to $3 million for product development and demonstrations of technologies and business models that help reduce energy demand peaks and provide grid benefits that lower the overall cost of necessary electric grid infrastructure upgrades. READ MORE
The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority is due to receive stakeholder input in response to a request for information ahead of its first solicitation focused exclusively on offshore wind supply chain development. The RFI seeks feedback on the structure of a forthcoming solicitation for an Offshore Wind Supply Chain Investment Plan, which will make the second phase of funding available from $500 million allotted by the legislature in the 2022 state budget for investments in offshore wind ports, manufacturing, and related supply chain infrastructure. The first phase of this funding has been made available as part of the state’s third offshore wind solicitation. Supply chain has a critical role in achieving New York’s goal of installing 9,000 megawatts of offshore wind by 2035.
The Iowa Utilities Board will hold a hearing on Summit Carbon Solutions LLC’s proposed carbon dioxide pipeline, including testimony of landowners subject to eminent domain. The public hearing proceeding for the proposed project began in August for the presentation of evidence and the cross-examination of witnesses. The board will hear testimony from non-intervening eminent domain landowners and other witnesses who have yet to testify. The proposed route for the pipeline network would carry carbon dioxide from more than 30 ethanol plants across Iowa, Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Nebraska and channel it to North Dakota for underground storage. READ MORE
The Washington Department of Ecology is due to receive applications for participation in its fourth greenhouse gas allowance auction, which will offer allowances for current and future years. The current auction will offer 2023 vintage allowances totaling about 7.1 million and the advance auction will offer 2026 vintage allowances totaling about 2.5 million. The auction is scheduled for Dec. 6.
The California Energy Commission is due to receive comments on its EVSE Deployment and Grid Evaluation, or EDGE, tool, an online tool designed to highlight areas where new electric vehicle charging load is expected to grow through time. The online visualization platform is designed to help users identify candidate locations throughout the state for the deployment of EV charging infrastructure projects and help prioritize associated behind-the-meter equipment investments. The commission demonstrated the functionality of the tool at a recently held workshop. 19-AB-2127
