|
| | | |  |
| By Arianna Skibell |
| Presented by |
 | | |
|
 Demonstrators protest on April 3, 2013, in San Francisco. | Getty Images | Donald Trump plans to revive the Keystone XL oil pipeline on his first day in office — but it may not make a difference for the long-shuttered 1,200-mile project.
No companies are trying to build the project, its studs were dug up years ago and key easements were returned to landowners. Any company looking to build the multibillion-dollar endeavor would need to start from scratch (and likely face the widespread public opposition and protests that have dogged the pipeline since its conception). That’s more or less beside the point, people familiar with the president-elect’s plans told Ben Lefebvre. Declaring the Keystone XL project back from the dead — even if it’s unlikely to be built — drives home the pro-fossil fuel message Trump delivered during his campaign. “Everyone in the country knows what the KXL pipeline is,” said one of three people who spoke with Ben on the condition of anonymity to discuss private conversations. “It’s energy. It’s infrastructure. It’s construction.”
It’s also quite possibly a pipe dream. Restarting the project would require that a company again acquires land for the pipeline route, said Jane Kleeb, chair of the Nebraska Democratic Party and head of Bold Alliance, a progressive group that fought against Keystone XL the first time around. That would likely anger landowners who thought they had finally escaped their property being taken through eminent domain.
“When the federal permit got revoked, we just didn’t celebrate — we went all the way through the court system to make sure the easements were returned to landowners” in Nebraska, Kleeb told Ben.
The Keystone XL pipeline was initially designed to transport up to 830,000 barrels of Canadian tar sands crude oil daily from Alberta to refineries on the Gulf Coast of Texas. The proposal enraged environmentalists in part because tar sands oil is more corrosive than conventional crude, increasing the risk of a pipeline leak. The oil was also set to be extracted from Canada’s boreal forest, already the site of the world’s most destructive oil operation, which Indigenous people have been fighting for years. There’s also the matter of the markets. President Joe Biden reversed Trump’s 2017 approval of the pipeline by revoking the project’s cross-border permit on his first day in office in January 2021. That pushed the developer, TC Energy, to abandon the effort. Since then, U.S. oil output has surged to record levels, undercutting the economic argument for spending billions to transport Canadian crude to the Gulf Coast. Still, never say never. Many thought the long-embattled Mountain Valley Pipeline was all but doomed, but developers managed to secure a guarantee for its completion after Biden’s Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm, of all people, threw her support behind it.
| | | It's Thursday — thank you for tuning in to POLITICO's Power Switch. I'm your host, Arianna Skibell. Power Switch is brought to you by the journalists behind E&E News and POLITICO Energy. Send your tips, comments, questions to askibell@eenews.net.
| | | | A message from Gevo:
American-made sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) will strengthen domestic energy security and bolster the rural economy. In South Dakota, Gevo’s Net-Zero 1 SAF facility will create new opportunities for local workers, farmers, and residents – delivering an estimated $116 million in annual value for the local economy. Net-Zero 1 is a critical step in ensuring the long-term competitiveness of American agriculture, energy, and aviation. Learn more. | | | | | | Today in POLITICO Energy’s podcast: Kelsey Tamborrino and Jessie Blaeser break down why the clock is ticking for one of Biden's signature climate initiatives.
| | |
 Then-Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) at the U.S. Capitol on May 6. | Francis Chung/POLITICO |
Reality check: Donald Trump is not a monarch
Matt Gaetz announced today he is withdrawing his name from consideration as Trump's pick for attorney general, showcasing that the president-elect's power over his GOP allies has limits, writes Kyle Cheney. Trump's choice of the former Republican lawmaker from Florida to lead the Department of Justice had raised the ire of environmental groups that are poised to fight the administration in court over the next four years, writes Pamela King. It also apparently ticked off Senate Republicans, who met with Gaetz shortly before his withdrawal — a signal the GOP lawmakers would not support his nomination. A soft spot for geothermal
Trump’s pick for Energy secretary Chris Wright has spent years claiming fossil fuels can combat poverty, improve women’s rights and increase American productivity, write Scott Waldman and Benjamin Storrow. Yet even as he has downplayed the consequences of a warming planet, the fracking executive has expressed support for low-carbon-emission technologies. His company, Liberty Energy, invested in an advanced geothermal company that uses fracking technology to unlock the Earth’s heat to make power. And Wright sits on the board of a startup developing small modular nuclear reactors. Will Trump back 'clean' hydrogen?
The Energy Department has announced $2.2 billion in new “clean” hydrogen funding, renewing questions about the future of the low-carbon industry after Trump takes office in January, write Carlos Anchondo and Brian Dabbs. While Trump has said little publicly about hydrogen, his campaign website criticizes the fuel as “untested” and “plagued with safety and effectiveness concerns.” Still, it's unclear how much hydrogen and other infrastructure funding could be rescinded administratively or through new legislation in a Republican Congress next year.
| | |
| A message from Gevo:   | | | | | Our news roundup from COP29 in Baku, Azerbaijan
| 
Activists participate in a demonstration for climate finance at COP29 on Thursday, Nov. 21, 2024. | Sergei Grits/AP | Last year, the world pledged to move away from fossil fuels — This year, not so much. Carrying on without the U.S. — A group of countries announced a commitment to “ambitious” new climate plans Thursday, despite one architect of the initiative, the U.S., dropping its support. Europe’s Azerbaijan gas gambit is good news for Russia — Western countries are looking to Azerbaijan to help end their reliance on Moscow’s fossil fuels, striking a string of natural gas agreements during this year’s COP29 climate change talks. That’s not the only irony, though: The deals could ultimately benefit Russia.
| |
| |
Fact check: What Elon Musk and Joe Rogan got very wrong about climate change and meat. Grid cleanup: The biggest grid storage project using old batteries is online in Texas.
| | | | Want to know what's really happening with Congress's make-or-break spending fights? Get daily insider analysis of Hill negotiations, funding deadlines, and breaking developments—free in your inbox with Inside Congress. Subscribe now. | | | | | | |
| |
A showcase of some of our best subscriber content.
| 
A demonstrator waves a Palestinian flag in front of the White House on May 28. | Allison Bailey/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images | The Environmental Protection Agency may withhold $50 million in grant funding from an advocacy group because it has been outspoken in its support for a cease-fire in Gaza. Activists with the group Climate Defiance plan to protest at the Energy Department's Washington headquarters in December to prod the outgoing administration to limit natural gas exports. Exxon Mobil announced it plans to invest more than $200 million in new advanced recycling capabilities in a sign that the oil giant remains bullish on the contested technology. That's it for today, folks! Thanks for reading.
| | | |
Policy Change is Coming: Be prepared, be proactive, be a Pro. POLITICO Pro’s platform has 200,000+ energy regulatory documents from California, New York, and FERC. Leverage our Legislative and Regulatory trackers for comprehensive policy tracking across all industries. Learn more. | | | | | | | |
| A message from Gevo: Sustainable aviation fuel will bolster American energy security and unleash new markets for American farmers. In South Dakota, Gevo’s Net-Zero 1 plant will offer farmers new premiums for their crops as it sources locally grown feedstocks to produce 60 million gallons of SAF per year.
According to research from Charles River Associates, Net-Zero 1 is also projected to create thousands of local jobs at the facility and across the agricultural, manufacturing, and transportation industries, generating more than $100 million in annual economic impact. Learn more about how investments in American-made SAF can strengthen American farmers, energy security, and competitiveness here. | | | | |
| | Follow us on Twitter | | | | Follow us
| | | | |
