June 2022 Corporate Climate Monthly Newsletter

Welcome to the latest issue of Corporate Climate Monthly
from David Gardiner and Associates!

Corporate Climate Monthly
June 2022 Clean Energy Policy and Market Action Alert

Large commercial and institutional buyers are changing the energy landscape as we know it. In the last five years, Fortune 500 companies and other large institutions, such as the military, cities, and universities, have transformed electricity markets by ramping up their purchases of clean energy.

David Gardiner and Associates (DGA) publishes this newsletter monthly to identify and analyze the policy and market trends that define this historic change.

To all our monthly readers,

At DGA, we continue to track developments in the clean energy sector and provide our readers with updates on pertinent state and market news. This month, we focus on on several actions from the Biden Administration on electric vehicles, solar tariffs, and offshore wind, summarize key trends from the Department of Energy’s annual energy jobs and employment report, and highlight a big carbon reduction target from one of the largest electric utilities in the nation.

As always, our team hopes that this monthly review continues to be a useful resource.

Until next month,
Will

June Announcements from the Biden Administration

This month, the White House made several executive actions and announcements that will affect various clean energy sectors. Here is a round-up of recent responses from the Biden-Harris administration in clean energy:

President Biden authorized the Defense Production Act (DPA) to increase funds to accelerate the domestic production of five clean-energy technologies. A few of the technologies are expected to include solar panels and modules for solar installation, transformers and grid components for grid electrification, and electrolyzes and fuel cells for clean hydrogen. As the DPA permits increased economic support towards U.S. national defense, the use of funds for clean energy investment acknowledges the administration's view of climate as a current national security risk. In addition to the increase in the domestic production of solar manufacturing, President Biden declared a two-year pause on tariffs for solar imports from Southeast Asia in order to ensure there is an adequate domestic supply to advance stalled solar-projects.
The administration announced it will partner with 11 East Coast states to support domestic supplies and labor requirements needed for offshore wind advancement. The efforts are expected to support the administration's goal to reach 30 gigawatts of offshore wind capacity, compared to the current 42 megawatts. The White House stated the state partnerships will generate economic support to produce a U.S. offshore wind supply chain and a fleet of specialized vessels needed to service the projects.
The administration proposed new standards within its National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) program to guide states' use of federal funds to develop and deploy EV chargers in compliance with the proposed national charging network. Created by the Joint Departments of Transportation and Energy, the new standards are the second part to previously announced plans from February that allocate $5 billion to states to fund EV chargers in the next five years along highway corridors intended to be accessible to all drivers – regardless of location, EV model or charging operator. The standards will also create coherence within payment options, price accuracy and charger speeds, as conditions currently tend to vary widely across systems. The program comes as part of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law passed in November of last year, that set a goal to construct 500,000 EV charging stations to accelerate the adoption of EV.

What we're reading:

Supreme Court’s EPA Ruling Upends Biden’s Environmental Agenda – Washington Post

U.S. says it will cut costs for clean energy projects on public lands — Reuters

Ameresco to develop solar and storage project at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam — pv magazine USA

DOT proposes rules for national EV charging network, including 97% uptime and 150 kW requirements — Utility Dive

Google Cloud Accelerates Wind Energy Development — Environment and Energy Leader

Southwest Airlines Invests in DOE-Supported Sustainable Fuel Project — Environment and Energy Leader

Top 3 Trends from the 2022 Green Lease Leaders | IMT— Institute for Market Transformation

Fostering Effective Energy Transition 2022 — World Economic Forum

Path to cost-effective hydrogen seems clear, but financing deals remains a challenge, panelists say — Utility Dive

DOE aims to decarbonize heavy industry with $8B hydrogen hub project — Utility Dive

Wind Turbine Planned for Rivian’s Normal Plant to Deliver Vehicles Charged with On-site Renewables — Businesswire

New Infrastructure Law to Provide Billions to Energy Technology Projects —AIP

Energy Jobs Outpace Overall Employment Growth in the U.S.

The Department of Energy (DOE) released their 2022 U.S. Energy and Employment Report (USEER) which tracks employment trends for key technologies and the sector as a whole. They found that after a sharp decline in growth from the COVID-19 pandemic, energy jobs rebounded in 2021 at a rate of 4%, outpacing overall U.S. employment growth which climbed 2.8%. The area with the most notable job growth at 26.2% was electric vehicles, followed by hybrid electric vehicles at 19.7%, solar energy at 5.4%, and wind energy at 2.9%. While the growth of these clean energy jobs is promising, the composition of the sector is not yet on track to meet the U.S. goal of achieving net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. The report found that only 41% of total energy jobs in 2021 were aligned with net-zero. However, as the sector continues to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic and investments in energy infrastructure and diversifying our energy mix increase, employers across all technologies are optimistic about the clean energy jobs growth they will observe in 2022.

IEA Releases 2022 World Energy Investment Analysis

This month, the International Energy Agency (IEA) released their 2022 World Energy Investment report. Their findings project that energy investment will pick up by 8% globally in 2022, influenced by rising costs, economic uncertainty, concern over energy security, and climate mobilization. While this increase in investment extends across the entire energy sector, clean energy investment accounts for almost three-quarters of the overall growth, concentrating mostly in advanced economies and China. IEA highlights the need for more action to increase clean energy investment in emerging and developing economies.

Although IEA finds this growth encouraging, they emphasize it is not sufficient for tackling the multiple dimensions of the current energy crisis. To pave the way towards a cleaner and more secure energy future, rising global demand for energy services must be met with a surge in spending on efficiency, electrification, and low-carbon technologies. To learn more, read IEA's key findings here and press release here.

STATE POLICY AND MARKET NEWS

_______________________

DOE Publishes Clean Hydrogen and Industrial Decarbonization NOI’s

On June 7 DOE announced a Notice of Intent to fund the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law’s $8 billion program to develop regional clean hydrogen hubs across America. The Hubs will create networks of hydrogen producers, consumers, and local connective infrastructure to accelerate the use of hydrogen as a clean energy carrier. The selection of the regional Hubs will utilize cross-office collaboration and consider factors such as environmental justice, community engagement, consent-based siting, equity, and workforce development. You can learn more about the anticipated funding opportunity here.

On June 30 DOE’s Advanced Manufacturing Office put out another Notice of Intent on a funding opportunity announcement (FOA) that will support efforts to decarbonize the U.S. industrial sector and move the U.S. towards a net-zero economy. The FOA covers several decarbonization pathways to energy-intensive industries including chemicals, iron and steel, food and beverage, cement and concrete, paper and forest products, and other cross-sector technologies. The FOA should be made available in August 2022, wherein financial assistance awards will be granted in approximately 24-36 months.

NextEra Sets Carbon-Free Emissions 2045 Target

This month NextEra Energy committed to eliminating scope 1 and scope 2 carbon emissions from its operations by no later than 2045. Labeled ‘Real Zero’, NextEra plans to generate carbon-free energy from a diverse mix of wind, solar, battery storage, nuclear, green hydrogen, and other clean sources. The company set interim milestones every five years, with the goals to reach a carbon emissions reduction rate of 70% by 2025, 82% by 2030, 87% by 2035, and 94% by 2040. The company also developed a Zero Carbon Blueprint to track its Real Zero goals and progress and increase renewable energy deployment.

"Our Real Zero goal to eliminate carbon emissions from our operations is a real goal that would make a significant difference for our customers. We are building on our decades of innovation and investments in low-cost renewable energy to decarbonize our company while keeping bills affordable for our customers. Attaining Real Zero will be one of those achievements that provides lasting value to our customers and the communities where we do business." —John Ketchum, President and CEO, NextEra Energy.

Rhode Island Signs 100% Clean Electricity Law

On June 29, Governor McKee signed into law a bill that requires 100% of Rhode Island’s electricity to be offset by renewable production by 2033 (2022-H 7277A, 2022-S 2274Aaa). This gives Rhode Island the most aggressive renewable energy standard among any U.S. state. Current state law requires annual 1.5 percentage point increases in the amount of electricity sourced by renewables, through the purchase of renewable energy certificates in a regional marketplace. This new statute increases that mandatory percentage-point threshold year-to-year, getting Rhode Island to 100% in the next decade.

UPCOMING EVENTS

August 15-19: American Clean Power Week: Join us as we celebrate American Clean Power Week (ACPW), a nationwide celebration of clean energy and the good-paying jobs the industry creates for Americans across all 50 states. Its purpose is to showcase the clean energy technologies – land-based wind, offshore wind, solar, energy storage, and transmission infrastructure – that are powering homes and businesses, creating good-paying jobs, investing in communities, reducing costs for consumers, and helping to meet our national 100% carbon-free power goal by 2035. To learn more and get involved, visit here.

September 12-14: Smart Energy Decisions Net Zero Forum: Join Smart Energy Decisions in person for their Net Zero Forum in Phoenix, Arizona. This event is devoted to advancing net-zero successes for businesses and offers opportunities to network with peers and conduct business planning sessions with prospective suppliers. Learn more here.

ICYMI

Global Energy Transition 2022: From June 14-15, Reuters brought together CEOs, public sector leaders, and other changemakers from across the world to Brooklyn, New York for Reuter's Global Energy Transition 2022. Attendees learned about the challenges and opportunities for collaboration in delivering net-zero, electrification, the industrial transition, and more. Learn more about the event here.

GreenFin: From June 18-29, Greenbiz convened an audience of sustainability, finance, and investment leaders at GreenFin 22 to share insights and display leading sustainable financial products and services. They live-streamed the keynote sessions from the event and have shared recordings here.

CUSTOMERS CHANGING THE ENERGY LANDSCAPE

Last month, retail chain Kohl’s released its 2021 Environmental Social Governance (ESG) report that details its achievements across these areas for the year. The report highlights the company has achieved a total of 50% reduction in scope 1 and 2 emissions based on its 2014 baseline and has achieved its climate targets four years early. One detail from the report shows its continued support of low-carbon transportation, as it added 45 new EV charging locations in 2021 to create a total of 146. In May, Kohl’s also received the Energy Star Partner of the Year Award for Sustained Excellence from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Department of Energy.

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