The shadow over solar- POLITICO – POLITICO

With help from Daniel Lippman.

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The Commerce Department's probe into Southeast Asian solar imports could keep fossil fuels on the grid longer, undermining President Joe Biden's climate goals.

CEQ Chair Brenda Mallory testifies before the Senate Wednesday.

House and Senate committees continue to examine Biden's budget requests this week, including for the Agriculture Department and DOE's science and energy programs.

WELCOME TO MONDAY! Im your host, Matthew Choi, still dragging my feet through Covid. Martin Edwards of Taft Advisors gets the trivia for knowing The Inn at Little Washington is the only restaurant in the D.C. area with three Michelin stars, but it was great to hear from so many foodies! For today: Which NSYNC member voiced Chip Skylark in The Fairly Odd Parents? Send your tips, trivia answers and restaurant recs to [emailprotected]. Find me on Twitter @matthewchoi2018.

Check out the POLITICO Energy podcast all the energy and environmental politics and policy news you need to start your day, in just five minutes. Listen and subscribe for free at politico.com/energy-podcast. On today's episode: How renewables can grow in fossil fuel-dependent states.

A SOLAR SHOWDOWN COULD LEAD TO A RENEWABLE SLOWDOWN: Solar power has enjoyed meteoric growth over the past 10 years, with lower-than-expected prices incentivizing development and even changing models away from fossil fuel baseload generation toward a more central role for renewables. But all that could change with a Commerce Department probe into the solar supply chain chilling investment in new projects, POLITICOs Kelsey Tamborrino and Catherine Morehouse report.

Its just the math, said Richard McMahon, senior vice president of energy supply and finance at the Edison Electric Institute. You need to maintain reliability on the grid and if you cant count on those solar projects coming online in a timely way, then you have to get the power from somewhere.

The tariff petition, brought on by small California solar manufacturer Auxin Solar over parts imported from Southeast Asia, already delayed the retirement of a coal plant in Indiana, and utilities, industry groups and analysts warn more fossil fuel generation could stay on line longer as well. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm joined the chorus of concern, telling senators Thursday the country could miss President Joe Bidens goal of decarbonizing the electricity sector by 2035 if the probe isnt resolved quickly. The Solar Energy Industries Association forecasts that going through with the tariff petition could lead to an additional 364 million metric tons of carbon by 2035.

A Commerce Department spokesperson told Kelsey and Catherine that the probe doesnt take into account political considerations and Commerce is committed to holding foreign producers accountable to playing by the same rules as U.S. producers. And Auxin Solar CEO Mamun Rashid said in a statement that industry concern over the supply chain crystallizes the need to completely on-shore the solar supply chain and to stop putting our countrys clean energy future in the hands of the Chinese. Read more from Kelsey and Catherine here.

RELATED READ: Zooming out for a 10,000-foot view of the Biden administrations trade policy, POLITICOs Gavin Bade takes a deep dive into the shifting politics of global trade as the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the economic pain of pandemic supply chain disruptions turn past assumptions on trade on their head.

As Gavin puts it: Trumps election in 2016 transformed a pro-globalization GOP and shocked Democrats into refocusing on working class voters hurt by trade deals. Then, shortages of masks and medical gear early in the Covid pandemic revealed the danger of Americas reliance on China. The supply chain crunches and inflation of the late pandemic disproved the thesis that free trade always lowers consumer prices. And then Russia destroyed the postwar European peace that all the free trade was supposed to support ushering in a new era of world politics."

IN COMMITTEE: Welcome back to another busy week on the Hill. White House Council on Environmental Quality Brenda Mallory heads before the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee on Wednesday to discuss the councils work over the past year. The oversight hearing comes as CEQ continues work on its Justice40 screener to determine communities eligible for greater environmental prioritization. The White House announced Jalonne White-Newsome would take charge of CEQ's environmental justice work Thursday.

Both chambers continue to tackle the presidents budget request this week, with a Senate Appropriations subcommittee meeting Tuesday to go over the Department of Agricultures budget and a House Appropriations subcommittee meeting Tuesday for the Transportation Department's proposal.

The House Appropriations Energy and Water Development Subcommittee meets Wednesday to go over the budget request for the National Nuclear Security Administration and environmental management, and itll meet Thursday to go over DOEs science and energy programs.

Also on Thursday, the House Energy and Commerce Committee will dive into licensing reforms for hydropower, particularly proposals between environmentalists and the industry to create sustainable generation as waterways degrade from climate change.

On the legislation front: the House Natural Resources has a few subcommittee hearings this week including a Thursday Energy and Mineral Resources Subcommittee meeting on reforming the Mine Act of 1872. House Natural Resources Chair Ral Grijalva is leading legislation, The Clean Energy Minerals Reform Act (H.R. 7580), in the House to update hardrock mining legislation, particularly as elements such as copper, lithium and nickel grow in importance amid the clean energy transition. Sen. Martin Heinrich is leading companion legislation in the Senate.

The Water, Oceans and Wildlife Subcommittee and the Subcommittee on Indigenous Peoples also have legislative hearings on Thursday on a number of bills in their jurisdiction, including the WaterSMART Access for Tribes Act (H.R. 6238) to increase tribal water conservation grants and the Desalination Research Advancement Act (H.R. 7612) to promote desalination innovation. The National Parks, Forests, and Public Lands Subcommittee has a hearing on Wednesday on four recreation and forestry bills. The Senate Energy National Parks Subcommittee will also hear testimony on a series of national parks and federal lands bills Wednesday.

A message from ExxonMobil:

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BIDENS HOSTING AGENDA: Biden will host Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi at the White House on Tuesday to discuss both European sanctions on Russia (more on that in a bit) and ways to ensure European energy security. Before the invasion of Ukraine, Italy was one of Russias top natural gas customers. But it has since made moves to cut down on its reliance on Moscow, looking at other suppliers including Algeria.

Biden will also host ASEAN leaders at the White House for dinner Thursday, followed by a summit Friday at the State Department. ASEAN members Indonesia and Malaysia are among the worlds top natural gas producers.

RENEWED TSA CHIEF: Biden plans to nominate David Pekoske for another stint leading the Transportation Security Administration, the White House announced Friday. The agencys role in overseeing pipeline security has come under increased scrutiny since the Colonial Pipeline cyberattack last year and TSAs contentious cybersecurity standards earlier this year. Pekoske was first confirmed for the job in 2017, but left briefly for stints with the Department of Homeland Security, including serving as acting secretary and acting deputy secretary during the Colonial hack. POLITICOs Oriana Pawlyk has more.

THE CENTRAL EUROPEAN EXCEPTION: European negotiators are still working out a deal on sanctioning Russian oil without tanking the economies of some of their more Moscow-reliant states. Negotiators put forth a proposal that would give Hungary and Slovakia until the end of 2024 and the Czech Republic until the summer of 2024 to comply with the EU-wide sunset of Russian oil imports, POLITICOs Jacopo Barigazzi reports.

But negotiators couldnt reach a deal over the weekend after the Hungarian government continued to object. One diplomat told Jacopo and POLITICOs Leonie Kijewski: They want something like a total opt-out. But that's crazy. Talks are expected to resume today or Tuesday.

G-7 members who include EU members France, Germany and Italy committed to phasing out or banning the import of Russian oil during a meeting Sunday, the White House announced. The members met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and "committed to work together to ensure stable global energy supplies, while accelerating our efforts to reduce dependence on fossil fuels."

WARMING WARNING IN CALIFORNIA: Climate change could spell more power outages in California this summer, the California Energy Commission warned Friday. Increased demand for air conditioning brought on by heatwaves, wildfire damage to transmission and growing cost of natural gas could all spell outages and we have to be prepared for that, Mark Rothleder, senior vice president for the California Independent System Operator, said according to The New York Times. The states energy officials made the assessment during a presentation Friday, where they warned electric bills would likely shoot up, with the average Pacific Gas & Electric customer paying 9 percent more by 2025. Read more from the Times here.

Related: Electricity Shortage Warnings Grow Across U.S, via The Wall Street Journal.

Max Levy is now deputy digital director for fundraising at Stacey Abrams' Georgia gubernatorial campaign. He most recently was manager for partnerships and special projects at the EPA.

Billionaire George Kaisers Bank Drills Deeper Into the Oil Patch, via The Wall Street Journal.

Conservatives urge Ottawa to intervene in new threat to Enbridges Line 5 pipeline from Indigenous band in Wisconsin, via The Globe and Mail.

Canada in talks with Repsol, Pieridae Energy about LNG export terminals, via Reuters.

Energy Stocks Still Have Gas in the Tank, via The Wall Street Journal.

Giving old dams new life could spark an energy boom, via The Washington Post.

THATS ALL FOR ME!

A message from ExxonMobil:

Energy and innovation. Were producing both.

At ExxonMobil, were working to supply the energy the world needs and were committed to playing a leading role in societys transition to a lower-emission future.

With partners around the globe, were working to develop renewable diesel derived from plants, advanced biofuels made from wood waste, and eFuel made with hydrogen and captured CO2. One day, these engine-ready fuels could power cars, trucks, and even planes and ships with up to 85% fewer emissions compared to conventional diesel.

Learn more about how we are advancing climate solutions to keep society moving toward net zero atExxonMobil.com/fuels.

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