Conundrum, Gas Cap(ture), Hard Cards, Maaaybe, & State's Rights or Wrong
Greenway Steel
Greenway Steel provides solutions in support of metals and manufacturing supply chain sustainability.
A Conundrum Using One Cautionary Tale
Greenway Steel is a carbon-conscious energy efficient solutions company that believes the best path to energy dominance is through the considered, cost-effective and environmentally intelligent deployment of all available energy resources on God’s green Earth. ?
We’re laser focused on energy efficiency and intensity, because…
We all gotta live here, see? There is no Planet B, contrary to what folks have been predicting for planet Mars. And that simple truth is going to be larger and more long-lived than any one political movement or administration.
As our feature story below shows, we likely cannot afford a “start /stop /start /pause/ start/ stop" approach to energy solutions that are presenting new answers to old questions. Solar, battery, wind, geothermal, small module nuclear (SMR) and DRI steelmaking are all trending downward in their costs as technology advances upward in its potential, capability, and accessibility.
We specifically left “Hydrogen” off our list so you would consider reading this illuminating story about how traditional oil, gas and energy interests have teamed up with renewable energy concerns and are already lobbying the new Trump administration to protect green hydrogen development credits.
In a letter with more than 100 signatories, industry groups representing oil-and-gas companies, renewable power companies and chemicals firms pushed the House, Senate and Trump administration to keep the 45V tax credit, which is dedicated to creating hydrogen as a fuel source in the U.S.?
Gas Class — A Planned Pipeline Project May Provide A Lesson In Carbon Capture
?Alaska Gasline Development Corporation (AGDC), the developer of a liquefied natural gas (LNG) project in the U.S. northernmost state, has signed a framework agreement with compatriot energy player Glenfarne Group for privately lead project funding and development.
A deal that’s been 10 years in the making, the significant LNG pipeline project will transect the state, and will include carbon capture technology at the primary processing facility.
The treatment plant will be proximal to Prudhoe Bay near existing oil and gas infrastructure in Alaska. The plant would be comprised of three process trains to remove impurities from the natural gas that could flow from the Point Thomson and Prudhoe Bay reservoirs.
Carbon dioxide would be removed, captured, and compressed for reinjection into the Prudhoe Bay reservoirs. Read the full story on the Offshore Energy Website
Dirty And Down.?
SCOTUS deals hard cards to pollution misinformation from fossil fuel companies.
In a landmark decision, the U.S. Supreme Court voted to allow Honolulu officials to proceed with a lawsuit against the fuel industry for an alleged decades-long misinformation campaign.
The decision comes almost five years after the city and county of Honolulu, as well as the Honolulu Board of Water Supply, sued Sunoco and Shell along with 15 other energy companies for infringements of state law.
The lawsuit accuses Sunoco, Shell, and 15 other energy companies of creating a public nuisance and failing to warn the public of the risks posed by their products, with the recent Supreme Court decision denying the oil companies' appeal to block the case.
?The decision marks the?fourth time?since 2023 that the U.S. Supreme Court has dealt rags and rejected petitions by the fuel industry to obstruct cases alleging public deception about its products' role in the climate crisis.
But Wait--Big Energy Makes Their Inside Straight In New Jersey.
A state superior court judge?dismissed the state’s lawsuit?that sought to hold major oil companies financially accountable for alleged greenwashing practices and accelerating climate change, according to a ruling issued last week.
The Judge ruled that New Jersey’s climate-related claims were preempted by federal law as state law cannot govern disputes over the impact of climate change.
A thought that crossed our mind …
for consideration after re-reading the story in our TECHNOLOGY section above:
?We’ve not ever been believers that raw materials could be transported across the ocean to another country to be produced into steel … that is then transported back across the ocean – all done at lower costs. Priced cheaper, maybe, but that price reflects significant government subsidies and likely too, far less environmental considerations.
Is that idea similar to drilling for natural gas in the Arctic, transporting it across vast, challenging countryside in new pipelines, compressing it, and then shipping it across oceans? Are we really saying that’s a lower cost alternative to simply having wind turbines and solar where the energy is needed?
Maybe. But then again, maybe not.
State’s Rights:? Are they or aren’t they?
Ever since the 60’s with initial auto emissions laws driven by L.A. smog having been passed in California, the state’s laws have received waivers from the EPA to be enacted. The current administration’s EPA is?sending rules to Congress for approval?that would eliminate not only the existing waivers for Clean Trucks legislation (and too, EV’s), but also future waivers as well.?
(The current administration is insisting California’s waivers receive Congressional review as required by law — the article linked above explains it really well!)
Irony can be pretty ironic sometimes. - Leslie Nielsen, "AIRPLANE!"
However, given the 108 executive actions taken in the first month of this administration (73 Executive Orders, 23 Proclamations and 12 Memorandums), the irony of hanging the hat of this particular requirement on “Congressional Review” is glaring given the absence of such review for a significant number of these executive actions.
At any rate, trucking associations?generally support this action?given concerns for the price of zero emissions vehicles, their availability, and no surprise, insufficient charging networks. This is all a great example of balancing regulations with practical reality. Or, equally important, balancing the need for regulations with the efficiency of free markets.
It does beg an interesting question for California — a state that would represent the world’s fifth or sixth largest economy if it were an actual country.
Are States Rights "pick and choose" based on what they choose?
Let's hope we can have that discussion in earnest.
Call it what you will -- carbon footprint calculation and sustainability solutions are much, much more than a numbers game.
-- END Issue 14; Vol. 2, 2-22-25 --?