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Biden signed an exec order to boost AI infrastructure and clean energy while restricting Chinese exports and cracking down on offshore drilling.

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President Joe Biden signed an executive order Tuesday, just six days before he leaves office, that aims to bolster the United States’ artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure and “accelerate the clean energy transition.” [emphasis, links added]

The executive order directs the Department of Defense (DOD) and the Department of Energy (DOE) to lease federal property to the private sector to build “gigawatt-scale” AI data centers while enlisting the Department of the Interior to “identify lands it manages that are suitable for clean energy.”

The move is the latest in a series of last-minute advances for the president’s green energy agenda, which includes a newly announced crackdown for future offshore oil and gas drilling.

“This Executive Order will direct the Department of Defense and the Department of Energy to lease federal sites where the private sector can build frontier AI infrastructure at speed and scale,” the official White House statement reads.

“These efforts are designed to accelerate the clean energy transition in a way that is responsible and respectful to local communities, and in a way that does not impose any new costs on American families.”

The order defines “clean energy generation resources” as geothermal, nuclear fission and fusion, solar, wind, hydroelectric, hydrokinetic, and marine energy — or any energy source that produces “few or no emissions of carbon dioxide.”

The energy consumed while training large language models (LLMs) has long been a concern for climate activists, who point out that AI and cryptocurrency data centers accounted for nearly 2% of global energy consumption in 2022 — a figure that could double by 2026, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA).

The White House also called the development of U.S. AI infrastructure a “national security imperative” in the statement, emphasizing the need to prevent adversaries from harnessing the “powerful systems.” …snip…

Biden also announced Monday a new restriction on advanced semiconductor exports, which aims to prevent countries like China from training advanced LLMs.

The executive order is another eleventh-hour move in what appears to be an effort to stymy President-elect Donald Trump’s energy agenda, which is expected to include a vast expansion of oil and gas drilling on federal lands and waters.

Read full post at Daily Caller

 

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The Russian Defense Ministry has givben details of Wednesday’s attack on Kiev’s energy infrastructure

 

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“Integrated LNG results are expected to benefit from a 6 percent increase in production, LNG realizations above $10/MMBtu and stronger gas trading that is back to the performance of the fourth quarter 2023,” TotalEnergies said on Thursday.

The company’s integrated LNG adjusted net income reached about $1.46 billion in the fourth quarter of 2023, while it reached about $1.06 billion in the third quarter of 2024, a drop of 8 percent year-on-year and 7.7 percent compared to the previous month.

During the third quarter, TotalEnergies sold 9.5 million tonnes of LNG, down 9.5 percent compared to 10.5 million tonnes in the same period last year, but up 8 percent compared to 8.8 million tonnes in the prior quarter.

Hydrocarbon production for LNG, excluding Novatek, was up 7 percent quarter-to-quarter to 464 kboe/d, reflecting lower unplanned shutdowns.

TotalEnergies said its hydrocarbon production in the fourth quarter of 2024 is anticipated to increase “slightly, within the quarterly guidance range (2.4 and 2.45 Mboe/d).”

Exploration and production results are expected to reflect the $5/b decrease in oil prices, partially compensated by higher gas realizations, according to the firm.

TotalEnergies reported a rise in its average price for equity LNG sales in the fourth quarter of last year.

The French firm said the average LNG price was $10.37/MMBtu in the October-December period, a rise of 0.9 percent compared to $10.28/MMBtu in the same quarter in 2023.

The average price also rose compared to $9.91/MMBtu in the third quarter, $9.32/MMBtu in the second quarter, and $9.58/MMBtu in the first quarter of 2024.

TotalEnergies plans to release its results for the fourth quarter and full year 2024 on February 2, 2025.

 

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MET revealed this on Thursday announcing its entry into the Czech market through its Prague-based subsidiary MET Česká Republika.

As a first step, the company will focus on supporting Czech wholesale energy market participants, such as large energy-intensive industrial companies and utilities – with an aim of offering its services to smaller customers and households at a later stage.

The newly established MET subsidiary in the Czech Republic has already received the necessary licenses for power and gas trading.

MET has been active in the country before: as part of its international operations, the group has recently delivered regasified LNG to the Czech market on the basis of its import capacities booked in Germany.

In the Czech Republic, the coal-to-gas switch in particular will be of great importance in the coming years in order to reduce emissions, according to MET.

MET did not provide further information regarding the first delivery of regasified LNG to the Czech market.

The group previously booked regasification capacities at the FSRU-based LNG import terminal in Germany’s Lubmin, owned by Deutsche ReGas.

This FSRU is now part of the Mukran LNG import facility which includes two units.

MET noted in the statement it recently secured long-term LNG supply agreements from the United States, adding that it has one of the “most diversified” LNG import structures from a geographical perspective in Europe.

Last year, the company entered into a 10-year deal to buy US LNG volumes from LNG giant Shell.

Before this contract, MET entered in September 2023 into a 20-year non-binding deal with US LNG terminal developer Commonwealth LNG to buy 1 mtpa of LNG from the proposed 9.3 mtpa plant in Cameron, Louisiana.

“Natural gas and LNG will continue to play a role in securing energy supplies for Europe as it represents the fossil fuel with the lowest carbon footprint and – as a bridge fuel – it also backs up weather-dependent renewable energy sources,” MET said.

 

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Novatek said in its preliminary report issued on Thursday that the company’s natural gas sales reached 77.76 bcm in 2024.

This compares to 78.63 bcm in 2023, which makes a rise of 2.7 percent year-on-year.

Novatek did not break down the 2024 gas sales just to LNG, as it had done in the previous five quarterly reports.

Novatel reported a 47.3 percent rise in its LNG sales to 3.24 bcm in the second quarter of 2023, while Novatek’s LNG volumes rose 60 percent to 2.97 bcm in the first quarter.

Novatek’s gas production rose 2.1 percent to 84.08 bcm in 2024.

In 2024, hydrocarbon production totaled 667 million barrels of oil equivalent (mmboe), including 13.8 million tons of liquid hydrocarbons (gas condensate and crude oil), resulting in an increase in total hydrocarbons produced by 21.6 mmboe, or by 3.3 percent as compared with the twelve months 2023.

As of December 31, 2024, Novatek had 1.3 bcm of natural gas, including LNG, and 2.0 mmt of stable gas condensate and petroleum products in storage or transit and recognized as inventory.

Novatek currently exports LNG via its 17.4 mtpa Yamal LNG plant and the mid-scale facility in Vysotsk with a nameplate capacity of 660,000 tons.

In addition, Novatek is working on the sanctioned Arctic LNG-2 export plant, but reports suggest that the company is not producing LNG at this facility due to sanctions by the US and the EU related to the project.

In August 2024, Novatek delivered the second gravity-based structure platform from its yard near Murmansk to the site of the Arctic LNG 2 project located on the Gydan peninsula.

The company completed the second GBS despite sanctions.

The first GBS left the Belokamenka yard in July 2023 and Novatek completed the installation on the underbase foundation on the seabed at the Utrenniy terminal in August.

The first and second GBS each have a capacity of about 6.6 mtpa.

 

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The International Energy Agency had earlier warned that US restrictions could disrupt global supply chains

 

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Two major projects in Scotland will be getting 2GWh of storage to help the grid despatch renewable power.

Canadian Solar announced that its subsidiary e-STORAGE, will deliver battery energy storage systems for two major projects in Scotland.

The planned Coalburn 2 will be situated in South Lanarkshire on the former Broken Cross opencast coal mine, it is expected to be Europe’s biggest battery farm once open.

e-STORAGE will also supply battery storage to the 1 GWh Devilla project in Fife. Both will feature two-hour energy dispatch capability and are set to begin construction in 2027.

The giant batteries will be charged with excess power from Scottish wind farms and the energy will be used during times of high electricity demand.

The systems will provide enough energy to power 250,000 homes for a full day, enhancing grid stability and supporting the UK’s clean energy transition.

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Two community-based geothermal pilot projects, each led by equity-focused nonprofits, have advanced to the second phase of funding through a U.S. Department of Energy program. 

Blacks in Green, a community organization based in Chicago, and Home Energy Efficiency Team, a Boston-based nonprofit dedicated to promoting an equitable transition to clean energy, were included last week in a set of five projects across the country that have been awarded a total of more than $35 million from the DOE’s Geothermal Technologies Office to implement geothermal installations.

The five project teams advancing to the next phase of the DOE project were among a cohort of 11 projects participating in the initial phase of the program, where coalitions selected project sites, assessed geothermal resource and permitting needs, conducted feasibility analysis and local engagement, and identified workforce and training needs. The selected projects’ range of sizes, technologies, and innovations will provide potential templates for other communities considering implementing geothermal systems. 

Three of the five projects are located in urban or suburban areas; two are in rural communities. The other three recipients are the city of Ann Arbor, Michigan; the University of Oklahoma, for a project in the town of Shawnee; and GTI Energy, for a project in Hinesburg, Vermont. 

Blacks in Green, located in West Woodlawn, a predominantly Black community on Chicago’s South Side, serves as the lead for a coalition which was awarded $9.9 million for its Sustainable Chicago Geothermal pilot. Other coalition partners are the City of Chicago, University of Illinois, The Accelerate Group, Citizens Utility Board, Climate Jobs Illinois, dbHMS, GeoExchange, and Illinois AFL-CIO.

The pilot, also located in West Woodlawn, utilizes alleys to circumvent the need for vast open plots for subterranean loop fields that form the heart of a geothermal array. Locating the bulk of geothermal loop lines in alleyways also sidesteps the underground congestion of existing utility infrastructure typically located underneath city streets.

It’s among an assortment of elements in the Sustainable Square Mile approach that advances BIG’s vision for energy justice through clean energy and microgrid/VPP systems owned and managed by the community, said Naomi Davis, BIG’s founder and CEO.

“BIG launched in 2007 with a goal of increasing household income and community resilience against the harms of climate crisis at neighborhood scale using the new green economy — so we’re grateful for this chance to make it manifest,” Davis said in a news release. 

Along with installation of the needed infrastructure within the multiblock footprint, year two of the West Woodlawn project will focus on community outreach and job programs. Once construction is complete, the geothermal system will provide heating and cooling, not to mention lower utility bills, for potentially more than 200 households. 

“The Sustainable Chicago Geothermal project will be a transformational investment in the West Woodlawn community. The effort to eliminate harmful emissions from homes and businesses, while lowering energy burden, has proven to be a community-wide challenge, and requires a community-wide solution,” said Andrew Barbeau, president of The Accelerate Group and principal investigator of the Blacks in Green project, in a news release. 

The need to reconstruct the alleyways after installation of the geothermal array also presents the opportunity to replace asphalt or concrete with permeable pavers. This would work to promote climate resiliency through mitigation of urban flooding, a persistent occurrence in many of Chicago’s South and West Side communities, said Nuri Madina, the director of Sustainable Square Mile, who serves as point person for the pilot.

“All of our programs are designed to create multiple benefits,” Madina told the Energy News Network in September.

Home Energy Efficiency Team, commonly referred to by the acronym HEET, in partnership with Eversource Energy; the city of Framingham, Massachusetts; and engineering consultant Salas O’Brien; was awarded $7.8 million toward construction of a utility-based,community-scale geothermal system.

“We are honored to receive this funding from the DOE’s Geothermal Technologies Office as part of the Community Geothermal Heating and Cooling initiative, and to show how geothermal energy networks can be interconnected to increase efficiency, build resilience, and decarbonize at the scale and speed we need to achieve our climate goals,” said Zeyneb Magavi, executive director for HEET, in a news release.

The proposed plans by HEET and its partners would connect to the first Framingham geothermal network, which was commissioned earlier this year. Once approved by the state Department of Public Utilities and upon completion, it would represent the first utility-owned community geothermal network to connect to an adjacent operational loop, establishing guidelines for the interconnection and growth of geothermal networks. 

“This innovative project not only showcases Framingham’s commitment to sustainable energy solutions but also sets a precedent for other communities across the nation. By harnessing the natural heat from the earth, we are taking a significant step towards reducing our carbon footprint and promoting renewable energy sources. Our collaboration with HEET and Eversource exemplifies the power of partnerships in driving forward clean energy initiatives,” said Framingham Mayor Charlie Sisitsky in a news release. 

The HEET-led program operates on the principle that utility-scale geothermal systems could operate on a billing model similar to that of natural gas or electrical utilities, and ultimately replace them, Magavi the Energy News Network in October 2022.

“So instead of feeding natural gas into these buildings, we could feed geothermal water,” Magavi said. “And then we could meter that and sell that. It’s no different than when you pay your water bill.”

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Ohio environmental advocates are questioning the intent of a pending state law that would add nuclear power to the state’s legal definition of “green” energy.

House Bill 308’s sponsors say the legislation is meant to signal that Ohio is open for business when it comes to nuclear power research and development, but critics warn the language could have broader implications in the future.

“Legislators don’t just put something into the code unless it has meaning and purpose and value,” said Megan Hunter, an attorney with Earthjustice, one of several environmental groups challenging a similar 2022 state law that classified natural gas as a “green” energy source. “Why would you do this if it has no impact or meaning or effect?”

Critics fear the language could be used to greenwash power plants or divert public funding from renewable energy projects, though the bill’s sponsors deny that motive.

“It doesn’t promise any incentives or anything beyond simply placing nuclear under the category of green energy in the Ohio Revised Code,” said state Rep. Sean Brennan, a Democrat from Parma who co-sponsored the nuclear legislation with Republican state Rep. Dick Stein of Norwalk. 

The General Assembly passed the nuclear legislation on Dec. 11. As of Thursday it was awaiting Gov. Mike DeWine’s signature.

Brennan said the question of why the language should be in a law instead of just a resolution didn’t come up in discussions with Stein, who initially asked him to cosponsor the bill.

Stein said the legislation is “about sending a signal to the market that Ohio wants to be a partner and won’t be an impediment,” in contrast to other states that don’t want nuclear energy. He said he hopes it will help attract jobs and federal funding, building on last year’s creation of a state nuclear development authority.

Stein would not speculate on follow-up steps lawmakers might take, saying his term in the House of Representatives ends this month.

Ohio does not currently have state incentives or policy preferences for “green” energy. The state’s renewable energy standard essentially ended in 2019 as a result of House Bill 6, the coal and nuclear bailout law at the heart of the state’s ongoing corruption scandal. Opponents testifying against the current legislation, though, said they worry the definition will be used to water down future clean energy policies. 

“HB 308 will enable the manipulation of public funds into private, corporate hands,” said Pat Marida, a coordinator for the Ohio Nuclear-Free Network, in her December 13 testimony. Also, she said, “there is nothing ‘green’ about nuclear power,” referring to radioactive waste, which continues to be stored at power plant sites.

Future state programs might offer funding or other advantages for projects that meet the state’s definition of “green” energy, for example. And even if the definition doesn’t open doors to new government funding, it could provide cover to private companies that want to count gas and nuclear energy toward their climate or clean energy targets, another advocate warned.

“Insidiously, it does potentially become important,” said Nathan Alley, conservation manager for the Sierra Club of Ohio. Many companies have adopted clean energy goals, he noted. “This might telegraph to them that they could invest in nuclear energy and achieve the same climate and/or energy goals as if they invest in solar or wind.”

Ohio lawmakers aren’t the only ones who want to define natural gas and nuclear power as “green energy.” Model legislation finalized by the American Legislative Exchange Council this fall does the same thing. ALEC is a Koch-linked group that has long opposed renewable energy and actions to address climate change.

ALEC’s model bill would have its definition “apply to all programs in the state that fund any ‘green energy’ or ‘clean energy’ initiatives.” Another model ALEC bill would define nuclear energy as “clean energy” and put it on a par with renewable energy.

A coalition of environmental groups is currently challenging House Bill 507, Ohio’s 2022 law that labeled natural gas as “green energy,” arguing in court that the way in which it was passed violated the state constitution. The groups say last-minute amendments violated provisions that require bills to deal with a single subject – the initial two-page bill dealt with chickens – and call for at least three hearings in each house of the General Assembly where lawmakers can hear testimony from supporters and opponents.

That lawsuit has been briefed and is currently awaiting a decision from Judge Kimberly Cocroft at the Franklin County Court of Common Pleas. HB 308 should not affect that case, said Hunter and Alley.

As with HB 507, though, lawmakers added last-minute amendments to HB 308. One of those would extend lease terms for drilling under state park and wildlife areas from three years to five years. That was unacceptable to Brennan, who voted against the Senate amendments when it came back to the Ohio House.

Still, he supports what he views as the main purpose of the legislation: attracting more nuclear power to Ohio. In his view, solar and wind won’t be enough to meet growing energy demands while shifting away from fossil fuels in order to address climate change. “I believe nuclear is going to be hugely important for our energy independence, and hopefully Ohio will become an exporter of electricity in the future.”

Hunter wasn’t surprised that lawmakers made last-minute amendments to the bill. For her, it shows the importance of the ongoing litigation over HB 507.

“Those constitutional protections are there for a reason,” she said. “And seeing the General Assembly have blatant disregard for them again and again harms Ohioans. It deprives them of these constitutional rights.”

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