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Study to assess benefits of Hartlepool SMR plant

23 May 2024

X-energy and Cavendish Nuclear have commissioned Teesside University to undertake a study of the potential regional benefits and economic impacts of a proposed power plant in Hartlepool, UK, based on X-energy's Xe-100 high temperature gas-cooled reactor.

Hartlepool is now due to operate until 2026 (Image: EDF)

The assessment - including jobs, skills, supply chain contracts, and investment - will be led by Matthew Cotton, Professor of Public Policy and will utilise expertise from Teesside University International Business School and its School of Social Sciences, Humanities & Law. It will include a review of available socio-economic data and engagement with local stakeholders including government officials, community leaders and sector experts.

The study will also examine national impacts, including contributions to meeting the UK government's net-zero targets. This assessment - which will begin immediately and be completed later this year - will include the additional benefits from industrial decarbonisation applications and the manufacture of other clean energy products, such as hydrogen and aviation fuel.

According to X-energy and Cavendish, early estimates indicate a 12-reactor X-energy plant at Hartlepool would "directly employ hundreds of people in operations and a peak construction workforce of several thousand in addition to the employment benefits in the wider supply chain". 

The study is part of a GBP6.68 million (USD8.5 million) programme funded by X-energy, and by the UK government which awarded the firms GBP3.34 million in April this year from the Department of Energy Security and Net Zero's Future Nuclear Enabling Fund.

The Xe-100 is a Generation IV advanced reactor design which X-energy says is based on decades of HTGR operation, research, and development. Designed to operate as a standard 320 MWe four-pack power plant or scaled in units of 80 MWe, it is engineered to deliver reliable and load-following grid-scale power to electricity systems and to pair seamlessly with renewables. At 200 MWt of 565°C steam, the Xe-100 is also suitable for other power applications including mining and heavy industry.

X-energy and Cavendish - a wholly-owned subsidiary of Babcock International - are proposing to develop a 12-reactor plant at the Hartlepool site on Teesside in the northeast of England, to be operational by the early 2030s. The companies plan to build a fleet of up to 40 Xe-100 reactors in the UK.

Carol Tansley, X-energy's vice president of projects and UK market leader, added: "Our nuclear power station project represents a fantastic economic and employment opportunity in addition to the vital contribution it makes to energy security and decarbonisation. We want to understand from the outset how best to help our potential host community and the surrounding area capitalise on the benefits it will bring.

"Teesside University is ideally placed to help us. The team has huge experience of similar exercises in the past, and excellent links with the local community and business sector."

Cavendish Nuclear Managing Director Mick Gornall added: "A regional economy which hosts a project like this can experience a rise in productivity and growth. Creating supply chains and other infrastructure in local and neighbouring areas can permanently enhance economic capacity. Beyond Hartlepool, we estimate a national fleet roll out of 40 Xe-100s could bring around GBP20 billion of investment into the UK."

Teesside University's Professor Cotton said: “A core principle of our research is to work with communities to address regional disparities and drive social impact for regions across the world. The proposed nuclear power plant at Hartlepool represents a massive capital investment in the Tees Valley and it is vital to understand what that impact will look like.

"By analysing how a project of this scope and scale will manifest itself, we will be able to determine the different socio-economic considerations, issues and risk factors for Hartlepool and surrounding regions.

"In doing so, we will be able to determine the best course of action in order to take full advantage of the benefits and mitigate any impacts for the region."

The Hartlepool nuclear power plant, on Teesside in the northeast of England, is among four of the UK's seven AGR fleet which continue to generate electricity. It has been operating for 40 years and was due to end operations in March this year until a two-year extension was announced in March last year.

Wylfa preferred site for UK new build

22 May 2024

The UK government has announced that Wylfa in Anglesey, North Wales, is its preferred site for a new large-scale nuclear power plant. It has launched talks with international energy companies to explore building a power plant at the site.

The existing Wylfa site (Image: ONR)

In March, the government announced that an agreement had been reached to buy the Hitachi-owned sites for new nuclear at Wylfa and at Oldbury-on-Severn in southwest England for GBP160 million (USD203 million). At the time, it said the two sites were expected to be prioritised for new nuclear as the UK seeks to expand nuclear energy capacity. It marked the first time the government acquired land for new nuclear since the 1960s.

The government has now said that Wylfa is its first option for siting a "major nuclear power station, similar in scale to Hinkley in Somerset and Sizewell in Suffolk".

"This new project would revive the nuclear history of Wylfa and bring thousands of jobs and investment to the area, boosting the local economy," it said.

The government also said it is "kickstarting talks with global energy firms" to explore the construction of the plant.

"We are powering ahead with the biggest expansion of nuclear energy in 70 years," said Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero Claire Coutinho. "Anglesey has a proud nuclear history and it is only right that, once again, it can play a central role in boosting the UK's energy security."

The UK government aims to grow nuclear energy capacity to 24 GW by 2050, with a mix of traditional large-scale power plants and small modular reactors (SMRs). Last year, the government and the new Great British Nuclear (GBN) arms-length body set up to help deliver that extra capacity began the selection process for which SMR technology to use. In October, EDF, GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy, Holtec, NuScale Power, Rolls Royce SMR and Westinghouse were invited to bid for UK government contracts in the next stage of the process.

GBN CEO Gwen Parry-Jones said: "Having agreed to purchase the Wylfa site earlier this year, GBN looks forward to working with the government on the market engagement programme for large-scale gigawatt providers and also delivering this vital project in the years to come."

"The government is absolutely right to pursue more large-scale nuclear alongside the SMR programme: it is proven technology that delivers clean, sovereign power and can transform communities with thousands of high-quality, long-term jobs and apprenticeships," said Tom Greatrex, Chief Executive of the Nuclear Industry Association. "Wylfa is an ideal place for a big nuclear project, and the community knows nuclear.

"We welcome the government's engagement with potential partners internationally, and we urge them to move forward at pace. A large-scale project at Wylfa would be the single biggest inward investment in Welsh history, and a huge step towards both energy security and net-zero for the whole country."

The UK's Office for Nuclear Regulation said it "will liaise with government in its role as the independent regulator to ensure the highest standards of safety, security and safeguards within the industry and for the public. The UK has a highly respected regulatory structure and we have been preparing for the expansion of new nuclear in this country for some time."

Wylfa was the biggest and last Magnox site to be built in the UK. Its twin 490 MWe reactors began commercial operation in November 1971 and January 1972, respectively. Unit 2 was permanently shut in April 2012, with unit 1 following in December 2015. Defuelling of the plant was completed in September 2019.

Hitachi's Horizon Project - launched in 2009 - was to develop two UK Advanced Boiling Water Reactor units at Wylfa Newydd with the intention to develop the company's nuclear business in the UK. However, it decided to suspend the project in January 2019, from the viewpoint of its "economic rationality as a private company" because it was clear that further time was needed to decide on a financing structure for the project, and the conditions for building and operating the nuclear power plants. In January 2021, Horizon withdrew its application for planning consent for the Wylfa Newydd nuclear power plant.

UK plans near surface disposal of intermediate level waste

21 May 2024

In its updated strategy for handling nuclear waste and radioactive substances, the UK proposes to use a shallower disposal facility for suitable intermediate-level waste which was previously earmarked for the planned deep geological disposal facility.

The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero said that the search for a site for a geological disposal facility (GDF) was currently under way in England and Wales, and it was unlikely to be ready to start accepting waste until 2050. The plan has been for it to provide permanent safe disposal of high and intermediate-level waste. The existing near surface disposal facilities are used solely for the disposal of suitable low-level waste.

But following a consultation held last year, the department has now published its response and updated strategy which includes the proposed near surface disposal facility for intermediate-level waste (ILW). It would have the advantages of being ready within 10 years and would allow for quicker decommissioning and savings of around GBP500 million (USD636 million) in storage costs, the department says.

In Managing Radioactive Substances and Nuclear Decommissioning: UK policy framework it says: "A near surface disposal facility for ILW is a facility that can be located at or below the surface (up to 200 metres, the minimum depth of a GDF), and may make use of existing structures. It differs from a GDF in the degree of isolation provided by the facility, including host geology, depth and design.

"A near surface disposal facility for ILW below the surface could be constructed as silos, vaults or caverns and could be accessed by a tunnel or shaft. They would likely consist of multiple barriers including waste packages, grout, walls, backfill material and reinforced caps over the closed silos, vaults or caverns."

It also says a surface level disposal facility for intermediate-level waste could be similar to the Low Level Waste Disposal Facility at Dounreay, with waste packages stacked in engineered concrete vaults "up to the approximate level of the surface ... when the vaults are closed, they would be covered with an engineered cap to prevent rainwater entering and reduce the risk from inadvertent human intrusion. The barriers provided by the packaging of the waste, the concrete vaults and the engineered cap prevent any harmful amounts of radioactivity escaping".

The working assumption in the strategy is that the disposal facility for intermediate-level waste would most likely be located on existing Nuclear Decommissioning Authority land. It also says that "lightly contaminated rubble and substructures can be disposed of on-site if safe to do so. This will avoid tonnes of waste being bagged up and transported for heavy-duty disposal elsewhere, reducing impact on the environment".

Other changes in the strategy aim to encourage innovation in waste treatment techniques, including greater recycling such as extracting isotopes from the nuclear materials for diagnosis and treatment of cancers or for powering future space missions, issues covered in a recent episode of the World Nuclear News podcast.

What they said

UK Minister for Nuclear Andrew Bowie said of the overall framework: "The UK has been a pioneer in nuclear technology, and now we’re taking sensible steps to manage our radioactive waste, while reducing the burden on the environment and taxpayer. This will help continue our world-leading nuclear safety record, protect our environment and mean quicker decommissioning of former sites."

Nuclear Decommissioning Authority CEO David Peattie said: "We welcome the updated policy which takes account of the significant innovation and decommissioning experience that has been developed within the NDA group and wider sector, both in the UK and internationally, in recent years. We'll work closely with our stakeholders and communities to take forward the opportunities created by this new policy, ensuring that we maintain the highest standards of safety and environmental protection to deliver our nationally important decommissioning mission."

Environment Agency CEO Philip Duffy said: "It is important that the right infrastructure is in place to manage radioactive waste in a way that protects the environment and public health. We will be working in partnership with our fellow regulators to ensure that this risk-led approach is overseen by robust regulation."

AtkinsRéalis to design UK tritium processing facility

21 May 2024

The UK Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA) has appointed Canadian engineering firm AtkinsRéalis to deliver the detailed design of an isotope separation system to strengthen research into sustainable fusion delivery.

A rendering of the H3AT facility (Image: UKAEA)

The Isotope Separation System will form part of UKAEA's Hydrogen-3 Advanced Technology (H3AT) facility, a world-first tritium fuel cycle research facility to include a prototype-scale process plant and experimental platform, which is a scaled version of the design for the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor.

AtkinsRéalis said the tritium capacity of this "highly complex Isotope Separation System will make it the most advanced research facility of its kind, helping to enable the development of tritium fuel cycle infrastructure necessary for sustainable fusion power".

The company has already completed the concept and detailed process design of the main H3AT facility - currently under construction at UKAEA's Culham Campus, in Oxfordshire - alongside the concept and preliminary design of the Isotope Separation System. The AtkinsRéalis team will now deliver detailed process and mechanical designs for the system, including the vital cryogenic and ambient temperature equipment that will be required to collect, process, and recycle the tritium fuel.

"The H3AT facility will be a first-of-a-kind research facility to strengthen UK and international efforts to advance tritium fuel cycle technology," said Jason Dreisbach, head of advanced energy technologies at AtkinsRéalis. "The Isotope Separation System is a key element to demonstrate fusion fuel cycle performance at scale, and we look forward to contributing our significant experience in fusion engineering and tritium to help realise UKAEA's ambitions."

Framework renewal

The announcement came as UKAEA renewed its multimillion-pound Engineering Design Services Framework with nine companies. The renewal is based on a successful four-year delivery of various engineering and design desk-based projects.

Representatives from UKAEA and companies supporting the Engineering Design Services Framework, at UKAEA's Fusion Technology Facility in Rotherham (Image: UKAEA)

The framework, with a value up to GBP9 million (USD11.4 million), supports the development of a UK industrial supply chain capability by allowing the companies to work closely with UKAEA as it undertakes fusion energy research. "It is vital in the mission to develop commercial fusion energy, while also helping to grow the UK economy by ensuring industry are fully involved," UKAEA said.

The companies which are part of the renewed framework are: Assystem, AtkinsRealis, Demcon, Eadon, Frazer Nash, IDOM, Jacobs, M5tec and Optima. UKAEA said these companies have expertise in some, or all of the following disciplines: mechanical engineering; process engineering; systems engineering; electrical, control and instrumentation engineering; computer-based modelling; and specialist nuclear services.

"This framework has enabled UKAEA to work collaboratively and with maximum efficiency with the fusion supply chain," said Colette Broadwith, Strategic Procurement Business Partner for UKAEA. "By renewing it for another four years, UKAEA can continue to leverage the engineering and technical expertise of our industrial partners to help accelerate fusion energy's commercialisation, for the benefit of all."

Last week, UKAEA awarded six organisations GBP9.6 million of contracts to advance their concepts to support fusion energy development. The contracts were awarded to three universities and three companies focusing on digital engineering and fusion fuel cycle developments dedicated to addressing fusion energy challenges. The contracts will develop next-generation digital tools for future fusion power plant designs, and advanced production and handling of hydrogen isotopes.

The contracts range between GBP460,000 and GBP1.9 million, and are funded by UKAEA's Fusion Industry Programme, an initiative launched in 2021 to develop the necessary technology and skills for the future global fusion power plant market.

The UKAEA carries out fusion energy research on behalf of the UK government, overseeing the country's fusion programme, including the MAST Upgrade (Mega Amp Spherical Tokamak) experiment as well as hosting the recently closed Joint European Torus (JET) at Culham, which operated for scientists from around Europe. It is also developing its own fusion power plant design with plans to build a prototype known as STEP (Spherical Tokamak for Energy Production) at West Burton in Nottinghamshire, which is due to begin operating by 2040.

Researched and written by World Nuclear News

Iraq’s Prime Minister Blames Oil Firms for Kurdistan’s Crude Export Impasse

Charles Kennedy - May 20, 2024

• Talks to restart oil exports from Kurdistan are on hold due to a disagreement over oil contracts.
• 
  
• Oil companies operating in Kurdistan refuse to amend their contracts with the region.
• 
  
• Iraq blames oil companies for the impasse, while Kurdistan previously blamed Baghdad.

Oil companies operating in Kurdistan refuse to amend their contracts with the semi-autonomous region of OPEC’s second-largest producer Iraq, which has led to an impasse in the talks about resuming oil exports from Kurdistan, the Prime Minister of Iraq, Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani, said this weekend.

“The companies refuse to amend, so the process stops at this point,” Al-Sudani said in a televised press conference on Sunday, as carried by Bloomberg.

Crude oil exports from Kurdistan have now been halted for more than a year, after they were shut in in March 2023 due to a dispute over who should authorize the Kurdish exports.

The impasse followed an International Chamber of Commerce ruling in March 2023 in a dispute between Turkey and Iraq regarding Kurdistan oil. The ICC ruled in favor of Iraq, which had argued that Turkey should not allow Kurdish oil exports via the Iraq-Turkey pipeline and the Turkish port of Ceyhan without approval from the federal government of Iraq.

With the talks with companies now halted, Al-Sudani didn’t say when these could resume.

Earlier this year, Iraq’s Oil Ministry said that foreign oil firms in Iraqi Kurdistan are partially to blame for the delays to the resumption of exports from the semi-autonomous region of OPEC’s second-largest producer.

In November 2023, Norwegian firm DNO, one of the six members of the Association of the Petroleum Industry of Kurdistan (APIKUR), said that the international oil companies operating in Kurdistan would not be producing oil for exports until they have clarity about overdue and future payments and sales terms.

In January this year, the foreign companies called on U.S. Congress for immediate action to help resolve halted crude oil exports from Kurdistan. APIKUR has written a letter to Congress in which it said “The export of oil is the foundation of Iraq’s economy, and all Iraqis will benefit when full production and global sales resume from the Kurdistan Region.”

By Charles Kennedy for Oilprice.com

BYD Set to Supply London's Electric Double-Decker Buses

By City A.M - May 20, 2024

• 
  
• Transport giant Go-Ahead Group is set to award BYD a contract to build more than 100 all-electric double-decker buses.
• 
  
• The firm is one of a slew of Chinese automakers rapidly expanding on the European continent.
• 
  
• Transport for London (TfL), chaired by Mayor Sadiq Khan, has given the decision the green light.

Rapidly expanding Chinese automaker BYD is close to a deal that would see it supply all-electric double decker buses in London.

Transport giant Go-Ahead Group is set to award the Shenzhen-based firm a contract to build more than 100 of the vehicles at around £400,000 each and £100,000 cheaper than its UK competitors, sources told the Sunday Times.

Transport for London (TfL), chaired by Mayor Sadiq Khan, has given the decision the green light. BYD previously partnered with competitor Alexander Dennis and has produced hundreds of electric double-decker buses for Go-Ahead.

The firm is one of a slew of Chinese automakers rapidly expanding on the European continent, offering electric vehicles (EVs) at cut throat prices. It is backed by Warren Buffet and earlier this year, overtook Elon Musk’s Tesla to take the top spot in global EV sales for the first time.

But the new deal could raise eyebrows given BYD has faced accusations from human rights groups that metals in its supply chains were made using Uyghur forced labour.

The United Nations in 2021 wrote to BYD stating it had “received information” the company may be involved through its supply chain “in alleged forced labour, arbitrary detention and trafficking of Uyghur [muslims] and other minority workers.”

Tom Cunnington, head of bus business development at TfL, said: “We have been assured by the manufacturer that no unethical practices have taken place and would act immediately if provided with evidence to the contrary.

“TfL is a member of the Electronics Watch Low-Emission Vehicle Programme, working to apply the worker-driven monitoring model of Electonics Watch to the electric vehicle market. 

“All bus companies have individual robust ethical and sustainability policies that ensure the highest standards are met on the environment and workers’ rights.”

BYD and Go-Ahead Group did not respond to a City A.M. request for comment.

Speaking to the Sunday Times, former conservative party leader Sir Ian Duncan Smith, said: “We’ve yet again gone to China to build buses. What is the matter with our domestic production?

“These are iconic, British London buses. Why is it that we simply do not look for a contractor based, if not in the UK, then certainly in Europe.

By Guy Taylor via CityAM

Endangered Lizard Threatens Oil and Gas Development in the Permian Basin

IT'S THE OTHER WAY AROUND
 Irina Slav - May 20, 2024


• 
  
• The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service listed the dunes sagebrush lizard as endangered, threatening oil and gas development in the Permian Basin.
• 
  
• The oil and gas industry argues they've made conservation efforts and the lizard's habitat is minimal in the basin.
• 
  
• Environmentalists see the listing as a win but worry about delayed protection and future development restrictions.

A rare lizard that lives in Texas and New Mexico has become the latest potential threat to oil and gas production growth in the Permian.

The dunes sagebrush lizard was granted endangered status by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service last week, prompting an outcry from the industry, which warned the change in the lizard's status would be detrimental to its activity in the most prolific shale play in the country.

According to the Fish and Wildlife Service, the dunes sagebrush lizard occurs in about 4% of the lands that comprise the Permian Basin. The service also acknowledged that many oil and gas operators are already taking part in voluntary conservation efforts to preserve the species' habitat. Yet now, these appear to have been deemed insufficient, prompting a sharp response from the industry.

"We are extremely disappointed in the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) decision to again list the Dunes Sagebrush Lizard as Endangered in the Permian Basin," the president of the Permian Basin Petroleum Association told energy analyst and consultant David Blackmon for a story published in Forbes.

"In spite of the successful conservation efforts on the ground for over a decade and that less than two years ago approving a conservation plan for the Lizard that all parties agreed would conserve habitat," he added.

The president of the U.S. Oil and Gas Association was even blunter, telling Blackmon that "Anti-energy activists have been desperate to shut down drilling in the Permian Basin for years," despite voluntary efforts and investments on the part of oil and gas operators in the area to save the rare species.

"Texas oil and gas operators spent tens of millions of dollars in voluntary conservation efforts to protect the dunes sagebrush lizard. Environmental groups meanwhile added nothing to the conservation efforts but petitions and lawsuits," Tim Stewart said.

At first glance, the reaction of the oil and gas industry may seem excessive in the context of how little of the Permian the dunes sagebrush lizard actually inhabits. But this perception may be wrong, with the Fish and Wildlife Service noting that oil and gas activity is the prime suspect for the species' "functional extinction" across almost half of its habitat.

There is also a recent example of how environmentalists can interfere with the energy industry's activities: the suspension of new liquefied natural gas export terminals that President Biden signed earlier this year was the direct result of activist pressure.

"Even if there were no further expansion of the oil and gas or sand mining industry, the existing footprint of these operations will continue to negatively affect the dunes sagebrush lizard into the future," the Fish and Wildlife Service said in its announcement and it is little wonder that the industry took this as ominous.

Even more ominously for oil and gas operators, the USFWS may yet add to its decision a designation of critical habitat for the dunes sagebrush lizard. That would be a move that, Blackmon warns, "could become extremely limiting to any future development of the massive oil and natural gas resources known to exist beneath the region."

While the energy industry fumes at the decision, environmentalists were understandably happy. "The dunes sagebrush lizard spent far too long languishing in a Pandora's box of political and administrative back and forth even as its population was in free-fall towards extinction," a regional director for Defenders of Wildlife said, as quoted by the AP.

"I'm relieved the precious dunes sagebrush lizard is finally on the path to protection," Michael Robinson, senior conservation advocate at the Center for Biological Diversity, said, as quoted by Forbes. "I'm saddened and disgusted, however, that the Service allowed the lizard's habitat to be destroyed for decades."

What follows next would become clear in two months. One thing is for sure, however. Activists will likely become bolder like they did after the LNG approval suspension. They have now focused their efforts on making sure the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission enforces new air pollution rules approved by the EPA earlier this year.

According to these rules, the maximum level of fine particulate matter in the air is now 9 micrograms per cubic meter, down from 12 micrograms previously—and FERC already tapped one LNG producer as its first target. Venture Global was recently served with a request to provide proof its particulate matter emissions were below 9 micrograms per cubic meter.

"FERC is going to have to take this issue seriously and is going to have to analyze whether these projects are in the public interest given this new reality," a Sierra Club attorney told the Financial Times.

"We plan to hold FERC's feet to the fire to ensure that it follows through and satisfies its legal obligations," Tom Gosselin also said.

One question that might be worth asking is when conservationists would become this vocal about the fate of bats and birds of prey that are being killed by onshore wind turbines and the whale deaths linked to offshore wind development.

By Irina Slav for Oilprice.com

Dunes sagebrush lizard now an endangered species

Adrian Hedden, Carlsbad Current-Argus
Thu, May 23, 2024

A lizard native to southeast New Mexico’s Permian Basin was afforded the highest level of federal protections aimed at preventing its extinction, triggering concerns that landowners and industries in the area could see added restrictions on access to the land.

The dunes sagebrush lizard was listed as endangered under the federal Endangered Species Act, per a decision issued May 17 by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. An endangered listing means the agency believed extinction of the species was imminent, and requires the federal government establish and recovery plan and potential “critical habitat” where the lizard would be recovered.

This could restrict some uses of the land, namely oil and gas drilling and farming and ranching, and the move drew fears that the economic drivers of the region could be stymied for environmental conservation.

Emily Wirth, executive director of the Center for Excellence (CEHMM) said voluntary conservation practices intended to protect the lizard were underway by industry since 2008. She said candidate conservation agreements (CCAs) facilitated by CEHMM saw 3.1 million acres in New Mexico enrolled in the agreements, including 90 oil and gas companies.

Via CEHMM, enrollees moved 650 oil wells out of lizard habitat, Wirth said, aside from other wells operators moved on their own.

The dunes sagebrush lizard is a small, light brown phrynosomatid lizard (family Phrynosomatidae, genus Sceloporus). Shinnery oaks provide food, shade and a breeding ground for the Dunes sagebrush Lizard.

She said it was “disappointing” that these efforts did not prevent a listing which Wirth worried could negatively impact land access.

“I think it’s very disappointing given the conservation efforts that have been ongoing since 2008,” she said. “The biggest thing we can do for the lizard is avoidance of habitat. “The industry has proactively been doing that on their own. It’s really disappointing the conservation efforts were not taken into account.”

With said landowners and operators can still enroll in CEHMM’s contracts ahead of the listing taking effect about 30 days after the announcement, and those enrolled will face no additional restrictions.

She pointed to a previous listing of the lizard in 2012, which was overturned, Wirth said, due to the ongoing conservation efforts taken by industry.

“Nothing has changed. To me, it doesn’t really make sense for the current listing in New Mexico specifically,” Wirth said. “We’re keeping industry on the ground working in the face of a listing. They have protections. Our agreements are the perfect balance by allowing conservation and economic development on the land.”

More: White nose syndrome kills millions of bats each year. Now it's in Lincoln National Forest.

Lizard protection opposed by oil and gas industry

The decision to list the lizard came after a 90-day public comment period, and a “rigorous review” of the scientific and commercial information, read the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announcement. The agency said critical habitat was expected to be designated, but not at the time of the listing decision.

The lizard is found only in the shinnery oak and sand dune ecosystems in southeast New Mexico and West Texas, occurring in about 4% of the 86,000 square miles that make up the Permian Basin, read the agency’s report. Key threats to the species were oil and gas development, mining and climate change, the report read.

The Fish and Wildlife Service said about 85% of the lizard’s range are covered by voluntary enrollments in programs like CEHMM’s, noting horizontal drilling techniques can often target underground oil reserves without locating wells within lizard habitat.

Amy Lueders, southwest regional director with the Services said the federal government expected to continue working with industry and landowners to conserve the species and restore its population.

“The Endangered Species Act is an important tool in preventing the extinction of imperiled species like the dunes sagebrush lizard,” she said. “The Service will continue working collaboratively with Tribes, industry, stakeholders, and private landowners while ensuring protections for the lizard and its habitat.”

Listing the dunes sagebrush lizard as endangered was celebrated by conservation groups, arguing stronger efforts were needed to prevent extinction. Michael Robinson with the Center for Biological Diversity in Silver City said the listing decision was delayed for decades but would help save the lizard.

“After four decades of the government sitting on its hands, these lizards are finally protected from oil spills and giant machines scooping up sand,” Robinson said. “Designating critical habitat will close any loopholes that might still allow the destruction of the beautiful oak-dotted dunes where these animals live.”

The listing was opposed by oil and gas industry leaders in New Mexico. In comments submitted Oct. 2, 2023 the Independent Petroleum Association of New Mexico (IPANM) argued oil and gas was produced “responsibly” in dunes sagebrush lizard habitat, pointing to the CCAs the trade group’s member companies already participated in.

IPANM was joined by national fossil fuel groups the American Petroleum Institute and Western Energy Alliance in submitting comments against the listing when it was proposed last year.

IPANM Executive Director Jim Winchester wrote that the Fish and Wildlife Service should withdraw the listing decision as he said it would increase costs for operators, delay projects and create regulatory uncertainty for company’s operating in New Mexico.

“An endangered listing will have a significant impact on the IPANM members business planning and operations by increasing operational costs, delaying project timeframes, and limiting or precluding operations in certain areas, he wrote.

“In particular, the proposed rule makes arbitrary conclusions based on use of inaccurate habitat mapping, and significantly outdated forecasts on energy development based upon development practices no longer employed in west Texas and eastern New Mexico.”

Adrian Hedden can be reached at achedden@currentargus.com or @AdrianHedden on the social media platform X.

This article originally appeared on Carlsbad Current-Argus: Oil and gas against dunes sagebrush lizard protection in New Mexico

Texas lizard added to endangered species list over the oil and gas industry’s objections

The dunes sagebrush lizard lives in the same West Texas land that supports the state’s biggest oil and gas fields, and industry leaders say the new designation will hurt drilling and production.

BY ALEJANDRA MARTINEZ AND CARLOS NOGUERAS RAMOS
MAY 22, 2024

The dunes sagebrush lizard, which lives in the oil-rich Permian Basin, has been listed as endangered after a decades-long effort. Credit: Ryan Hagerty/USFWS

\
ODESSA — The dunes sagebrush lizard burrows its coarse, spiny body to cool down and sometimes conserve heat way deep beneath the sand dunes in the Mescalero-Monahans ecosystem 30 miles west of this West Texas city.

But the 2.5-inch-long lizard’s home — sandy mounds studded with low-lying shinnery oak trees — is being disrupted as the oil and gas industry expands, posing a grave threat to its survival, federal regulators and scientists said.

After four decades of warnings by biologists about the existential threat that oil and gas exploration and development poses on the reptile’s habitat, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service declared the rare lizard endangered last week.

Industry representatives have for years fought against the designation saying it would scare off companies interested in drilling inside the nation’s most lucrative oil and natural gas basin.

The listing requires oil and gas companies to avoid operating in areas the lizard inhabits, but the Fish and Wildlife Service has yet to determine where those areas are because it is still gathering information, according to Beth Ullenberg, a spokesperson for the Service.

Should the energy industry encroach on the lizard’s habitat, they could incur fines up to $50,000 and prison time, depending on the violation. However, Ullenberg said the agency would work with companies to avoid penalties.

In a statement, the Fish and Wildlife Service said oil and gas operators can use horizontal drilling to reach oil and gas deposits without disrupting the lizard’s habitat.

The lizard only lives in about 4% of the 86,000-square-mile Permian Basin, which spans across Texas and New Mexico, according to the Fish and Wildlife Service. In Texas, the lizard has been found in Andrews, Crane, Gaines, Ward and Winkler counties.

Lee Fitzgerald, a professor at Texas A&M University who has studied the lizard since 1994, said that drilling a single oil well does not impact the lizard’s survival, but the fragmentation of its habitat by the oil and gas industry’s infrastructure — including the roads leading to drill sites — isolates the reptiles and prevents them from finding mates beyond those already living close by.

Fitzgerald compared the oil and gas infrastructure to urban sprawl.

“If you build one house, it's not a problem,” he said. “But you build 1,000 houses, and every one of them has a driveway, and every one of them has a street, connecting it to more houses then you get urban sprawl. And if you do that in the shinnery oak sand dunes then the lizards disappear.”

There are few remaining lizards and they are hard to find, making it difficult to count them accurately. According to a 2023 analysis by the Fish and Wildlife Service, the lizards are “functionally extinct” across 47% of its range.

Fitzgerald said the population estimates of the lizard don’t matter.

“The lizard is just one piece of the puzzle that is disappearing,” he said. “It's out there, it's alive. We should be proud of it, that we have it, and it's so special. So, it's more about the non-monetary values of the lizard as it is part of the big picture of biodiversity.”
Listing could cause disruption in oil production

The decision to categorize the lizard as a species in danger of extinction was unwelcome news for oil and gas industry leaders, who said federal regulators provided insufficient guidance for operators to evaluate how to decide where to build service roads and where to drill. Members of the industry also said they’re skeptical of the science supporting the designation.

“I think that the lizard is not in danger of extinction,” said Ben Shepperd, president of the Permian Basin Petroleum Association.

The ramifications of the listing won’t be immediate, but it could have lasting impacts on the future of oil and gas extraction, Shepperd said, adding that it could affect a company’s ability to drill without running afoul of federal requirements under the Endangered Species Act.

“Not overnight, but over the coming months, we believe that that's going to lead to a decrease in drilling. We believe it's going to lead to … job losses,” Shepperd said.

In a joint statement with the Texas Oil and Gas Association, delivered to the federal agency last year, energy industry leaders argued that oil and gas companies were already taking measures to prevent further disturbing the lizard’s habitat: a 200-meter buffer between their operations and the lizard’s home, minimizing their presence in the area and using existing service roads as opposed to building more.

Industry representatives also said that oil and gas companies had been participating in voluntary conservation agreements, a program in which companies and private landowners pledge to protect the lizard’s habitat. Environmentalists have criticized the agreements because there is no enforcement or penalties if companies do not comply — or a way to determine whether the plans are effective.

State and nationwide oil and gas associations have not ruled out litigation, Shepperd said.

Scott Lauermann, a spokesperson for the American Petroleum Institute, said the decision could delay the permits that companies need for every phase of oil and gas exploration and extraction.

Such permits could authorize companies to build the infrastructure necessary to pump oil like oil rigs and service roads. Federal officials encouraged companies to consult the agency early in their planning.
The lizard wars

Ten generations of lizards have lived and died while a battle ensued between environmental groups, the oil and gas industry and the federal government over their protection.

Fish and Wildlife first identified the dunes sagebrush lizard as needing protection in 1982. Since then, it has been removed and added multiple times from the candidate list for endangered species, but the proposals fell through because the Fish and Wildlife Service said it could not afford to evaluate whether the lizard should have been placed on the list, said Michael Robinson, a senior conservation advocate at the Center for Biological Diversity. The Center has petitioned and sued the Fish and Wildlife Service several times over almost two decades regarding the lizard.

In 2002, the center delivered a scientific petition to the Fish and Wildlife Service, asking the agency to add the lizard to the endangered species list. The Service did not act, citing a lack of resources, Robinson said.

The Service proposed adding the lizard to the endangered species list again in 2010 but withdrew the proposal 18 months later.

Instead, then-Texas Comptroller Susan Combs assembled voluntary conservation agreements — a pledge by landowners and operators to avoid activities like removing shinnery oak trees and building roads — to convince the federal government to avoid listing the lizard as endangered, a decision that drew praise from the oil and gas industry and rebuke from environmentalists and wildlife conservation groups.

State and federal officials argued the move would be enough to protect the lizard. More than 200 ranchers and oil and gas companies between Texas and New Mexico, federal officials said.

Shepperd said that among them were Chevron, ExxonMobil and Occidental Petroleum.

Robinson argued that the agreements shielded the oil and gas industry from making modest changes to their daily operations.

“It’s a sad case of a federal agency that has been captured by the industries they’re supposed to hold to account,” Robinson said.

In 2018, the Center for Biological Diversity petitioned again for the lizard’s protection. In 2022, the Center sued the Fish and Wildlife Service again, a lawsuit that resulted in a settlement agreement, which led to another proposal to add the lizard to the endangered species list.

Ullenberg, the Fish and Wildlife Service spokesperson, said that petition prompted the agency to conduct a review of the species and ultimately add it to the endangered list last week.

Robinson said it's an important first step.

“At least the government’s attention will be focused on the project of [recovering] the species, and that’s no small thing,” he said.

Disclosure: Ben Shepperd, Exxon Mobil Corporation, Permian Basin Petroleum Association and Texas A&M University have been financial supporters of The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that is funded in part by donations from members, foundations and corporate sponsors. Financial supporters play no role in the Tribune's journalism. Find a complete list of them here.


Information about the authors


Alejandra Martinez
ENVIRONMENTAL REPORTER
alejandra.martinez@texastribune.org
@alereports

Carlos Nogueras Ramos
PERMIAN BASIN REPORTER
carlos.nogueras@texastribune.org
@criacuervosvibe

 The Texas Tribune’s 

BIDENOMICS
Climate Funding Helps U.S. Farmers Slash Their Energy Bills


Tsvetana Paraskova - May 21, 2024

America’s family farms had just recovered from the diesel and other energy price shocks of 2022 when rising interest rates started to increase their cost of credit.


Incentives and subsidies from the Agriculture Department and the federal tax credits in the IRA can add up to paying in full for the renewable energy that agricultural companies and farms in the U.S. use.

For farms in rural areas like Mr Howle’s, 70% of the costs for the solar project are covered by tax credits and 50% by Agriculture Department grants.

After reeling from soaring energy costs in 2022, when diesel prices in the U.S. hit a record high, American farmers are taking advantage of provisions in the Inflation Reduction Act from the same year that help small farms install solar power at virtually no cost.

Demand for the Rural Energy for America Program of the U.S. Agriculture Department is overwhelming as farmers seek to slash their energy bills by having solar power installed at their farms.

For rural America, incentives and subsidies from the Agriculture Department and the federal tax credits in the IRA can add up to paying in full for their renewable energy, especially if the farms are in low-income areas.

Following a major squeeze on farm and ranch profits during the soaring energy prices in 2022, the installation of solar panels in disadvantaged communities which are in former fossil fuel producing areas can be fully covered by federal tax credits and incentives programs. And farmers are taking notice and applying to have renewable energy power as part of their operations.

“The demand has just been skyrocketing and there’s a lot of excitement,” Basil Gooden, the Agriculture Department’s undersecretary for rural development, told The Wall Street Journal.



Small Farm Hardships

America’s family farms had just recovered from the diesel and other energy price shocks of 2022 when rising interest rates started to increase their cost of credit and limited farmers’ ability to use it.

“Operating loans and other forms of financing cost farmers a whopping 43% more in 2023 than in 2022 and are forecast to remain elevated for much of 2024, causing working capital (cash) stocks to decline faster and forcing farmers to lean on expensive credit to provide liquidity,” Bernt Nelson, an economist at the American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF), wrote earlier this year.

“The amount of income being used to pay interest on farm debt in the U.S. has increased at a rate not seen since the 1980s.”

In the high interest-rate environment, any reduction in other costs is a welcome relief.

Therefore, lower energy bills are incentive enough for small farm owners to seek the federal tax credits under the IRA.

Rich Federal Incentives

Jerry Howle, profiled in the Journal’s feature article on farmers installing solar panels, is set to see his annual $10,000 utility bill on his chicken farm eliminated after accessing the rich federal incentives.

For farms in rural areas like Mr Howle’s, 70% of the costs for the solar project are covered by tax credits and 50% by Agriculture Department grants.

This means that small farm owners can now afford to install renewable energy generation sources on their premises and land.

But the upfront costs are high while the credits and grants don’t start flowing until a full month of operations of the project. So, farmers still need investors and renewable energy developers to help them with the initial costs. But after the project is up and running, it is expected that not only will farmers have zero energy bills, but will be able to sell excess energy to their local utilities, making additional income.

According to USDA Census of Agriculture from 2022, a total of 1.9 million farms dot America’s rural landscape, and 95% are operated by families – individuals, family partnerships, or family corporations.

Farmers are also embracing and growing renewable energy. In 2022, a total of 153,101 farms and ranches used renewable energy producing systems compared to 57,299 in 2012, a 167% increase over 10 years, per AFBF data. On-farm renewable energy systems include geothermal, solar panels, windmills, hydro systems, and methane digesters.

USDA is granting millions of U.S. dollars in funding for loan and grant awards through the Rural Energy for America Program (REAP). The program, which can cover up to 50% of a renewable energy installation, is designed to help agricultural producers and rural small business owners make energy efficiency improvements and renewable energy investments to lower energy costs and generate new income by selling energy to utilities.

Earlier this year, USDA and the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) launched a new initiative to help farmers cut costs and increase income using underutilized renewable technologies. USDA has an initial goal of helping 400 individual farmers deploy smaller-scale wind projects.

Federal funding is also supporting research and development in agrivoltaics – the combination of solar panels and agricultural production at the same location.

In April this year, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced its selections for $20 billion in grant awards under two competitions funded by the Inflation Reduction Act. The grants will create a national clean financing network for clean energy and climate solutions across sectors, ensuring communities have access to the capital they need.

One of the selected applicants is Climate United Fund, whose program “will focus on investing in harder-to-reach market segments like consumers, small businesses, small farms, community facilities, and schools—with at least 60% of its investments in low-income and disadvantaged communities, 20% in rural communities, and 10% in Tribal communities,” EPA said.

By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com

WoodMac Sees $1 Trillion At Risk for Clean Energy Investments Under Trump

  Alex Kimani - May 21, 2024

• 
  
• WoodMac projects ~$7.7T in overall spending by the U.S. energy sector through 2050 under current policies.
• 
  
• The overall spending on renewable energy could be cut by $1 trillion under a new Trump presidency.
• 
  
• Analysts have predicted that less spending on low carbon energy could boost demand for natural gas by 6% or 6B cf/day by 2030.
• 
  

A second Trump presidency could place a huge part of renewable energy investments at risk, increase carbon emissions by 1 billion tonnes more by 2050 and delay peak fossil fuel demand by 10 years beyond current forecasts, energy analytics firm Wood Mackenzie has predicted.  

WoodMac projects ~$7.7T in overall spending by the U.S. energy sector through 2050 under current policies, a figure that could be cut by $1T under Trump through reduced policy support for low carbon energy and infrastructure improvements. 

Analysts have predicted that less spending on low carbon energy could boost demand for natural gas by 6% or 6B cf/day by 2030.

WoodMac says that whereas Trump would lack the power to unilaterally repeal the Inflation Reduction Act enacted during the Biden presidency, he could bring changes to environmental rules and executive orders that would roll back many of Biden's environmental policies.The research firm also projects that the total number of EVs on U.S. roads in 2050 would be 50% lower than under current policies because automakers would likely favor the production of hybrid vehicles over pure electric cars. 

There’s a lot at stake here. The auto industry has unveiled more than $100 billion in EV investments, with potential to create 100,000 American jobs. 

Three years ago, the Biden administration signed the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), with the act authorizing $1.2 trillion in spending for transportation and infrastructure; $43 billion (not including loans and tax incentives) in flexible spending could be used for battery manufacturing, retooling auto industry facilities, retraining and rehiring existing auto workers and grid updates while more than $7.5 billion will support the buildout of EV infrastructure.

Wood Mackenzie has also noted the need to address U.S. debt, saying it could limit government spending in the future. The Congressional Budget Office has projected that U.S. national debt will climb from 97% of GDP in 2023 to 109% of GDP by 2030 and 155% by 2050.

Energy Under Biden

A second Biden term would likely see him double down on his pro-renewables policies, including investments in hydrogen tech and advanced nuclear energy; however, his administration would likely face even deeper legislative gridlock if Republicans retain control of at least one house of Congress. Last October, Biden announced the locations of seven regional hydrogen hubs set to receive $7 billion from the government under the bipartisan infrastructure law. The hubs will produce green hydrogen as well as hydrogen from natural gas and nuclear energy. Passed by Congress in 2021, the law allocated up to $7B to launch the Regional Clean Hydrogen Hubs program to fund 6-10 regional clean hydrogen hubs across the country. The hydrogen project is part of Biden’s ambitious climate goals wherein he has pledged to cut the country’s greenhouse gas emissions by 50%-52% below its 2005 emissions levels by 2030. 

But this does not necessarily mean that the fossil fuel industry will face a bleak future under another Biden term. Indeed, it’s quite ironic that fossil fuel production under Biden has surpassed Trump levels while oil and gas investors have fared far better than their clean energy brethren. 

According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), crude oil production in the United States, including condensate, averaged 12.9 million barrels per day (b/d) in 2023, breaking the previous U.S. and global record of 12.3 million b/d, set in 2019. Average monthly crude oil production set a new monthly record high in December 2023 at more than 13.3 million b/d.

Meanwhile, the oil and gas favorite benchmark, the Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSEARCA:XLE), has more than doubled in the time Biden has been in office while the iShares Global Clean Energy ETF (NASDAQ:ICLN) has tanked nearly 70%. The current year is following the same playbook with the oil and gas sector up 12.2%, the third highest return amongst 11 U.S. market sectors, while clean energy stocks are in the red with a -8.5% return. Big Oil investors, in particular, have been laughing all the way to the bank during Biden’s tenure: 

According to data compiled by Reuters, profits of the top five publicly traded oil companies, namely Exxon Mobil Corp. (NYSE:XOM), Chevron Corp.(NYSE:CVX), BP Inc.(NYSE:BP), Shell Plc (NYSE:SHEL) and TotalEnergies SE (NYSE:TTE) rocketed to $410 billion during the first three years of the Biden administration, a 100% increase compared to the corresponding period of Donald Trump’s presidency.

By Alex Kimani for Oilprice.com