Industrial Energy Regulation Round Up - July 2023

USA:

Starting strong, during the first week of July the Biden administration approved what will be the nation’s largest offshore wind farm, a sprawling 98-turbine complex. The new Ocean Wind 1 project, developed by the Danish energy company Ørsted, will be built about 15 miles off the coast of New Jersey and generate 1,100 megawatts of electricity — enough to power up to 500,000 homes. It is the third proposal of this kind approved by the Biden administration. 

Later in the month, the administration committed 300 million to better quantify greenhouse gas emissions generated by agriculture and the potential carbon savings of certain farming practices. Currently in the US, agriculture accounts for 10% of emissions. The USDA will use the funds to invest in data collection, analysis, and to build a national research network dedicated to studying soil carbon sequestration. 

At the tail end of the month, the DOE announced 10.9 million for 10 projects that will advance innovative technologies to extract and convert battery grade lithium from geothermal brine sources. The United States currently has limited capabilities to produce and refine domestically sourced lithium. Direct lithium extraction from geothermal brines represents an opportunity to domestically produce lithium hydroxide—the form of lithium used for advanced batteries—in an efficient and environmentally friendly way. 

Europe:

The Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD) has been a hot topic this year after being proposed by the European commission in February 2023. Most recently, the European Commission has agreed upon a position, and the directive is undergoing interinstitutional negotiations between the European Parliament, the European Council, and the European Commission. The CSDDD will provide another civil law instrument to hold companies accountable and liable for environmental degradation and human right abuses, both within the EU and outside. The threshold criteria for companies that fall within the scope of CSDDD include:

The directive is not expected to pass until 2024 and negotiations must still address the applicability regarding the financial sector and whether the sector should be substantially excluded. On July 18th the EU parliament passed the “Nature Restoration Law”. This law is a comprehensive proposal that outlines Europe’s restoration goals and includes targets to rehabilitate at least 20% of Europe’s degraded ecosystems by 2030. In 2021, 81% of EU ecosystems were deemed “poor” or “bad” by the European Environment Agency and Greenpeace. This regulation provides a framework for managing restoration efforts and establishes binding targets in various areas, such as farmlands, peatlands, and marine ecosystems, and reverses the damage inflicted by human activity and climate change.  

Asia:

For the first time in history, on July 31st, Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, visited the Philippines to speak with the national government. During the visit, the president announced that the “Team Europe Initiative” will be launched within the Philippines with outlined plans to invest in supporting the country’s energy transition. The Team Europe Initiative began during the Covid 19 pandemic and focuses on identifying critical priorities that constrain development in each country or region. The Philippines is set to receive a grant worth 60 million Euros which will support the transition to a circular economy and generation of green energy. The European Commissions said that the green investment initiative will also include a model for plastic waste management and crafting a circular economy policy for the Philippines. The national government in the Philippines is motivated to boosting renewable generation and has hopes to hit an energy mix of 35% green energy by 2035. The two-day trip also included talks of scope for a free trade agreement between the Philippines and the European Commission.