Climate law fuels solar vs. wind battle

President Joe Biden’s $369 billion climate law promises to drive down the cost of solar power and battery technology — but that new economic landscape could also throw a curveball in regions with big wind plans.

Iowa’s largest-ever wind energy proposal is now the subject of fierce criticism from some of the biggest champions of renewable power: environmental groups and tech companies that are eager for carbon-free electricity to run their data centers, writes POLITICO’s E&E News reporter Jeffrey Tomich. 

Iowa-based utility MidAmerican Energy, a unit of an energy holding company controlled by Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway, plans to invest nearly $4 billion almost exclusively in wind power. But critics say that money could be better spent, especially considering the tax incentives in the Inflation Reduction Act that reward solar infrastructure.

The case is a harbinger of how a new infusion of federal cash could change the economics of low-carbon power and pit sources of clean energy against each other.

Modeling performed by the Environmental Law & Policy Center found that adding in more solar power and battery storage to the utility’s energy mix would drive down costs for consumers. Unlike the wind power plan (known as Wind Prime), a more diverse offering would also hasten the retirement of some of MidAmerican’s coal plants, the environmental coalition said.

“We have concern with just going forward with a $4 billion investment that may take other investment opportunities off the table,” Josh Mandelbaum, an attorney for the group, told Jeff.

MidAmerican officials say the utility considered other sources of power, but the wind expansion is a reasonable way to reach its 100 percent renewable energy target at no extra cost to consumers. MidAmerican is already among the biggest wind power producers in the nation.

Critics are not so sure. Some allege that the fidelity to wind power is more about maximizing profit during the energy transition. They say the utility’s plan to close its five coal plants by 2049 is too slow.

“Wind Prime is not about decarbonization,” said Devi Glick, a senior principal at Synapse Energy Economics. “Wind Prime’s purpose is to maximize revenues for MidAmerican.”

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Today in POLITICO Energy’s podcast: Kelsey Tamborrino breaks down why the Energy Department conditionally agreed to provide a $700 million loan to a controversial lithium mining project in Nevada.

Rock > Biden’s agenda < Hard place
President Joe Biden’s climate agenda is at risk of getting squeezed between a chronic shortage of federal workers and threats by House Republicans to slash spending, writes Adam Aton.

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy has signed on to a plan by GOP hard-liners to try to roll back discretionary spending. That equates to a cut of about $130 billion from current spending levels and is line with new GOP calls to balance the federal budget.

Let the guessing begin
Two candidates have emerged as possible frontrunners to fill a vacant seat on the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, according to sources familiar with the process, write Miranda Willson and Brian Dabbs.

It’s unclear when the White House will nominate someone new to join the independent, five-seat commission, or how many individuals are being vetted for the job.

Coal mine protests
Police removed Swedish activist Greta Thunberg and other protesters Sunday as they demonstrated against the razing of the German village of Lützerath for the expansion of a coal mine, writes Jones Hayden.

Climate activists have been squatting in the village in the western state of North Rhine-Westphalia for more than two years to protest its demolition.

Impacts: California storms bring more deaths, heavy rain, flooding and power outages.

Climate hustle: How to bust idlers, bike lane blockers and water wasters — and maybe get paid.

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The oil industry is signaling that its profits will be more modest in 2023, as it closes out a tumultuous year that saw companies reap record earnings after the Russian war in Ukraine and political backlash.

Food producers are adapting to climate change using hybrid seed varieties, altered growing seasons and northward migration as heat and drought compromise render traditional cropland.

The European Commission will propose a Net-Zero Industry Act that lays out a series of clean-tech objectives for 2030, in an effort to compete with the United States.

That’s it for today, folks! Thanks for reading.