Advanced BioFuels USA

by Kelsey Tamborrino (Politico’s Morning Energy)  Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Darren Soto led the introduction of a nationwide fracking ban, H.R. 5867, in the House on Wednesday. The measure is a companion to a bill, S. 3247 (116) , introduced in the Senate last month by Sens. Bernie Sanders and Jeff Merkley that would ban all new federal permits for fracking-related infrastructure. It would also put a federal ban on fracking within 2,500 feet of homes and schools by 2021, and ban all fracking nationwide beginning in 2025. “We must do our job to protect our future from the harms caused by the fracking industry,” Ocasio-Cortez said in a tweet Wednesday about the legislation.   READ MORE

Industry group warns fracking ban could cost 7.5M jobs in US (The Hill)

The Energy 202: Mike Bloomberg’s climate plans show how he’s betting big on Texas for Super Tuesday  (Washington Post)

Sanders Fracking Ban Doesn’t Scare Democrats in Colorado’s Oil Field (Bloomberg)

Manchin talks energy bill, FERC and fracking (Politico’s Morning Energy)

Excerpt from Washington Post: Bloomberg has set himself apart from other Democrats in two key ways:

1. He wants to better regulate fracking, but doesn’t want a nationwide ban.

The Texas angle: Bloomberg’s position on hydraulic fracturing seems notable given the method of extracting natural gas has expanded production in the Permian Basin in West Texas.

As Bloomberg said during the Democratic debate in Las Vegas: “If we could enforce some of the rules on fracking so that they don’t release methane into the air and into the water, you’ll make a big difference. But we’re not going to get rid of fracking for a while.”

By contrast: Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) want to end the drilling technique over concerns about not only its contributions to climate change, but also how it can taint groundwater and cause earthquakes. Former vice president Joe Biden also takes the regulate-it-but-don’t-end-it stance on fracking.

…

2. Bloomberg is the only 2020 candidate (aside from President Trump) who does not want to end U.S. oil and gas exports.

The Texas angle: The state’s Gulf Coast is a major exit point for natural gas and refined petroleum products.
By contrast: Both Sanders and Warren want to reinstitute a ban on oil exports, which was lifted by Congress in 2015. Even Biden has said, “I think we should” ban fossil fuel exports, though his campaign has not directly answered the question.

…

Daphne Wang, a Bloomberg campaign spokeswoman, noted that bans on either oil exports or fracking would require an act of Congress — a difficult feat even if Democrats take back the Senate. “His climate plans don’t rely on whether Congress will spend $16 trillion or shut down entire industries overnight, but instead are based on detailed modeling of what is doable … and what the President can actually accomplish through executive authority,” she said.  READ MORE

Excerpt from Politico’s Morning Energy:  (Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.)) On Sen. Bernie Sanders’ call for a fracking ban: “It’ll definitely cost Bernie the White House. The energy we’ve been able to produce — fracking can be done as long we have the regulations to make sure it’s done in a safe manner. Any time that we’ve had any problems with seismic, it’s been man-made because of over-injections, things of this sort. We know what causes it. We can police that better. But you can’t just turn a deaf ear to the damn stuff or put your head in the sand.”  READ MORE