Reaction to President Trump’s SOTU

Agriculture (USDA)Environmental Protection Agency Federal Agency/Executive Branch Opinions Policy White House

January 31, 2018

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by Cindy Zimmerman (Energy.AgWired.com) President Donald Trump did mention energy in his first State of the Union address, albeit briefly.

“We have ended the war on American energy, and we have ended the war on beautiful clean coal,” said the president. “We are now very proudly an exporter of energy to the world.”

Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) president and CEO Bob Dinneen appreciates the President’s “America First” focus and hopes the administration will help address trade barriers for U.S. ethanol.

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Rebuilding infrastructure was a key theme in the president’s address, calling on Congress to “produce a bill that generates at least $1.5 trillion for the new infrastructure investment that our country so desperately needs.” Dinneen would also like to see that effort includes continued funding for USDA’s Biofuels Infrastructure Partnership program, and “revising volatility regulations that prohibit E15 and higher ethanol blends from being sold year-round when there’s no environmental or consumer benefit to limiting its access.” READ MORE

Trump: ‘We have ended the war on American energy' (The Hill)

Trump hints at energy dominance as US producers cross historic threshold (Platts)

Is the United States the new Saudi Arabia? (Brookings)

Why Is The Shale Industry Still Not Profitable? (OilPrice.com)

The infrastructure structure (Politico's Morning Energy)

White House seeks 72 percent cut to clean energy research, underscoring administration’s preference for fossil fuels (The Washington Post)

Report: Trump budget seeks 72% cut to DOE clean energy research (Utility Dive)

White House to ask for 72 percent cut in renewable energy programs: report (The Hill)

RFA responds to Trump’s State of the Union address (Ethanol Producer Magazine)

State of Infrastructure -- State of the Union Address Leaves Infrastructure Funding Questions Unanswered (DTN The Progressive Farmer)

Excerpt from The Hill: Trump also used his State of the Union address Tuesday to boast, “We are now, very proudly, an exporter of energy to the world.”

The United States has exported oil, natural gas, coal and other forms of energy for decades, and exports increased dramatically in the last decade. Obama signed a law in 2015 to lift the ban on exporting oil, and implemented policies to ease natural gas exports.

The Energy Information Administration (EIA) estimates that around 2026, the United States will become a net exporter of energy. For natural gas specifically, the United States became a net exporter for the first time last year.

Most of Trump's energy policies have been enacted through executive actions, which can be undone by a future administration. READ MORE

Excerpt from Platts: At last week's World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Russian oil minister Alexander Novak, Saudi oil minister Khalid al-Falih and US energy Secretary Rick Perry shared a stage.

Rather than a discussion on efforts to keep foreign crude flowing into the US to dampen potential increases in gasoline prices, the panel focused on the role of US shale in "spoiling" efforts by OPEC, Russia and other producers to cut oil output and the likelihood of more US sanctions aimed at Russia's oil sector.

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But the shale output increase still represents just over 2% of total world production, expected to average about 100.3 million b/d this year, and shows that the 10 million b/d milestone for US production is "not as big of a deal as it might seem," said Antoine Halff, former chief oil analyst with the International Energy Agency.

"Sure, the more oil you produce, the more insulated you are against a supply disruption, a physical shortfall in supply," said Halff, who is now director of the global oil markets program at Columbia University's Center on Global Energy Policy. "But it doesn't really isolate you from the global market, the impact of an oil crisis, the price effects, the economic impact, all of that in a globalized world." READ MORE

Excerpt from Politico's Morning Energy: Instead of supplying wonky policy details on infrastructure, the president asked members of both parties to "come together to give us the safe, fast, reliable and modern infrastructure." He declared: "Tonight, I am calling on the Congress to produce a bill that generates at least $1.5 trillion for the new infrastructure investment we need." That price tag would be covered by a mix of federal, state and local government funds as well as private sector investments, and plenty of details will have to be worked out in Congress.

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"President Trump understands that we must modernize onerous and duplicative federal permitting requirements for any infrastructure package to succeed," House Natural Resources Chairman Rob Bishop said, noting he looks forward to working with the administration "on targeted streamlining of the NEPA process to get infrastructure projects off the ground quickly in a less costly manner." And, earlier in the day, Sen. Jim Inhofe told Fox News "we need" to move forward legislation for infrastructure. "[T]wo things that [the president] has an absolute commitment for, are going to be rebuilding our military and of course the transportation system. But keep in mind, it's just not roads and highways. It's energy transportation, it's everything else across the board. I think he's going to do it." READ MORE

Excerpt from The Washington Post: The proposal would cut funds for electric car technologies and fuel efficient vehicles — at $307 million currently the biggest of the program areas — to $ 56 million in 2019.

Money for bioenergy technologies have gone to research renewable fuels from nonfood sources. READ MORE

Excerpt from Ethanol Producer Magazine: During his speech, Trump said it’s “time to rebuild our crumbling infrastructure,” and called on congress to produce a bill that generates at least $1.5 trillion in new infrastructure investments and streamline the permitting and approval process.

In his reaction, Dinneen (Bob Dinneen, Renewable Fuels Association President) called ethanol the cleanest, cheapest and highest octane fuel available today, but stressed that too many consumers are being denied access to higher level ethanol blends because marketers lack the resources to modernize the infrastructure used to produce and distribute these fuels. He also cited antiquated regulations prohibiting year-round use of higher ethanol blends, like E15, as part of the problem. “We hope Congress and the administration will work together to provide continued funding for USDA’s Biofuels Infrastructure Partnership program,” he said. “Most importantly, we will continue to engage EPA to revise volatility regulations that prohibit E15 and higher ethanol blends from being sold year-round when there’s no environmental or consumer benefit to limiting its access.”

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Dinneen said that U.S.-produced corn ethanol is the least expensive, highest octane source on the plant, noting that there are export opportunities for U.S. ethanol. “We appreciate the President’s America First focus,” he said. “Indeed, last year the U.S. exported a record 1.3 billion gallons of ethanol to more than 60 countries. Increasingly, however, our exports are being met with tariff and non-tariff barriers that reduce U.S. market opportunities, while harming foreign consumers. We look forward to continuing to work with the administration to reduce those barriers and create a free, fair and global market for ethanol.”

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“The President spoke glowingly about an economy benefitting from lower taxes and a reduced regulatory burden,” Dinneen said. “These benefits, while impressive, are not necessarily touching every American. Farmers today are having to sell their commodities below the cost of production, making value-added products like ethanol that much more important. The president has been a steadfast proponent of ethanol in general and the Renewable Fuel Standard in specific. With his continued support and action by EPA to lift antiquated volatility restrictions for E15 and higher level ethanol blends, we will move more renewable fuels across the country, continuing to revitalize rural America as well.” READ MORE

Excerpt from DTN The Progressive Farmer: Kevin DeGood, director of infrastructure policy at the Center for American Progress, said the president's speech offered no new details.

"Creating a private equity bonanza for Wall Street will mean higher taxes, tolls, and user fees for working -- and middle-class -- Americans," DeGood said in a news release.

The Trump plan calls for about $200 billion in federal dollars invested, to spark public/private partnerships to fund some $1.5 trillion in improvements.

DeGood said the plan would lead to increases in state and local taxes and user fees, while shifting the cost burden to states and cities.

In addition, Trump called for cutting the permitting time for road and bridge projects from about 10 years to one or two years as a way to speed up improvements.

U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue said the president's infrastructure focus is good for agriculture.

"President Trump's optimistic vision for the nation includes massive investment in infrastructure, which will be a boon to a rural America that sorely needs such improvements," Perdue said in a statement. READ MORE