Science & Environment
South Dakota opts out of Inflation Reduction Act energy rebates
Owngarden | Moment | Getty Images
A handful of states have rolled out rebates to consumers who make their homes more energy-efficient, just months after New York became the first state to do so, in May.
Meanwhile, South Dakota officials in August declined the federal funding, which is tied to two new programs created by the Inflation Reduction Act, a landmark climate law enacted in 2022.
The IRA earmarked $8.8 billion for consumers via two Home Energy Rebates programs.
Consumers can access up to $8,000 of Home Efficiency Rebates, and up to $14,000 of Home Electrification and Appliance Rebates.
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Together, the two rebate programs aim to defray — or in some cases fully offset — the cost of retrofitting homes and upgrading appliances to be more energy-efficient. Such tweaks can help consumers cut their utility bills while also reducing planet-warming carbon emissions, officials said.
The two programs have varying rules that determine which consumers are eligible and how much money they can access. In some cases, rebates will depend on household income and a home’s overall energy reduction.
Nearly every state has indicated it will launch a rebate program for residents, according to a U.S. Department of Energy spokesperson.
State officials had an August deadline to officially decline the federal funds. They have a Jan. 31, 2025 deadline to submit a program application to the DOE.
South Dakota is the only state so far to have signaled publicly that it won’t administer the rebates.
“With good faith, we did look into this,” Jim Terwilliger, commissioner of the South Dakota Bureau of Finance and Management, said during a July 30 appropriations hearing. “We just don’t believe that it’s the right thing for South Dakota.”
Here are the states that have applied
States, which administer the federal funds, have some leeway relative to program design. They must apply for funding and can distribute rebates to consumers after their application is approved.
New York launched the first phase of its rebates May 30.
Five others — Arizona, Maine, New Mexico, Rhode Island and Wisconsin — have since launched rebate programs, too, according to U.S. Department of Energy data as of Sept. 24.
“I’m expecting more and more to roll out,” said Kara Saul-Rinaldi, president and CEO of AnnDyl Policy Group, a consulting firm focused on climate and energy policy.
Many more states, as well as Washington, D.C., have submitted applications or had them approved, according to DOE data: California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, North Carolina, Oregon, Tennessee, Vermont, Washington and West Virginia.
Together, these 26 states plus the District of Columbia have applied for $4 billion in total funding so far, the DOE said.
The rebates are a new program, and “complex government programs like these take time and coordination to set up,” according to a DOE spokesperson.
“The Inflation Reduction Act put states in charge of designing and implementing Home Energy Rebate programs that fit their local needs,” the spokesperson wrote in an e-mail. “As each state has different resources and capabilities, each state’s timeline will be different.”
South Dakota is not participating
South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem at the Republican National Convention on July 15, 2024.
Scott Olson | Getty Images News | Getty Images
However, South Dakota officials in August signaled they wouldn’t participate, the lone state so far to decline the federal rebate funding.
“South Dakota will have no part in facilitating the Green New Deal,” Ian Fury, a spokesperson for Gov. Kristi Noem, a Republican, said in an e-mailed statement.
States had an Aug. 16, 2024 deadline to officially decline the funds.
“We don’t think the administrative burden and the expense of administering a program like that is the appropriate thing to do, and we generally disagree with the policy,” Terwilliger, of the South Dakota Bureau of Finance and Management, said in a July hearing.
The Inflation Reduction Act allows states to use up to 20% of its funding for administrative purposes.
Fifty-one states and territories have applied to DOE for early administrative funding, the agency said.
The $68.6 million of federal money that had been set aside for South Dakota rebates will be redistributed among participating states.
Fury also noted this isn’t the first time South Dakota has rejected federal spending. It was the only state to reject extended unemployment benefits in 2020 during the Covid-19 pandemic, Fury said.
The Green New Deal is a climate-change policy initiative supported by congressional Democrats starting around 2019. Bipartisan legislation to create an energy rebate program had existed almost a decade earlier, like the Home Star Energy Retrofit Act in 2010.
The concept of consumer rebates tied to energy efficiency “predates the Green New Deal by many years,” said Saul-Rinaldi.
Florida reverses course
It appears Florida officials reversed course from their original stance on the rebates.
Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis in 2023 had vetoed the state’s authority to spend about $5 million of federal funds to administer the energy rebate program. At the time, a spokesperson for the state’s Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services told CNBC that Florida wouldn’t be applying for the rebates as a result.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis at the Republican National Convention on July 16, 2024.
Robert Gauthier | Los Angeles Times | Getty Images
Now, Florida is preparing for a soft launch of the rebate programs in late 2024 and a full launch in early 2025, according to information on a state website.
A spokesperson for the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services didn’t return a request for comment on the change in position.
‘Every state is approaching [its program] differently’
At a high level, consumers will be able to get the rebates at the point of sale, when they buy an appliance directly from a retailer or from a qualified contractor who’s helping a household complete an efficiency project.
“Every state is approaching [its program] differently, for many reasons,” Saul-Rinaldi said.
Many are rolling them out in phases. For example, New Mexico is starting by offering a $1,600 rebate for low-income consumers in single-family homes who buy insulation from a participating retailer.
Similar to other states, qualifying New Mexico residents will be able to later access additional rebates such as:
- $8,000 for an ENERGY STAR-certified electric heat pump for space heating and cooling;
- $4,000 for an electrical panel;
- $2,500 for electrical wiring;
- $1,750 for an ENERGY STAR-certified electric heat pump water heater;
- $1,600 for air sealing; and
- $840 for an ENERGY STAR-certified electric heat pump clothes dryer and/or an electric stove.
Consumers and contractors should consult their state energy department website to learn more about their specific programs and eligibility, Saul-Rinaldi said.
The U.S. Energy Department suggests households don’t wait to accomplish necessary home energy upgrades or projects if their state hasn’t formally rolled out rebates. They may be eligible for other federal programs, “including tax credits, the Weatherization Assistance Program, and other state, local, and utility programs,” the agency said.
Science & Environment
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Science & Environment
ISS welcomes crew of docked SpaceX capsule
A SpaceX capsule sent to bring back two astronauts stranded on the International Space Station (ISS) has docked.
The Dragon capsule has two empty seats for Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, who were only meant to be on the ISS for eight days, but were forced to remain there because of a fault discovered during the flight. The pair are now expected to return to Earth in February.
The Dragon capsule lifted off from Cape Canaveral, Florida on Saturday carrying Nasa astronaut Nick Hague and Russian cosmonaut Alexander Gorbunov.
Science & Environment
FTC clears Chevron-Hess deal, bans John Hess from board
John Hess, chief executive officer of Hess Corp., speaks at the 2024 CERAWeek by S&P Global conference in Houston, Texas, US, on Tuesday, March 19, 2024.
F. Carter Smith | Bloomberg | Getty Images
The Federal Trade Commission has banned Hess Corp. CEO John Hess from Chevron‘s board as a condition for the oil companies’ $53 billion merger to move forward.
The FTC on Monday alleged that Hess encouraged OPEC representatives to draw down inventories, which would result in higher oil prices.
“Mr. Hess’s communications with competitors about global oil output and other dimensions of crude oil market competition disqualify him from serving on Chevron’s Board of Directors,” Henry Liu, director of the FTC’s Bureau of Competition, said in a statement Monday.
Hess said the FTC concerns are without merit, describing the CEO’s communications with OPEC as consistent with statements he has made to the U.S. government.
Hess Corp. and Chevron, however, have agreed that they will not appoint Hess to the board in order to facilitate the completion of the merger, according to the companies. Hess will serve as an advisor to Chevron on government relations and “social investments” in Guyana.
The FTC’s decision to allow the deal leaves the companies’ dispute with Exxon Mobil as the final hurdle for the transaction to close. Exxon has filed claims with an arbitration panel claiming a right of first refusal over Hess’ lucrative oil assets in Guyana.
If the arbitration panel rules in Exxon’s favor, the Chevron-Hess deal will not close. Chevron and Hess have said they are confident that panel will rule in their favor.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
Science & Environment
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Science & Environment
WTI on pace for third monthly loss
U.S. crude oil prices are on pace for a third monthly loss in a row in September as rising supplies from OPEC+ and weak demand in China haunt the market.
The U.S. benchmark has declined more than 7% for the month, while global benchmark Brent has fallen about 9%.
“Oil markets are experiencing a panic attack,” Amarpreet Singh, energy analyst at Barclays, told clients in a Friday note. “Balances are set to loosen next year, but concerns are likely overdone.”
Barclays expects Brent to average $85 in 2025.
Here are Monday’s energy prices:
- West Texas Intermediate November contract: $68.23, up 5 cents, or 0.07%. Year to date, U.S. crude oil has fallen nearly 5%.
- Brent November contract: $71.69 per barrel, down 29 cents, or 0.4%. Year to date, the global benchmark has declined nearly 7%.
- RBOB Gasoline October contract: $1.954 per gallon, up 0.05%. Year to date, gasoline has pulled back about 7%.
- Natural Gas November contract: $2.896 per thousand cubic feet, down 0.21%. Year to date, gas has gained about 16%.
Oil prices remain under pressure in part because OPEC+ plans to begin increasing production in December, and as demand in China, the world’s largest crude importer, remains soft.
Prices are finding little support from red hot tensions in the Middle East even after Israel killed Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in an airstrike in Beirut on Friday. The Netanyahu government is pummeling the Iran-backed militia group, with concerns growing that Israel might launch a ground operation in Lebanon.
“We believe that this price action reflects that the geopolitical risk premium remains limited [amid] market expectations of potentially higher oil supply” from Libya and Saudi Arabia, Daan Struyven, head oil analyst at Goldman Sachs, told clients in a Sunday note.
Science & Environment
UK to close last coal power station after 142 years
The UK is about to stop producing any electricity from burning coal – ending its 142-year reliance on the fossil fuel.
The country’s last coal power station, at Ratcliffe-on-Soar, finishes operations on Monday after running since 1968.
This marks a major milestone in the country’s ambitions to reduce its contribution to climate change. Coal is the dirtiest fossil fuel producing the most greenhouse gases when burnt.
Minister for Energy Michael Shanks said: “We owe generations a debt of gratitude as a country.”
The UK was the birthplace of coal power, and from tomorrow it becomes the first major economy to give it up.
“It’s a really remarkable day, because Britain, after all, built her whole strength on coal, that is the industrial revolution,” said Lord Deben – the longest serving environment secretary.
The first coal-fired power station in the world, the Holborn Viaduct power station, was built in 1882 in London by the inventor Thomas Edison – bringing light to the streets of the capital.
From that point through the first half of the twentieth century, coal provided pretty much all of the UK’s electricity, powering homes and businesses.
But from the 1960s things began to change. New discoveries of oil and gas were made in the North Sea offering a new, cheap source of energy, whilst the country’s coal mines were becoming less globally competitive and successive governments began closing them.
In the early 1990s, coal began to be forced out of the electricity mix by gas, but coal still remained a crucial component of the UK grid for the next two decades.
In 2012, it still generated 39% of the UK’s power.
The growth of renewables
But the science around climate change was growing – it was clear that the world’s greenhouse gas emissions needed to be reduced and as the dirtiest fossil fuel, coal was a major target.
In 2008, the UK established its first legally binding climate targets and in 2015 the then-energy and climate change secretary, Amber Rudd, told the world the UK would be ending its use of coal power within the next decade.
Dave Jones, director of global insights at Ember, an independent energy think tank, said this really helped to “set in motion” the end of coal by providing a clear direction of travel for the industry.
But it also showed leadership and set a benchmark for other countries to follow, according to Lord Deben.
“I think it’s made a big difference, because you need someone to point to and say, ‘There, they’ve done it. Why can’t we do it?’”, he said.
In 2010, renewables generated just 7% of the UK’s power. In the first half of 2024, this had grown to more than 50% – a new record.
The rapid growth of green power meant that coal could even be switched off completely for short periods, beginning in 2017.
The growth of renewables has been so successful that the target date for ending coal power was brought forward a year, and on Monday, Ratcliffe-on-Soar, was set to close for the last time.
Chris Smith worked at the plant for 28 years in the environment and chemistry team. She said: “It is a very momentous day. The plant has always been running and we’ve always been doing our best to keep it operating….It is a very sad moment.”
Lord Deben served in former prime minister Margaret Thatcher’s government when many of the UK’s coal mines were closed and thousands of workers lost their jobs. He said lessons had to be learnt from that for current workers in the fossil fuel industry.
“I’m particularly keen on the way in which this Government, and indeed the previous Government, is trying to make sure that the new jobs, of which there are very many green jobs, go to the places which are being damaged by the changes.
“So in the North Sea oil areas, that’s exactly where we should be doing carbon capture and storage, it’s where we should be putting wind and solar power,” he said.
Challenges ahead
Although coal is a very polluting source of energy, its benefit has been in being available at all times – unlike wind and solar which are limited by weather conditions.
Kayte O’Neill, the chief operating officer at the Energy System Operator – the body overseeing the UK’s electricity system – said: “There is a whole load of innovation required to help us ensure the stability of the grid. Keeping the lights on in a secure way.”
A crucial technology providing that stability Kayte O’Neill spoke of is battery technology.
Dr Sylwia Walus, research programme manager at the Faraday Institution, said that there has been significant progress in the science of batteries.
“There is always scope for a new technology, but more focus these days is really how to make it more sustainable and cheaper in production,” she said.
To achieve this the UK needs to become more independent of China in producing its own batteries and bringing in skilled workers for this purpose, she explained.
Additional reporting by Miho Tanaka and Justin Rowlatt
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