Overnight Energy: Dakota Access Pipeline fined over safety violations | Electric cars to outsell combustion vehicles in US by 2036 | Montana governor mobilizes National Guard to assist with wildfires

TGIF!!!  Welcome to Overnight Energy, your source for the day’s energy and environment news. 

Please send tips and comments to Rachel Frazin at rfrazin@thehill.com . Follow her on Twitter: @RachelFrazin . Reach Zack Budryk at zbudryk@thehill.com or follow him at @BudrykZack . 

Today we’re looking at a federal fine for the Dakota Access pipeline, the future of the electric vehicle market and the latest action on western wildfires.

 

DOT-ED LINE: Dakota Access Pipeline fined over safety violations

The Department of Transportation’s Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) on Friday announced a $93,200 fine against the operators of the Dakota Access pipeline, citing safety violations.

In its notice, the administration said Energy Transfer violated regulations on drainage valves for stormwater in at least six locations. The company also did not properly correct hazards relating to at least one valve used for nitrogen release, according to the PHMSA notice.

“At a field inspection of Johnsons Corner pump station, and during a subsequent review of records including the alarms generated in the operator’s local station control system and SCADA system records, it was determined that multiple alarms occurred since commissioning of the pipeline indicating changes in relief valve’s nitrogen pressure (which effects the valve relief pressure set point),” the notice reads.

What else?: The notice states that the Johnsons Corner valve issue has triggered thousands of alarms since the pipeline began operations four years ago.

The PHMSA identified a further five safety issues, including outdated references to its own operations manuals, as well as failure to update an integrity management program in keeping with practical operations. The letter does not identify any specific instances of oil leakage from the pipeline.

Read more about the notice here

 

EV LIKE SUNDAY MORNING: Electric cars to outsell combustion vehicles in US by 2036: analysis

A newly conducted analysis predicts that sales of electric vehicles will outpace combustion vehicles by 2036 in the United States.

Consulting firm EY, formerly Ernst & Young, released an analysis stating that Europe will sell more zero-emission vehicles than combustion vehicles by 2028 and that China and the U.S. are expected to reach that threshold in 2033 and 2036, respectively.

According to EY’s predictions, within the next 10 years electric vehicles are expected to outsell combustion vehicles in the main global markets. In the next 25 years, combustion vehicles or nonelectric cars are expected to only make up 1 percent of the global market.

How we got here: Brands including General Motors and Volvo are credited for the market shift, as they have vowed to implement aggressive policies that will transition the majority of their vehicles to become electric-only. General Motors announced that it will begin only selling electric cars in 2035, and Volvo committed to stop producing combustion vehicles by 2030, according to Business Insider.

The acceleration in electric car sales can also be attributed to government programs and a push from the millennial generation, Business Insider reported.

“The view from the millennials that we’re seeing is clearly more inclination to want to buy EVs,” Randy Miller, EY’s global head of advanced manufacturing and mobility, said, according to the news outlet.

Read more about the analysis here

 

FIRING LINE: Montana governor mobilizes National Guard to assist with wildfires

Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte (R) has mobilized the National Guard to assist with the response to the state’s wildfires.

Gianforte said in a statement that he ordered two Montana National Guard helicopter support modules, including 24 soldiers, onto State Active Duty for 15 days.

The Guard will provide one UH-60 Black Hawk crew and support personnel to operate out of Billings to support fire suppression efforts for eastern Montana. One CH-47 Chinook crew and support personnel will provide help for the western side of the state, Gianforte said.

The mobilization comes after the Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation requested military support for fire suppression efforts.

Gianforte said the National Guardsmen are “well-trained and well-prepared for this mobilization.”

“On behalf of a grateful state, I want to thank these soldiers for joining our courageous firefighters and first responders on the frontlines in our state’s wildfire response,” the governor said.

Read more about the mobilization here

 

WHAT WE’RE READING:

Analysis: China crackdown could knock crude oil import growth to 20-year low, Reuters reports 

Haaland: Interior will ‘restore the effectiveness’ of BLM HQ, E&E News reports

Advocates say energy efficiency — not gas — offers Appalachia best economic prospects, Energy News Network reports

Hitting global climate target could create 8m energy jobs, study says, The Guardian reports

 

ON TAP NEXT WEEK:

On Tuesday:

• The Senate Energy & Natural Resources Committee will hold a hearing on President Biden’s fiscal 2022 request for the Interior Department
• The House Natural Resources will hold a hearing entitled “The Toxic Legacy of the Mining Law of 1872”
• The House Energy & Commerce Committee will hold a hearing entitled “The Changing Energy Landscape: Oversight of FERC”
• The House Oversight Committee will hold a hearing on cybersecurity threats to the electric grid

On Wednesday:

• The Senate Energy & Natural Resources Committee’s National Parks Subcommittee will hold a hearing on the impacts of overcrowding in national parks on park resources and visitor experiences
• The Senate Environment & Public Works Committee will hold a hearing to examine the benefits of investing in U.S. Army Corps of Engineers water infrastructure projects.

On Thursday:

• The Senate Environment & Public Works Committee will hold hearings to examine the nominations of Stephen A. Owens, Jennifer Beth Sass and Sylvia E. Johnson, of North Carolina to be Members of the Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board.
• The House Select Committee on the Climate Crisis will hold a hearing on Financing Climate Solutions and Job Creation
• The House Foreign Affairs Committee will hold a hearing entitled “Renewable Energy Transition: A Case Study of How International Collaboration on Offshore Wind Technology Benefits American Workers” 

 

ICYMI: Stories from Friday (and Thursday night)…

Transportation Department fines Dakota Access Pipeline operator $93K over safety violations

California lawmaker quotes ‘Apocalypse Now’ while bulldozing Asian-run pot farms

Electric cars to outsell combustion vehicles by 2036: analysis

Montana governor mobilizes National Guard to assist with wildfires

 

OFFBEAT AND OFF-BEAT: One bird’s trash