
Obama Pushes Agencies on Keystone XL Pipeline Permit

Contradictory to President Obama's rejection of the Keystone XL pipeline earlier this year, the President is now directing federal agencies to fast-track the southern segment of the oil pipeline from Oklahoma to Texas.
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As rising oil production has outpaced pipelines' capacity to reach refineries, the 485-mile line set to go from Cushing, Okla., to refineries in Texas will alleviate the holdup in the country's oil transportation system. The executive order also applies to other pipelines to make faster decisions on other infrastructure projects.
A central focus in heated political debates over energy policy in the 2012 election, the Keystone XL pipeline is fiercely opposed by environmentalists who fear the line threatens critical water supplies across the country. Republicans tout the benefits of building the longer 1,700-mile pipeline, which they claim will provide countless jobs and help reduce oil prices.
Without enough time to thoroughly review various reports before making a decision, Obama delayed the construction of the pipeline in January after Republicans wrote a provision forcing him to make a decision.
TransCanada hopes to complete the $2.3 billion section of the project in the next year, but will still require a number of grant permits before it gets started. Those agencies will likely include Fish and Wildlife, the Environmental Protection Agency and the Army Corps of Engineers in addition to Oklahoma and Texas.
Hydrostor receives $4m funding for A-CAES facility in Canada

Hydrostor has received $4m funding to develop a 300-500MW Advanced Compressed Air Energy Storage (A-CAES) facility in Canada.
The funding will be used to complete essential engineering and planning, and enable Hydrostor to plan construction.
The project will be modeled on Hydrostor’s commercially operating Goderich storage facility, providing up to 12 hours of energy storage.
The project has support from Natural Resources Canada’s Energy Innovation Program and Sustainable Development Technology Canada.
Hydrostor’s A-CAES system supports Canada’s green economic transition by designing, building, and operating emissions-free energy storage facilities, and employing people, suppliers, and technologies from the oil and gas sector.
The Honorable Seamus O’Regan, Jr. Minister of Natural Resources, said: “Investing in clean technology will lower emissions and increase our competitiveness. This is how we get to net zero by 2050.”
A-CAES has the potential to lower greenhouse gas emissions by enabling the transition to a cleaner and more flexible electricity grid. Specifically, the low-impact and cost-effective technology will reduce the use of fossil fuels and will provide reliable and bankable energy storage solutions for utilities and regulators, while integrating renewable energy for sustainable growth.
Curtis VanWalleghem, Hydrostor’s Chief Executive Officer, said: “We are grateful for the federal government’s support of our long duration energy storage solution that is critical to enabling the clean energy transition. This made-in-Canada solution, with the support of NRCan and Sustainable Development Technology Canada, is ready to be widely deployed within Canada and globally to lower electricity rates and decarbonize the electricity sector."
The Rosamond A-CAES 500MW Project is under advanced development and targeting a 2024 launch. It is designed to turn California’s growing solar and wind resources into on-demand peak capacity while allowing for closure of fossil fuel generating stations.
Hydrostor closed US$37 million (C$49 million) in growth financing in September 2019.
