WHAT’S HAPPENING TODAY: Good afternoon and happy Wednesday, readers! And just when you thought you had a few more days without news from the Hill, today’s edition of Daily on Energy offers a preview to an ocean minerals hearing scheduled for early next month. Deep sea mining executive Hans Smit sat down with Callie this month to discuss what he intends to tell House lawmakers on why deep sea mining in the U.S. is a bit risky…for now. 

Plus, it is looking like the end for the Net-Zero Banking Alliance as the international green banking group has paused its work as its members vote on a restructuring.  

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Welcome to Daily on Energy, written by Washington Examiner energy and environment writers Callie Patteson (@CalliePatteson) and Maydeen Merino (@MaydeenMerino). Email cpatteson@washingtonexaminer dot com or mmerino@washingtonexaminer dot com for tips, suggestions, calendar items, and anything else. If a friend sent this to you and you’d like to sign up, click here. If signing up doesn’t work, shoot us an email, and we’ll add you to our list.

DEEP SEA MINING…THE SOLUTION TO TRUMP’S CRITICAL MINERALS SUPPLY CHAIN PROBLEM? As the Trump administration moves to accelerate domestic production of critical minerals and reduce reliance on China, one deep sea mining company is urging Washington to look to the South Pacific for inspiration. 

Hans Smit, president and CEO of Ocean Minerals, is set to appear before the House Natural Resources Committee next week, advocating deep sea mining. Smit’s company has been exploring mining off the Cook Islands to extract thousands of oddly-shaped rocks known as polymetallic nodules. These rocks, which simply rest on the sea floor, are made up of five critical metals: cobalt, copper, iron, manganese, and nickel. 

“For one ton of rock, we bring up more metals than five mines bringing up five times that amount,” Smit told Callie. 

President Donald Trump has already expressed interest in deep sea mining, signing an executive order encouraging American companies to identify and retrieve offshore critical minerals. Smit explained that the U.S. is a prime candidate for deep sea mining, as these nodules can be retrieved in essentially all U.S. territorial waters. 

An investment risk: While there is interest, Smit warned there is no proper legal or legislative framework to support exploration in the U.S. He explained that the Cook Islands has established a very specific model for companies to obtain exploration and mining licenses, offering a level of assurance to investors not seen in the U.S. at this point. 

“I have stakeholders, and they were expecting a return,” Smit told Callie. “They appreciate the risk profile associated with it, but it can’t be an unreasonable risk profile. And at the moment, the legislation provides me with an unreasonable risk profile.”

Smit is encouraging lawmakers to look to the Cook Islands to implement similar support for exploration and mining activities in statute. In the meantime, Ocean Minerals is considering further partnering with the U.S. for critical mineral refining and processing. While Ocean Minerals is not yet commercially mining, Smit said they are considering exporting the extracted nodules to the Port of Stockton in California before transporting the minerals to various inland facilities. 

GREEN BANK SEEKS RESTRUCTURING AMID MEMBERS ABANDONING THE GROUP: The Net-Zero Banking Alliance announced today that it has proposed a new framework for the group amid member banks dropping out of the group in the last several months. 

The group, which is one of the largest international climate banking groups, said that members will “vote to decide on a proposed transition from a membership-based alliance to establishing its guidance as a new framework initiative.” 

In the meantime, the alliance has paused its work until it concludes votes at the end of September. It is unclear what the proposal will entail. 

“The Steering Group believes this is the most appropriate model to continue supporting banks across the globe to remain resilient and accelerate the real economy transition in line with the Paris Agreement, as well as to continue engagement with the global banking industry to develop further guidance and tools needed to support them and their clients,” NZBA said in a statement.

The alliance aims to set climate targets for banks and institutions that are aligned with the Paris Agreement. However, the announcement comes as large U.S. banks have abandoned the group as soon as Trump was elected to office. Republicans have strongly criticized any efforts for environmental, social, and governance initiatives. 

Institutions like Goldman Sachs, Wells Fargo, Morgan Stanley, Citigroup, and Bank of America have since left the group. 

Read more by Maydeen here. 

2001 ROADLESS RULE ROLLBACK OPEN TO PUBLIC COMMENTS: The Department of Agriculture is opening its decision to rescind the 2001 Roadless Rule for public comment at the end of the week. 

Quick reminder: The Trump administration announced its plans earlier this summer to roll back the 2001 Roadless Rule, removing logging protections for nearly 45 million acres of national forest land to reduce the risk of wildfires. The rule has been in place since the end of the Clinton administration, prohibiting logging and road building on around 59 million acres of forests. 

The latest step: Now, the decision will be open for public comments. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins announced today that the agency will be publishing a Notice of Intent in the Federal Register on Friday. The public comment period will last three weeks until Sept. 19. 

Read more from Callie here. 

DOJ OPENS INVESTIGATION INTO CALIFORNIA EPA: The Justice Department today announced it has opened an investigation into California’s Environmental Protection Agency and California Air Resources Board (CARB) over potential discriminatory employment practices. 

In a letter, the DOJ said the state’s EPA may have “engaged in a pattern or practice of discrimination based on race, color, sex, and national origin…” They added that CARB also has a “Racial Equity Framework” to “shift the culture at CARB from one of white privilege to an actively anti-racist and more inclusive culture that values and affirms Black lives.”

The Trump administration has been strongly against diversity, equity, and inclusion practices. He has signed executive orders to terminate DEI initiatives in federal agencies. 

“Race-based employment practices and policies in America’s local and state agencies violate equal treatment under the law,” Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon of the DOJ Civil Rights Division said in a press release. “Agencies that unlawfully use protected characteristics as a factor in employment and hiring risk serious legal consequences.”

CALIFORNIA GEOTHERMAL LEASE SALE DRAWS DOZENS OF BUYERS: The Bureau of Land Management held an auction yesterday for over a dozen parcels of land for new geothermal energy projects, drawing buyers for each plot of land offered. 

The details: The competitive geothermal lease sale offered 13 parcels of land that total roughly 23,000 acres across Imperial, Lassen, and Modoc counties in California. Dozens of buyers participated in the auction, with winning bids ranging from $2 to $247 an acre, according to the Los Angeles Times. 

The entire auction generated roughly $2.75 million, half of which will go to the state. The remaining 50% will be split evenly between the counties where the leases are located and the U.S. Treasury. Each lease is valid for an initial 10-year period. 

Some background: Geothermal energy makes up one of the smallest percentages of the U.S. energy mix, particularly due to financial and seismic risks associated with the newer technology. 

The energy source has become increasingly attractive amid the shift toward carbon-free energy resources, particularly as it is available 24/7 regardless of weather. Geothermal energy plants are also estimated to have a capacity factor of more than 90%, meaning they are able to run at maximum capacity nearly all of the time. 

FEMA SUSPENDS WORKERS WHO CRITICIZED TRUMP: The Federal Emergency Management Agency has suspended dozens of employees who spoke out against the Trump administration this week, accusing the government of weakening their ability to respond to natural disasters. 

Quick reminder: On Monday, more than 180 current and former FEMA workers sent a letter to Congress calling for increased protections for agency employees, claiming the administration was undermining FEMA’s legal authority and responsibility. While most individuals signed the letter anonymously, approximately 36 published their names. 

The details: Emails obtained by the New York Times now reveal that of those individuals, roughly 30 current employees were placed on administrative leave last night. The suspensions were “effective immediately, and continuing until further notice,” according to the outlet. 

The emails did not offer a specific reason for the suspensions, but one group that helped publish the letter have claimed it appears to be retaliation. 

“Once again, we are seeing the federal government retaliate against our civil servants for whistleblowing—which is both illegal and a deep betrayal of the most dedicated among us,” Stand Up for Science said in a statement. 

The group confirmed to the Washington Examiner that it appeared every individual who publicly attached their name was suspended, including employees who assisted in responding to the deadly Texas flash floods in July. 

U.S. TARIFFS ON INDIA GO INTO EFFECT: Trump’s secondary tariffs on India went into effect today as part of measures to place economic pressure on New Delhi to stop importing Russian oil. 

In total, the U.S. has placed 50% tariffs on India over its purchases of Russian oil. India is the second largest importer of Russian oil after China. The U.S. and its allies believe that reducing the purchase of Russian crude will cripple oil export revenue used to fund the war in Ukraine. 

India has not signaled it will stop importing Russian crude. 

The tariffs go into effect as Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to travel to China to attend a summit hosted by Chinese leader Xi Jinping. Russia, Pakistan, Iran, and Central Asia will also be in attendance. 

ICYMI – DECOMMISSIONED IOWA NUCLEAR PLANT RECEIVES CRUCIAL WAIVER TO ADVANCE RESTART EFFORTS: The Duane Arnold nuclear power plant in Iowa is one step closer to coming back online. Earlier this week, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission granted a waiver to NextEra Energy to restart the plant by the end of 2029. 

The waiver is required in order for NextEra Energy to use MISO’s generating facility replacement process to consolidate existing solar interconnection agreements with the interconnection agreements for the plant. 

MISO, the region’s grid operator, currently requires the renewable utility to have its solar farms adjacent to the nuclear plant reach commercial operation by October 2026 or have its interconnection agreements terminated. NextEra Energy originally indicated that it could bring Duane Arnold back online by 2028, two years after that deadline. The company ultimately asked for an additional year in its waiver request to allow for any delays. 

Some background: Duane Arnold nuclear plant is located just 8 miles northwest of Cedar Rapids and first opened in February 1975. The plant shut down in 2020 after one of its major customers ended its power purchase agreement. It had been licensed to operate until 2034.

The reopening of Duane Arnold would make it the third decommissioned plant to come back online in the U.S., after the Palisades Nuclear Plant and Three Mile Island – since renamed the Crane Clean Energy Center – which are set to restart by the end of this year and 2027 respectively. 

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