WHAT’S HAPPENING TODAY: Good afternoon, and happy Thursday readers! 

It was a busy week for the House and Senate, as they voted on several resolutions that canceled regulations regarding California vehicle emission standards, energy-efficient appliances, and conservation rules. We break down each resolution below. 

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Meanwhile, the U.S. and Ukraine struck a minerals deal yesterday after months of negotiations. The deal would allow the U.S. access to Ukraine’s mineral reserves while also providing the U.S. a financial stake in the country. 

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.

HOUSE AND SENATE VOTE TO UNDO VEHICLE, ENERGY, AND CLIMATE-RELATED RULES: House lawmakers today voted to reverse the Biden Environmental Protection Agency’s waiver that granted California the power to ban the sale of gas-powered vehicles by 2035. 

In a 246-164 vote, with 35 Democrats joining all Republicans, representatives overturned California’s plan to transition away from gas-powered cars by 2035. The EPA approved the plan in December 2024 through a waiver under the Clean Air Act.

Republicans argue that California’s emission rules limit consumers’ choice and set a de facto national standard. A dozen states are following California’s rules. The resolution was passed through the Congressional Review Act, which allows Congress to bypass the filibuster and vote in a simple majority in both chambers to cancel a regulation. 

Today’s vote is one of three CRAs that the House voted on this week regarding California’s vehicle regulations, which aim to transition toward electric vehicles. 

The House yesterday evening also passed two CRA resolutions that undo California’s rules requiring heavy-duty vehicle manufacturers to increase the sales of zero-emission trucks and reduce nitrogen oxide emissions from heavy-duty vehicles. The EPA granted California a waiver to set stringent emission standards. 

However, it is unclear whether the Republicans’ efforts to reverse the waivers through the CRA will survive legal scrutiny. The Government Accountability Office said last month that waivers relating to the Clean Air Act are not considered agency rules and, therefore, are not subject to the CRA.

Read more by Maydeen here. 

Plus, in the Senate… Lawmakers voted 52 to 46 to overturn a Biden EPA regulation that prohibits industries from reclassifying major sources of pollution like refineries and other facilities as Area Sources, which are subject to less-strict emissions reduction controls. 

“This misguided rule would remove a major incentive for dozens of industries to reduce emissions,” Republican West Virginia Sen. Shelley Moore Capito said. “It would further saddle American energy producers and manufactures with regulatory costs and burdens, and simply put, operates under a premise that is purely unfair.”

ENERGY EFFICIENCY APPLIANCE RULES: The Senate also this week voted to cancel two Energy Department rules on appliances finalized during the Biden administration. 

This morning the Senate voted 52 to 45 to overturn the Energy Department’s regulation that sets more stringent standards for commercial refrigerators, freezers, and refrigerator-freezers under its Energy Conservation Program. It aims to reduce energy consumption and emissions.

Yesterday the Senate voted 52 to 46 to overturn a rule that required appliances to meet specific standards to receive the energy-efficient label. The standards apply to various consumer products, including dishwashers, heat pumps, dehumidifiers, and air conditioners. 

Republicans have argued that energy efficiency standards on appliances raise costs and limit consumers’ choice. The House voted on both of the resolutions last month so the bills will be heading to President Donald Trump’s office to be signed into law. 

Read more from Maydeen here. 

ALSO SWIMMING TO THE SENATE: House Republicans have voted to reel back federal protections for the San Francisco Bay-Delta distinct population of longfin smelt, which President Donald Trump has repeatedly criticized in his long-standing feud with Gov. Gavin Newsom. 

The House of Representatives voted 216-195 to remove the endangered species status for the smelt. Three Democrats voted in favor and one Republican voted against.

Some background: The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service listed the San Francisco Bay longfin smelt as an endangered species in July of last year. These federal and additional state protections were intended to support the recovery of the small fish by ensuring the species has enough freshwater. These rules have, to an extent, increased the amount of water that is pumped out to sea and restricted how much is sent to other areas of the state. Critics have argued the rules put an undue burden on farmers and residents, particularly in times of drought. 

Trump v. Newsom: The president has repeatedly said the protections make it harder for the state to store and deliver water to residents for months. The California smelt was thrust into the spotlight in January as Trump reiterated his criticisms amid Newsom’s handling of the deadly wildfires. The president has called on California to rescind its policies protecting the fish, threatening to withhold disaster funding if Newsom fails to do so. 

The clash over who should be receiving increased flows of water came to a head on Trump’s first day in office, when he signed an executive memo titled “Putting People over Fish.” The order gave Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum 90 days to submit a report on the administration’s efforts to route water to other parts of the state.

Read more from Callie here. 

U.S. AND UKRAINE MINERALS DEAL: The U.S. and Ukraine signed a deal that would allow the U.S. access to minerals and financial stake in the country. 

The agreement was signed yesterday evening after months of tense negotiations. Trump has wanted the deal as a way for Ukraine to pay the U.S. back for providing aid. Meanwhile, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky wanted security guarantees from the U.S., but Ukraine has dropped those demands. 

What’s in the deal? The deal will include the U.S. access to Ukraine’s rare earths, minerals, oil, gas, and other natural resources related to infrastructure. It establishes a joint investment fund which will be used to help rebuild Ukraine. 

Ukraine reportedly contains rare earths and critical minerals that can be used in the energy and natural security sector. The U.S. has been looking for new avenues to reduce its reliance on China for critical minerals. 

The World Economic Forum said Ukraine can be a key supplier of rare earth metals, such as titanium, lithium, beryllium, manganese, gallium, uranium, zirconium, graphite, apatite, fluorite, and nickel.

Read more from Washington Examiner’s White House reporter Haisten Willis here. 

TRUMP ADMINISTRATION SUES MICHIGAN AND HAWAII OVER PLANS TO TARGET FOSSIL FUEL COMPANIES: The Trump administration has filed lawsuits against Michigan and Hawaii in an effort to stop the states from filing their own suits against large fossil fuel companies for damage caused by climate change. 

The details: The Department of Justice filed the lawsuits against the two states late last night, marking the latest effort from Republicans to block environmentalist and climate activist efforts to make oil and gas companies liable for climate change. 

Neither state had filed their suits as of Wednesday, but Hawaii Gov. Josh Green said the island could sue as soon as today. Once filed, these suits would join the more than two dozen that are seeking damages from companies like Exxon Mobil, BP, Chevron, Shell, and more. Other Democratic-led states, such as California and New Jersey, have accused these companies of deceiving the public about the contributions of fossil fuels to climate change. 

The Department of Justice’s preemptive lawsuits against the two states also points to the president’s declaration of a national energy emergency, signed on his first day in office. The lawsuits claim the anticipated action from Michigan and Hawaii will raise energy costs, disrupt fossil fuel production, and hurt the administration’s efforts to secure reliable domestic energy. 

“This Nation’s Constitution and laws do not tolerate this interference,” both lawsuits read. 

Some background: While there have been numerous efforts to upend these lawsuits, there has been little forward movement as the Supreme Court declined to hear a case filed by Republican state attorneys general aimed at blocking the Democratic efforts. Despite this, Trump has moved to take matters into his own hands. 

In early April, the president signed an executive order primarily focused on reviving coal that included a provision instructing the Department of Justice to investigate state laws and policies the administration says discriminate against the coal and fossil fuel industry. This included any laws and lawsuits focused on addressing “climate change,” “environmental justice,” “greenhouse gas” emissions, and carbon. 

ALL NEW HOMES IN ENGLAND TO GET SOLAR: Almost every new home built in England is expected to be fitted with solar panels by 2027 under a new plan put forth by the Labour government. 

The details: The new rules, reported on by The Times, are expected to require homebuilders to install solar roof panels on new properties over the next two years. The government has claimed this will help reduce energy bills for consumers within four years, with savings as much as more than £1,000 (roughly $1,326) each year. 

In the short term, it is expected to increase the costs related to new homebuilding. Semi-detached or terraced home construction is anticipated to rise by £3,000 (nearly $4,000), while detached homes will increase by just under £4,000 (around $5,300). The government, which is aiming to build 1.5 million homes by 2029, has said the initiative will also support the country’s decarbonization efforts, including hitting net-zero by 2050. 

Climate criticism: The new rules come just days after former Prime Minister Tony Blair slammed the government’s net-zero policies and goals as “irrational.” He claimed that the government’s position has forced residents to make financial sacrifices and major lifestyle changes with minimal impact on efforts to reduce emissions.

“Any strategy based on either ‘phasing out’ fossil fuels in the short term or limiting consumption is a strategy doomed to fail,” Blair said, in the foreword for a report published by the Tony Blair Institute this week. 

ELECTRICITY EXPERTS POINT BLAME AT RENEWABLES FOR IBERIAN OUTAGE: Officials have yet to reveal the exact cause of the massive power outage that hit the Iberian Peninsula on Monday, but experts within the energy industry continue to point fingers at the region’s heavy reliance on renewable power. 

In recent years, both Spain and Portugal have rapidly accelerated their transition to greener sources of energy like wind and solar while phasing out both fossil fuels and nuclear power. Some have suggested that much of this swift implementation of renewables was done without stabilization systems needed to support rapid changes in energy production, creating a more vulnerable and unstable grid. 

“Two-thirds of [Spain’s electricity] production was made up of non-controllable resources. These non-controllable resources… don’t contribute to the stability of the internal electrical system,”  André Merlin, the founder and former CEO of French grid operator RTE, told the Financial Times.

International Energy Agency board member Jorge Sanz also indicated Wednesday that an oversupply in energy – possibly caused by exceptionally sunny weather in the region recently – might have led to the outage. Typically, grid operators will call on traditional plants (like fossil fuels or nuclear) to lower their output to moderate the grid. But, as Spain has few of these plants connected to the grid, they were unable to do so, Sanz said. 

Executives with Spanish grid operator Red Eléctrica have adamantly denied that renewables were to blame for the outage that left millions of Spanish and Portuguese residents without power for hours. CEO Beatriz Corredor insisted to the Spanish press yesterday that renewables like solar and wind are not “insecure technologies.” 

“The proof is that the system operates with renewables every day,” Corredor said adding, “It’s not true that higher penetration of renewables has made the system more vulnerable.”

AND NEARBY…FRENCH SOLAR CAUSES PRICE TO PLUNGE: French power prices dropped below zero due to a flood of solar energy, forcing nuclear power to reduce its output, Bloomberg reports. 

The outlet said that intraday prices dropped as low as minus €68.42 or $77.19 a megawatt-hour. The May Day holiday also played a part in low energy demand with many people being off of work. In order to balance the supply, Electricite de France SA reduced nuclear power to the lowest in a year. 

The growing renewable energy sector in Europe has been overwhelming the grid, which has forced energy prices to go negative, Bloomberg said. It has raised the question of whether renewables should be cut to help other critical energy sources. Nuclear energy accounts for half of France’s energy production, while solar makes up 32% of production. 

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