ADVANCED NUCLEAR CAUCUS FORMED IN SENATE: Sens. Mark Warner and Jim Risch are launching the Advanced Nuclear Caucus – underlining the popularity of the technology in both parties. 

In an announcement shared with the Washington Examiner, the senators said the bipartisan group will amplify the role nuclear energy plays in the U.S., while exploring emerging nuclear technologies and promoting the goals of the industry. 

“Advancing the next generation of nuclear energy technology is critical to meeting U.S. and global energy demands,” Warner said in a statement. “The U.S. has a rich history of leadership in the nuclear industry, and it is crucial that we maintain this competitive edge.

Why it matters: This is the first group in the Senate to focus specifically on advanced nuclear technologies – highlighting the growing support for the sector as both parties coalesce around nuclear as a carbon-free source of energy that could prove essential to achieving net-zero emissions. 

The Biden administration has dedicated billions into advancing nuclear technology. However, the industry has faced difficulties getting off the ground, experiencing a lag in project approvals, rising costs of projects, and a lack of demand. 

But: A package of legislation to address some of these concerns and deliver a complete regulatory overhaul of the industry is still in the works between policy staffers and lawmakers on the House Energy and Commerce and Senate Environment and Public Works Committees. 

Across the Capitol: The House already has a bipartisan Advanced Nuclear Caucus, chaired by Reps. Chuck Fleischmann and Bill Foster. 

E&E News had first reported on the launch of the Senate caucus. 

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RUSSIA DESTROYS KYIV’S LARGEST POWER PLANT: Russian missile strikes in Kyiv destroyed the region’s largest power plant, Bloomberg reports, as part of Moscow’s renewed push to attack the country’s energy infrastructure and go back on the offensive.

The head of Ukraine’s state-owned energy producer, Centrenergo, said its coal-fired Trypilska power plant south of Kyiv was struck by six missiles early Thursday, which “completely destroyed” the facility. Russian defense ministry officials later confirmed they were responsible for the attacks, noting on Twitter that their objectives for the strikes “had been achieved.” 

Russia targeted power plants and underground gas storage facilities in a total of five regions across the country in the overnight attack, Ukrainian defense officials told the outlet—yet another sign that the Kremlin is again intensifying its attacks on energy infrastructure as it prepares to push further into certain parts of the country. 

The renewed assault had wide-ranging ripple effects on commodities pricing throughout Europe, causing natural gas benchmarks to soar by more than 7.1%. Read more from Bloomberg here.

EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT APPROVES LEGAL OPTION TO BLOCK RUSSIAN LNG: The European Parliament voted today to approve new rules allowing member countries to legally ban Russian LNG, which is imported primarily via major hubs in Spain, Belgium, and France. 

A large amount of the Russian LNG imported by these three countries undergoes a regasification process and is sent to other countries — meaning that any legal option to ban the fuel would be felt by many across the bloc. Russian LNG made up 49% of Belgium’s imports so far in 2024, S&P Global notes, and slightly lower percentages for Spain and France, at 32% and 27%, respectively. 

To date, none of the countries have said they will use the new legal option, Reuters reports. Still, the vote comes as Russian LNG supplies in the European Union have jumped following its invasion of Ukraine, with the EU importing roughly half of Russia’s total LNG in 2023. 

The push comes less than three years before the EU’s proposed ban on Russian LNG imports comes into force in 2027. But it also comes as the bloc stares down the very real possibility of a supply shortage beginning that year, when many U.S. contracts for the chilled gas are slated to expire, and as approval for export terminals remains held up by the pause DOE ordered at the start of the year. 

WORLD COAL FLEET GREW IN 2023, JEOPARDIZING PEAK EMISSIONS FORECASTS: The world’s coal fleet saw an increase of roughly 2% in 2023, according to a new report from the nonprofit group Global Energy Monitor, driven largely by new capacity in China, as well as the slower retirement of existing coal-fired plants across the world— threatening global peak emissions forecasts, as well as China’s 2025 climate targets.

According to the report, the world saw a total of 112.6 GW of new coal power in 2023, overwhelmingly concentrated in China, which added 47.4 GW of new capacity. Outside of China, other countries also increased their coal-fired power for the first time in five years. Indonesia, India, Vietnam, Japan, Bangladesh, Pakistan, South Korea, Greece, and Zimbabwe all brought new coal power plants online last year, for a total of 22.1 GW new additions.

Meanwhile, existing coal plants were retired at the slowest rate in 10 years, as countries in the West opted to keep certain plants online amid supply concerns and a drop-off in Russian piped gas to Europe in wake of the country’s war in Ukraine.

Looking ahead: Analysts said the trajectory of the world’s global coal fleet will depend in large part on new construction outside of China. Heightened capacity additions would also be mitigated if China takes swift action to ensure it is on track to meet its target of shutting down 30 GW of coal by 2025, the report noted—an ambitious goal but one that the group views as achievable given its fast renewable energy growth as well. 

The director of Global Energy Monitor’s coal program, Flora Champenois, described 2023 as an “anomaly” for the world’s dirtiest fossil fuel. Still, Champenois added: Countries that have coal plants to retire “need to do so more quickly, and countries that have plans for new coal plants must make sure these are never built.”

“Otherwise we can forget about meeting our goals in the Paris Agreement and reaping the benefits that a swift transition to clean energy will bring.” Read the report in full here.

VOLKSWAGEN CUTS PRICES TO BOOST DELIVERIES TO CHINA: Volkswagen said its sales of EV and ICE vehicles to China jumped by 8% in the first three months of 2024, year-on-year—an uptick that comes as legacy automakers in the West look to compete with newer offerings such as China’s BYD or Tesla in an increasingly competitive price war. 

It’s not without some level of sacrifice, however: The sales uptick is in large part due to steep price discounts VW is offering buyers in China, the Financial Times reports— part of what senior VW official Ralf Brandstätter described as its “e-offensive” in the country designed to attract new buyers. “In a market that continues to be characterized by an ongoing price war, we are able to record strong growth, especially with our pure battery vehicles,” Brandstätter added.

VW said its pricing model in China is “sustainable” despite the discounts, which it described as a “customary and time-limited marketing measure” to attract new buyers. And on that front, it appears to have been successful: VW’s pure-battery EVs to China jumped by a whopping 91% year-over-year in the first quarter of 2024. Gas-fired vehicle sales to China also increased during the same period. 

That’s significant, especially compared to the performance of rival German automakers BMW and Mercedes-Benz—which reported sales declines of 4% and 12%, respectively, in China during the same time period. 

“The Chinese carmakers have become predatory in their own domestic market,” auto analyst Matthias Schmidt told FT. “In order to retain market share western carmakers have to slash prices as well.” 

RUNDOWN 

Canary Media More demand, more gas: Inside the Southeast’s dirty power push

E&E News How the power plant rule might change as its deadline nears