DOE APPEALS LNG PAUSE DECISION: The Department of Energy is appealing a recent court decision that lifted the agency’s pause on new liquified natural gas exports to certain countries, intensifying a legal fight between Republican states and industry players on the one hand and the Biden administration and environmentalist allies on the other.
As Nancy writes, several top DOE officials filed a notice of appeal Monday to the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, aiming to reverse a recent decision from a federal judge overturning the agency’s freeze on new LNG export approvals to non-free trade agreement countries.
Liz Murrill, the attorney general for Louisiana – one of the states leading the lawsuit – said in a statement to the Washington Examiner that the Biden administration’s appeal was “not a surprise, but we expect the injunction to be upheld since the administration has no legal basis for pausing the approval of LNG export applications.”
Why this is important: Critics of the pause have argued it is unconstitutional and would hurt the fossil fuel industry. Environmentalists, on the other hand, cheered the move after it was announced in January, asserting an increase in exports could increase levels of greenhouse gas emissions. The pause was instituted for the administration to study the climate effects of projects before approving exports.
Last month, Judge James Cain of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Louisiana – a Trump appointee – stayed the agency’s export pause, arguing the move goes against the language of the Natural Gas Act and undermines the legislative branch’s “determination that LNG exports are presumptively in the public interest.”
But: Some environmentalists had downplayed the significance of Cain’s decision, saying it wouldn’t have any immediate effect on the permits in the queue for LNG export projects or the DOE’s study evaluating the environmental and economic impact of exports. They argued the agency would still have to evaluate each project to see if it aligns with the public’s interest. Read more on that here.
Welcome to Daily on Energy, written by Washington Examiner Energy and Environment writer Nancy Vu (@NancyVu99), with help from policy editor Joseph Lawler. Email nancy.vu@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.
SENATORS LOOK TO PREVENT RIGHT WHALE NOAA RULE: Sens. Joe Manchin and Lindsey Graham introduced a new bill Monday aiming to prevent the Biden administration from implementing a proposed rule enacting stricter boating regulations to help reduce the likelihood of lethal vessel collisions with the endangered North Atlantic right whale.
Some background: Back in 2022, the NOAA proposed a rule that would expand mandatory speed restrictions of 10 knots or less to vessels that are 35-65 feet in length. The NOAA noted that since 2020, its fisheries had documented four lethal right whale vessel strike incidents in U.S. waters – reducing the population to fewer than 350 individuals in the wild, and fewer than 100 reproductive females.
What the bill does: The measure would prevent the NOAA from enacting this rule, or any regulation modifying or replacing the current policy, until at least 2030. The senators’ press statement cites the National Marine Manufacturers’ Association, which says the regulations could jeopardize hundreds of thousands of jobs and devastate coastal economies that rely on recreational boating and ocean hospitality.
“As Co-Chair of the Congressional Sportsmen’s Caucus and as an avid sportsman myself, I know firsthand how important our fishing culture is to who we are as West Virginians and as Americans,” Manchin said in a written statement. “We can and should find reasonable solutions to protect the North Atlantic Right Whale population without regulating critical industries out of business, and I stand ready to work with my bipartisan colleagues to find that balance.”
Manchin had introduced a similar measure with Sen. John Boozman in June 2023 – but the latest measure builds on the previous legislative effort, requiring the Secretary of Commerce to establish a grant program to “foster enhanced coexistence” between the right whales and those in the ocean industry. Read the bill here.
LNG SHIP STATIONED AT SANCTIONED RUSSIAN PLANT: Satellite images show Russia’s liquified natural gas producer, Novatek, appearing to load cargo onto a carrier – possibly circumventing U.S. sanctions against its Arctic LNG 2 project, Maritime publication gCaptain scoops.
The images show an LNG carrier docked alongside the facility, with gas routinely flaring simultaneously with the production and loading of LNG onto the carrier. Previous images did not show the flaring of the gas.
Why this is important: The U.S. enacted sanctions in November to prevent exports from the Arctic LNG 2 project. While the facility has been producing LNG, it has not been allowed to ship products – leading to cuts in processing.
The sanctions were a key policy hitting Russia’s economy following their invasion of Ukraine, and forced the country to create an alternative fleet of vessels to carry its gas and oil.
The images, which were taken by the Sentinel 2 satellite, do not confirm that LNG is being loaded, however. Novatek has not commented on the images.
The industry has been tracking a number of potential “shadow fleet” carriers – which frequently will report their locations to be elsewhere or switch off their trackers to avoid being traced. Read more on that here.
A COAL STAT: Coal stockpiles at U.S. power plants have reached new highs that have not been seen since the first half of 2020, when the Covid-19 pandemic had upended the energy sector and reduced both electricity demand and coal consumption.
According to a brief from the Energy Information Administration, coal stockpiles totaled 138 million short tons at the end of May. Stockpiles have generally rebounded since 2022, when energy consumption bounced back following the end of the pandemic.
Notable context: Power plants consume more coal during the warmer summer months, and usually increase their stockpiles in spring as operators prepare for seasons where the air conditioner is on full blast. Plus, plants usually stockpile more coal than they consume in a month, with 90% of coal-fired facilities having enough coal to generate electricity for 60 days or more.
As coal-powered electricity generation has declined, stockpiles have also declined. Stockpiles reached 131 million tons by the end of 2023 – 19% less than the stockpiles at the end of 2016. More on that here.
RUNDOWN
Reuters As U.S. heat deaths rise, some landlords oppose right to air conditioning
Bloomberg Red-State Republicans Say They’ll Defend Biden-Era Green Jobs
E&E News EPA alumni ready to resist Trump — again