WHAT’S HAPPENING TODAY: Good afternoon and happy Thursday, readers! The U.S. Open officially kicked off this week and will last until Sept. 7. If you didn’t get a chance to watch last night’s electric mixed doubles final, hopefully you’ve had a chance to catch the highlights today. 

In today’s edition of Daily on Energy, we kick things off with the Trump administration’s latest move aimed at bolstering the coal industry. The Department of Energy has once again extended the lifespan of a Michigan coal plant, pointing to an ongoing “energy emergency” in the U.S. 

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Plus, if you are wondering whether now is a good time to buy an electric vehicle before the tax credits expire, keep reading to find out what deals some manufacturers are offering to get more EVs on the road.

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.

DOE EXTENDS MICHIGAN COAL PLANT LIFE: The Department of Energy has directed the J.H. Campbell coal plant in Michigan to remain operating now until November, extending its life for a second time. 

In May, DOE directed the utility Consumers Energy and the Midwest grid operator Midcontinent Independent System Operator to keep the power plant in West Olive, Michigan, operating until Aug. 21. The plant was set to retire just days before the order. 

The DOE said today that the plant has proven to help meet high energy demands in the region. 

“This order will help ensure millions of Americans can continue to access affordable, reliable, and secure baseload power regardless of whether the wind is blowing or the sun is shining,” Energy Secretary Chris Wright said in a press release. 

The move by the DOE is part of the administration’s effort to prevent aging coal plants from shutting down. However, keeping aging coal plants operating comes at a cost. Consumers Energy has spent $29 million over five weeks to maintain its operation after its planned retirement. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission last week granted the utility the recovery costs for complying with DOE orders. 

Read more by Maydeen here. 

IS NOW THE BEST TIME TO PURCHASE AN ELECTRIC VEHICLE? Sales of new and used electric vehicles grew last month, just two months before the Inflation Reduction Act EV tax credits are set to expire. 

Last month, sales of new EVs were up 26.4% month over month and 19.7% year over year, according to Cox Automotive. Used EV sales in the same month rose to 23.2% month over month and 40% year over year. 

The credits – up to $7,500 for purchasing a new EV and $4,000 for a used one – will run out by the end of September under President Donald Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act.

Ingrid Malmgren, Senior Policy Director at Plug In America, told Maydeen, “We’re definitely seeing a surge in sales right now, and you hear dealers on the radio all the time, ‘quick before [credits] go away, September 30.’”

For some of the popular EVs, July sales were up compared to June for the Honda Prologue, Ford F-150 Lightning, Hyundai IONIQ 9, and many others, according to the Paren US Monthly EV Sales Index tracker. 

“The transition is definitely happening,” Malmgren said. “It’s fun to see so many people so excited right now about getting their hands on an EV and so many great deals.” 

Consumers are eligible for tax credits if they lease an EV as well. Some auto manufacturers are offering numerous deals on leasing EVs. Honda is offering a lease for $159 per month on its all-electric SUV Prologue. Hyundai also dropped its lease deal on its 2025 Hyundai IONIQ 5 for $149 per month.

With the tax credits expiring after September, those in the industry have noted that there will likely be a drop in EV adoption. Still, automakers are already adjusting – Ford, for instance, has said it plans to manufacture a midsize pickup truck in the $30,000 range in 2027. 

“The legacy automakers in this country cannot afford not to transition to EVs,” Malmgren said. She added that globally, countries are pushing more EV adoption, especially in China. 

“The bottom line is the world is transitioning to electric vehicles,” she added. 

GOVERNMENT FAILED TO CONDUCT ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEWS FOR ALLIGATOR ALCATRAZ: A new report now indicates that the Trump administration very likely failed to  conduct environmental reviews before it opened the Florida migrant detention center, better known as “Alligator Alcatraz.” 

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service documents obtained by the Public Domain newsdesk confirm that the federal agency did not receive any request to conduct a formal Endangered Species Act review or National Environmental Policy Act review before the facility was opened. 

Quick reminder: Earlier this summer, Florida converted the Dade-Collier Training and Transition Airport into a detention center. The entire process took just eight days, prompting concerns that officials failed to conduct proper reviews. 

Two major environmental and conservation groups have sued in federal court over the issue, accusing the Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the Florida Division of Emergency Management, and Miami-Dade County of violating environmental laws. They have argued that the project failed to undergo a proper environmental review or public comment period, which they say is required given the facility’s location. The detention center was built in the Florida Everglades, which is home to a number of endangered species. 

While newly reported documents confirm that the project did not undergo environmental reviews, the Trump administration has argued that federal environmental laws do not apply to the project as it was built and will be maintained by the state of Florida. 

TRUMP SLASHES NUMBER OF WEATHER/CLIMATE MONITORING SATELLITES: The Trump administration is accelerating its effort to cut back on federally backed climate change-related research, by reportedly slashing the number of next-generation weather and climate satellites the government planned to build and launch within the next 10 years. 

The details: People familiar with the plans confirmed to CNN this week that the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration will no longer be constructing two satellite instruments that would have measured air quality and ocean conditions.

The instruments were expected to be attached to four satellites, known as the Geostationary Extended Observations, announced under the Biden administration. These were expected to cost as much as $12 billion, and removing the air and ocean monitoring systems is believed to be a cost-cutting measure, according to CNN. One NOAA official, though, told the outlet opting not to collect the data will come at a different cost. 

“Our information will be less rich, and our understanding of the whole phenomenon of a hurricane event, or of a fire event or of a drought event will be lesser because we don’t have these context information instruments adding real time, integrated understanding of the events,” the official said.

In addition to stripping the air quality and ocean monitoring instruments, the administration is also planning to reduce the number of satellites built for the program. It currently plans to construct four, while the original blueprint called for six, CNN reported. A NOAA official told the outlet that having fewer satellites in the sky could increase the risk of data outages. 

These satellites are scheduled to be launched in 2032, and will remain in service through 2055. 

LATEST ON HURRICANE ERIN – Hurricane Erin is moving away from the eastern coastline but continues to bring strong waves and flooding to parts of North Carolina and Virginia. 

The National Hurricane Center said the hurricane is expected to bring strong rip currents along the East Coast for the next several days. It added that tropical storm and surge flooding conditions will continue on the North Carolina Outer Banks today. Tropical storm conditions are also expected along the Virginia coast today. 

Officials have warned people along the coast to stay out of the water due to the strong rip currents. The hurricane as of today is a Category 2 storm. Although the storm remains over the ocean, it has spurred evacuation orders for areas in the Outer Banks. Some East Coast beaches, including in Delaware, Maryland, and Long Island, have banned swimming. 

“The ocean is going to take a long time to calm down, even after Erin accelerates off into the North Atlantic,” said National Hurricane Center Director Michael Brennan. “So please pay attention to this beach warning flag. Stay out of the ocean if it does not appear safe.” 

ICYMI – BURGUM DEPUTIZES BORDER AGENTS TO NATIONAL PARKS: Interior Secretary Doug Burgum has deputized Customs and Border Protection officers to further protect National Park Service sites, marking the latest escalation from the Trump administration in its crackdown on crime. 

The details: Yesterday afternoon, the secretary announced that the Interior authorized a “service-wide deputization” of CBP officers to work alongside U.S. Park Police officers stationed on National Park property in order to “intensify crime deterrence efforts.”

Burgum did not specify whether the border agents would only be deputized to National Park sites in Washington, D.C. He did, however, thank officers already stationed in the District. It was not immediately clear where the CBP officers will be stationed in Washington or how many will be deputized to the area. 

Numerous National Park Service sites can be found in Washington, D.C., including the National Mall, Rock Creek Park, Ford’s Theatre, and DuPont Circle. Burgum previously committed park police to Trump’s crackdown on crime in D.C., saying the officers were pleased with the administration’s efforts to clean up the city. 

This morning, Burgum issued another directive regarding National Park sites in Washington, saying the agency would be implementing a “zero-tolerance” policy for soliciting goods and sleeping on federal land in the District. 

“These new actions guarantee that [US Park Police] has the tools they need to keep our nation’s capital clean & safe for visitors!” Burgum wrote on X. 

RUNDOWN 

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