WHAT’S HAPPENING TODAY: Good afternoon and happy Wednesday, readers! President Donald Trump today ramped up tariffs against India, with the total levy reaching 50%. The trade feud between the two nations has escalated in recent days as Trump has vowed to use secondary tariffs on India to prevent them from purchasing oil from Russia. We are continuing to watch this developing story and see how India will react to the higher fees.
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.
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TRUMP RAISES SECONDARY TARIFFS ON INDIA: President Donald Trump signed an executive order today to impose an additional 25% tariff on India over its purchases of Russian oil, raising the total tariff to 50%.
Why is Trump raising tariffs? The move is part of the president’s effort to end the war in Ukraine. Trump has said that India’s purchases of Russian oil have helped fund the war in Ukraine, and to cripple Russian President Vladimir Putin’s military operations, oil exports must be limited.
The European Union set a price cap on Russian oil at $60 a barrel. India has been purchasing the oil at a discounted price, using it domestically and exporting it to other countries. India is Russia’s second largest importer of oil, after China.
The use of “secondary tariffs” on third parties as a way to place economic pressure on countries is an untested tool. There is also a risk that the tariffs could lead to increased global oil prices and increased cost for Americans.
India’s reactions: India called the Trump administration’s move as “unfair, unjustified, and unreasonable.”
“It is therefore extremely unfortunate that the U.S. should choose to impose additional tariffs on India for actions that several other countries are also taking in their own national interest,” an Indian government spokesperson said. “India will take all actions necessary to protect its national interests.”
The tariffs do not go into effect for another 21 days. This may buy some time for the two nations to negotiate.
ADMINISTRATION CANCELS APPROVAL OF IDAHO WIND PROJECT: The Interior Department announced this morning that it is reversing the Biden administration’s approval for the Lava Ridge Wind Project on public lands in southern Idaho.
The project: The Lava Ridge Wind Project was approved by the Bureau of Land Management in December 2024, and was expected to be made up of 231 wind turbines. At the time, the Interior Department said it would generate enough electricity to power as many as 500,000 homes.
The project has long been criticized by local residents and lawmakers, including the entire Idaho House of Representatives, which unanimously voted to oppose the wind farm in February.
The Trump administration accused the Biden administration of rushing the approval, saying a review of the project found “crucial legal deficiencies.” As a result, the agency moved to rescind its support.
Alternative land use: The decision paves the way for the federal lands to be used for other energy or infrastructure projects, including advanced nuclear. Just last month, local outlets reported that Sawtooth Energy Development Corporation is interested in building six small modular reactors on the same site.
Read more from Callie here.
ILLINOIS CITY ACCUSED OF WITHHOLDING INFORMATION ON SOLAR FARM FROM PUBLIC: As the city of Belleville, Illinois, aims to build a solar farm next to a local cemetery, critics claim officials failed to discuss its plans with hundreds of families with loved ones buried in the cemetery or living next to it.
The project: Officials are looking to build the solar farm next to the Mount Hope Cemetery just outside Belleville, generating around five megawatts of energy, according to the Belleville News-Democrat. The city has owned the land, 132 acres, since last July, but has been interested in installing solar there since late summer 2023. The cemetery makes up 55 acres and the solar farm is expected to span 25 acres of the property.
The allegations: Opponents of the solar farm claim that officials failed to contact numerous families and residents who live in the community adjacent to the property, and even went so far as to withhold information from the public to advance the project.
“It was a done deal before people even knew about it,” Natalie Wilson, a supporter of the cemetery where 40 members of her family are buried, told the outlet.
Critics have claimed the alleged deception was driven by the city’s interest in obtaining state renewable-energy credits, which are valued at as much as $7.2 million for the Belleville solar farm. City officials have denied the accusations, insisting that they moved quickly in order to meet necessary requirements and deadlines associated with purchasing the property and advancing the solar project.
DATA CENTER ENERGY NEEDS DRIVES RECORD ORDERS FOR GAS INFRASTRUCTURE: Siemens Energy said today that it has seen record levels of orders for gas turbines and other power grid equipment as data centers race to secure energy for their operations.
The German energy equipment producer revealed in its latest earnings report that it saw its highest quarterly order intake ever during the third quarter, hitting €16.6 billion (more than $19.3 billion). This was a roughly 64.6% increase from this time last year.
Siemens has had roughly 14 gigawatts worth of gas turbine orders made this year, 60% of which have been directly for data centers.
“Enormous demand for electricity for data centres in particular are now driving very high demand for our products in the US,” CEO Christian Bruch told members of the press.
Important to note: While orders are increasing, the wait time to receive these turbines is not exactly shrinking. Earlier this year, EPRI estimated that customers have to wait upwards of five to seven years to receive their products. This timeframe can vary depending on the project, but increasing orders could make it difficult to support speedy buildout without seeing costs rise.
WALL STREET FOSSIL FUEL FINANCING FALLS: Not everyone is on board with turning attention back to fossil fuel projects, as Wall Street financing for oil, gas, and coal projects dropped significantly over the last year, according to a Bloomberg report.
An analysis of the top six banks on Wall Street (including Morgan Stanley, JPMorgan, and Wells Fargo) found that lending for these projects fell 25% to $73 billion through Aug. 1 when compared to the same timeframe in 2024. Morgan Stanley saw the largest drop, of around 54%, while JPMorgan only saw a 7% decline, according to Bloomberg.
Where green goals stand: Interestingly, this dip in fossil fuel financing has come as these same banks have publicly reversed on clean energy and net-zero goals. A wave of U.S., British, and Canadian banks have all abandoned the Net-Zero Banking Alliance within the last 10 months.
Analysts are now saying that the departures from the climate alliance say less about their green commitments than what projects they are financing. And as lending for fossil fuel projects falls, they might be more interested in hitting net-zero goals than widely thought.
GERMANY SEES ZERO BIDS IN OFFSHORE WIND AUCTION: The United States isn’t the only place where the offshore wind market is struggling, as Germany ended an auction this week without receiving a single bid.
The details: German offshore wind group BWO revealed today that the Federal Network Agency didn’t receive any bids on two areas of the North Sea, signaling lack of interest from investors, according to Bloomberg. The big reason? The auction failed to include any subsidy-supported contracts.
“The current auction design forces developers to bear risks beyond their control without any protection,” Stefan Thimm, the managing director of BWO, told the outlet.
This lack of interest in zero-subsidy contracts supports arguments made by vocal wind critics, including Trump and his cabinet, who have accused the industry of being subsidy-dependent. The Trump administration has moved to remove federal subsidies for wind and other renewables entirely, calling them “wasteful and counterproductive.”
NATIONS NEGOTIATE LEGALLY BINDING PLASTICS TREATY: World leaders from 179 countries began meeting yesterday in Geneva for negotiations that will last 10 days to reach a legally binding treaty on plastic pollution.
This week’s meeting is the second part of the fifth session of the United Nations’ Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee to develop an international treaty on plastic pollution.
“If we continue as on this trajectory, the whole world will be drowning in plastic pollution – with massive consequences for our planetary, economic and human health,” Inger Andersen, Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme, said in a press release.
There have been conflicts between nations, with some wanting a more stringent treaty. Some countries that rely heavily on the fossil fuel industry, which creates plastics, argue that recycling and reusing plastics is enough to solve the problem. But other countries disagree and believe countries need to reduce plastic production.
Nations met last year in South Korea, which was supposed to be the final round of negotiations, but delegates failed to reach an agreement over reducing plastic production.
ICYMI – ELECTRICITY DEMAND IN THE U.S. HIT NEW RECORDS IN JULY: The U.S. Energy Information Administration said yesterday that the U.S. electricity demand set new records twice last month.
In the last week of July, electricity demand peaked due to hot weather and the demand for cooling. The surging energy demand pushed the peak in the Lower 48 states to a high of 758,053 megawatts (MW) on July 28. The next day peak demand set another record, reaching 759,180 MW, EIA said.
EIA said it forecasts that U.S. electricity demand will grow at an annual rate of over 2% in 2025 and 2026. In areas that have plans for large data centers and manufacturing facilities, like Texas, electricity demand is expected to be higher.
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