WHAT’S HAPPENING TODAY: Good afternoon and happy Tuesday, readers! In today’s Daily on Energy, Callie and Maydeen take a look at a new report forecasting a dramatic growth in the consumption of liquified natural gas over the next 15 years. We also take a look at new polling that shows growing support in red states for wind power.
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.
GLOBAL LNG DEMAND SET TO SOAR: Consumption of liquified natural gas is expected to dramatically increase over the next 15 years, with industry leaders estimating that demand could reach as much as 718 million tons.
The details: Oil and gas giant Shell released its 2025 LNG Outlook report on Tuesday, forecasting that global demand for LNG will rise by around 60% by 2040. The company said this boost in demand is primarily driven by economic growth in Asia as well as accelerated efforts to decarbonize the industry amid artificial intelligence advancements.
“Upgraded forecasts show that the world will need more gas for power generation, heating and cooling, industry and transport to meet development and decarbonisation goals,” Tom Summers, Senior Vice President for Shell LNG Marketing and Trading, said in a statement. “LNG will continue to be a fuel of choice because it’s a reliable, flexible and adaptable way to meet growing global energy demand.”
Current LNG demand sits at around 407 million tons, as global trade only grew by 2 million in 2024. By 2040, though, it could reach between 630-718 million tons, Shell estimated.
Domestic impact: In order to meet this demand, Shell noted that Qatar and the United States will be the primary supporters for global supply, with the U.S. exporting up to 180 million tons of LNG annually by 2030. This would be equivalent to a third of the entire world’s supply of LNG.
While this forecast is a huge win for the Trump administration and its goals to dramatically increase LNG exports, Shell has noted that LNG growth in the country “comes with risks.” The company specifically noted that increased U.S. supply could cause regulatory uncertainty, increase emissions, raise construction costs, and affect energy security.
SWEEPING TRUMP CUTS TO HURT REPUBLICANS, SENATE DEMOCRATS WARN: Sen. John Hickenlooper warned the Trump administration today that a significant portion of the Republican Party’s base will be adversely affected by its cuts, layoffs, and freezes of federal programs and funds.
The details: During Politico Playbook’s First 100 Days breakfast series this morning, the Colorado Democrat warned that farmers, veterans and food stamp recipients will particularly be hurt by the administration’s actions.
“If these cuts continue and suddenly farmers aren’t going to be able to get crop insurance, right, for their crops, that’s going to cripple small farmers way more than the big guys,” Hickenlooper said. “I guarantee you that will get connected to all these other cuts, and there will be a lot of people showing up at their Republican House member saying, ‘How can you support this?’”
Hickenlooper, a member of the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, also warned against doing away with a number of clean energy and green subsidies created through the Democrat-passed Inflation Reduction Act.
”We are by far the largest producer of energy in the history of the world on a per capita level,” he said, according to Politico. “But those things freezing so much of the Inflation Reduction Act is like cutting off your nose to spite your face.”
Not far off: Hickenlooper isn’t shooting in the dark with his Tuesday warning. A number of voters who said they backed Trump in the last election have since revealed they were hit hard by the recent federal employee layoffs, or have family members impacted by federal funding freezes. “I’ve never felt more betrayed in my entire life,” veteran and Small Business Administration employee Mike Macans told NPR.
SUPPORT FOR WIND CONTINUES TO BLOW IN RED STATES, POLL FINDS: While the Trump administration has stymied federal backing for the onshore and offshore wind industry, there is still some support and interest from voters living in both Democratic and Republican leaning states.
The details: New polling conducted by The Terrance Group on behalf of non-profit wind advocacy group Turn Forward has found that a majority of voters across parties favor increased wind development in an effort to embrace an all-of-the-above energy strategy. More than 5,700 voters were surveyed across 12 states, including California, Connecticut, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Texas, and Virginia.
Around 65% of respondents said they favored offshore wind projects in their own states as well as federal waters, with the highest levels of support found in Massachusetts, Texas, and Virginia. Roughly 33% said they were opposed. The majority of respondents (68%) said they believed offshore wind development would help the U.S. become more energy independent, while 66% called it a responsible source of energy. Around 65% of voters also said they believed offshore and onshore wind power can help create jobs and boost the U.S. economy.
Terrance Group CEO BJ Martino told reporters that these findings appeared to be a reaction to the immediate switch of priorities by Trump following Biden, as both administrations voiced disdain for certain forms of energy. “I think where this polling can play into getting the discussion is where voters really are – which is not, it’s not a choice between this and that,” Martino said.
Key quote: “New England, Virginia, and Louisiana all sort of have key roles to play on whether the amount of energy that they need, the volume that we’re seeing increasing, and just the overall demands of what it takes to sort of run the U.S. economy,” Turn Forward executive director Hillary Bright told reporters. “And a lot of people associate the opportunity, both in economic growth and that security piece, that reliability piece, really weighing in on how offshore wind can play in that critical role.”
THE KEYSTONE PIPELINE AND TRUMP…WILL THEY OR WON’T THEY? President Donald Trump again called for a restart to construction on the controversial Keystone XL Pipeline last night.
The details: Monday evening, the president took to Truth Social encouraging the construction of the 1,200 mile crude oil pipeline from Canada to Nebraska. This came as no surprise as former advisors to the president predicted in November that Trump would prioritize the project, which had been stopped by his predecessor.
“Our Country’s doing really well, and today, I was just thinking, that the company building the Keystone XL Pipeline that was viciously jettisoned by the incompetent Biden Administration should come back to America, and get it built — NOW!” Trump wrote. “I know they were treated very badly by Sleepy Joe Biden, but the Trump Administration is very different — Easy approvals, almost immediate start!”
During his time in office, President Joe Biden issued an executive order tossing out a previous permit for the pipeline. Trump has since revoked this order, potentially putting construction back on the table.
Not so simple: However, as key permits have expired and portions of the pipeline have been dug up, there is little support from South Bow Corp. – the company that actually owns the pipeline. A spokesperson told Bloomberg last night that South Bow has “moved on from the Keystone XL project.”
These hurdles do not appear to have deterred Trump, as the president also indicated yesterday that he would be open to backing the project via a different company. “If not them, perhaps another Pipeline Company,” he wrote. “We want the Keystone XL Pipeline built!”
CHINA VOWS TO TACKLE AIR POLLUTION: China has promised to accelerate its efforts to limit severe air pollution in the country that causes millions of deaths every year.
The details: This week, Chinese authorities said the country plans to take several steps this year, including improving its air quality forecasting and warning systems, boosting management of toxic particles known as PM2.5, and decreasing ozone pollution, according to Reuters.
“The battle for blue skies remains unchanged,” Department of Atmospheric Environment director Li Tianwei said, adding that the country must also develop new emissions standards.
The country has seen some forward progress in tackling the issue, with the number of days of good air quality last year reaching 87.2%, according to Reuters. This was a 1.7 percentage point increase from 2023. Still, air pollution in China has been a major health problem for years, causing around 2 million deaths annually, according to the World Health Organization.
CHILE FACES POWER OUTAGE: Chile has lost power in most of its regions, leaving more than 19 million people without electricity, CNN reports.
Around 3 pm today, most of Chile was left without power, CNN said. Minister of the Interior and Public Security Carolina Tohá said in a press conference this afternoon that the power outage was caused by a disconnection in the transmission line in Norte Chico.
Tohá noted that authorities are working to get power back on. “All measures will be taken to ensure the safety of people,” she said. Residents were also warned to avoid traveling as the power outage can cause traffic.
The minister said “in the next few hours things could start to return to normal” but did not provide the exact time when the power would be restored.
EUROPEAN UNION CAR SALES DROPPED LAST MONTH: Europe experienced a decline in car sales in January, with new battery-electric cars making up 15% of the market share, the European Automobile Manufacturers Association said.
The European Union saw a 2.6% decline in new car registrations last month, the European Automobile Manufacturers Association said.
New battery-electric car sales grew 34% in January, the association said. Germany, Belgium, and the Netherlands saw double digit increases in battery-electric car registrations. EU registrations of hybrid vehicles also increased by 18.4%. However, all major markets saw a decline in plug-in vehicles.
The figures showed that petrol and diesel vehicle registrations saw a 18.9% decline, with France experiencing the largest drop of 28.2%.
Next month, EU executives will present an auto sector plan. The EU is facing pressure from those in the industry to ease electric vehicle emission standards meant to transition the auto industry into full electric.
ICYMI: DEMOCRATS ASK ZELDIN TO END THE CLAW BACK OF CLIMATE FUNDS: Democrats on the Environment and Public Work committee sent a letter to Environmental Protection Agency Administration Lee Zeldin asking him to end his efforts to claw back climate funding.
The Democratic senators called Zeldin’s effort to clawback federal funding “illegal,” as the funds in question were appropriated by Congress. Specifically, Zeldin has said there are billions of dollars of fraudulent distributions under the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund, which helps to create clean energy projects across the U.S.
The senators said Zeldin is “gaslighting the American public by fabricating claims of waste, fraud, and abuse.” They are asking for Zeldin to reconsider his attempts to clawback the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund.
“[T]here is no legal basis for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to claw back these expended GGRF grants, and because doing so would destroy thousands of jobs and harm hundreds of communities across the country, we call on you to respect applicable legal authority, reconsider your decision, and ensure funding is available as the law requires,” the senators wrote in the letter.
The senators included Committee Ranking Member Sheldon Whitehouse, Ed Markey, Bernie Sanders, Jeff Merkley, Mark Kelly, Alex Padilla, Adam Schiff, Lisa Blunt Rochester, and Angela Alsobrooks.
RUNDOWN
Inside Climate News In Chile, a Declining Forest Worries Scientists
Canary Media Utilities are flying blind on data center demand. That’s a big problem.
Vox Florida’s iconic corals aren’t having babies anymore. Scientists are alarmed.