WHAT’S HAPPENING TODAY: Good afternoon and happy Thursday, readers! The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has formally given the go-ahead for the Palisades Nuclear Plant in western Michigan to become operational. We provide more details about the approval below. 

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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FEDERAL REGULATORS CLEAR PATH FOR PALISADES NUCLEAR PLANT TO RESTART: The Palisades Nuclear Plant in western Michigan is one step closer to becoming the first decommissioned nuclear power plant in the United States to come back online as the Nuclear Regulatory Commission approved its request to become operational. 

The details: The NRC formally gave the go-ahead on Holtec International’s request to transition the 800-megawatt plant from a decommissioning status to operational, marking the first time any U.S. plant has received such an approval. The decision allows the facility to receive new fuel and formally transition their licensed reactor operators to on-shift status. Fuel is expected to arrive and be loaded into the reactor as soon as August 25. 

Holtec will still need to complete several steps before officially starting up the shuttered plant, which it intends to do during the fourth quarter of this year. 

Quick reminder: The Palisades Nuclear Plant was first opened on New Year’s Eve in 1971 and was operational for over 50 years until it was closed in May 2022. Holtec International purchased the plant one month later from former owner Entergy, and has been moving to restart the facility ever since. 

The restart effort has received support from federal and state officials, including through hundreds of millions of dollars worth of federal loans from the Department of Energy. There is also broad support among those living in the region near the plant, though, many who live in the immediate vicinity are still worried about potential environmental health risks associated with living so close to nuclear waste. 

Read more from Callie here. 

FERC’S MARK CHRISTIE HOLDS FINAL MEETING AS CHAIR: Federal Energy Regulatory Commission chairman Mark Christie’s time with the independent agency is coming to a close, as the long-time public servant is poised to leave his post in the coming weeks. 

Christie held his final meeting as chair of the commission this morning, revealing he will stay on for part of August to help advance several pending cases still before the commission. He has served on the commission since 2021, bringing his total time in public office to 31 years. 

Christie, whose term officially expired at the end of last month, revealed in early June that President Donald Trump intended to replace him with energy attorney and former FERC employee Laura Swett. 

Experience matters: In the last week, questions have risen regarding the president’s nomination of White House advisor David LaCerte to also sit on the commission, replacing former Democratic chair Willie Phillips. If confirmed, LaCerte would appear to have the least experience in the energy sector of a commissioner currently sitting on the committee, having only practiced energy litigation while serving as special counsel for Baker Botts in Houston, Texas, between January 2023 and January 2025.

Christie declined to comment on his nomination, saying Congress has set requirements in statute regarding who is able to serve in the role. However, he said that the more knowledge you have regarding the energy sector before joining the commission “the better.” 

“It’s not for me to say what specific kind of experience you should have to come here,” he said. “I’m very glad I had 17 years as a state regulatory. It has been incredibly valuable and a help to me to have had that experience.” 

FERC’s independence: For weeks, there have been concerns that the Trump administration is seeking to increase its influence over independent agencies like FERC and the NRC to advance the president’s agenda. 

While some shakeups have begun to hit the NRC, FERC appears unaffected thus far. 

Christie affirmed that there are currently no discussions around dramatic reorganizations or shuttering of particular offices. 

He didn’t denounce the president’s efforts to exert control over various commissions, saying independence varies depending on the structure of each agency. 

“Every presidential administration doesn’t want an agency, doesn’t want a commission that’s totally untrue to what their basic policy is, that’s not new,” Christie said, adding, “This is not unusual that federal agencies are influenced by presidential administrations.” 

DOI TO BEGIN RECOVERING CRITICAL MINERALS FROM MINE WASTE: The Department of the Interior said it will begin to take steps to recover critical minerals from mine waste, coal refuse, tailings, and abandoned uranium mines. 

The DOI’s announcement today is part of the larger Trump administration push to boost the domestic supply of critical minerals and reduce reliance on China.

The department said it would look to streamline regulations and update guidance on the recovery of critical minerals from mine waste. It will also prioritize the review of recovery plans for uranium and other minerals from abandoned mines. The department is also directing the U.S. Geological Survey to map and inventory federal mine waste sites. 

DOI said the USGS has identified sources of minerals like zinc, germanium, tellurium, and rare earth elements in legacy and ongoing mining operations. For example, USGS found that the legacy lead and zinc mining at Tar Creek near Picher, Oklahoma, has left behind minerals like zinc and germanium. 

HOUSE GOP SEEKS TO STRIP FUNDING FROM INTERNATIONAL ENERGY AGENCY: House Republicans approved a bill to stop the U.S. from funding the International Energy Agency, arguing it has deviated from its mission. 

The House Appropriations Committee passed a bill yesterday that would halt the U.S. funding to IEA, a Paris-based organization. Bloomberg reports that IEA receives around $6 million a year from the U.S. 

“The Committee finds that the International Energy Agency, housed within the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), has strayed from its core mission of ensuring global energy security,” the committee’s bill report reads. “The Committee finds that the Agency has abandoned objectivity in the critical energy-supply information it produces and, instead, has pursued politicized information to support climate policy advocacy.” 

IEA was established in 1974 in response to the major oil crisis at the time. The group has since expanded to include analysis, data, and policy recommendations on fossil fuel and renewable energy sources. 

Energy Secretary Chris Wright has criticized the group and warned that the U.S. would leave the group unless changes were made. 

“We will do one of two things: we will reform the way the IEA operates or we will withdraw,” Wright said during an interview last week. “My strong preference is to reform it.”

SOLAR ROLLOUT SLOWING IN EUROPE: The solar industry is taking hits not just in the U.S., but also in the European Union, as developers are poised to see their first annual slowdown in more than 10 years. 

Industry group SolarPower Europe revealed to Reuters this week that the EU is on track to install roughly 64.2 gigawatts of new solar power capacity in 2025. This is down 1.4% from 2024, when the bloc installed 65.1 gigawatts of capacity. 

At this rate, the EU is still falling behind on its goal to install 750 gigawatts of solar capacity by 2030. This target is intended to help meet European climate goals while also reducing reliance on Russian energy imports. 

The dip in growth has been attributed to local governments reducing subsidies for solar panels as well as rising interest rates. Specifically, Germany, France, and the Netherlands are all pulling back federal incentives for rooftop solar. It is further evidence that the U.S. government is not alone in its shift away from propping up the renewable energy industry, as Republicans moved to dramatically reduce federal tax credits for solar and wind projects through the One Big Beautiful Bill Act passed earlier this month. 

Key quote: “There’s a kind of paralysis. There’s still interest, but people aren’t making decisions,” Peter Knuth, managing director of German photovoltaic company Enerix, told Reuters. 

TOTALENERGIES WARNS OF OIL GLUT: TotalEnergies is warning that the oil market is facing an oil supply glut due to OPEC+ increasing production and low demand linked to global economic growth. 

The French oil major said it expects the market to remain “volatile” with prices fluctuating between $60 and $70 a barrel, the Financial Times reports. 

TotalEnergies’ warning comes as the company reported a 23% fall in the second quarter earnings. It is the oil company’s worst performance in four years. 

ICYMI – CALIFORNIA SIGNALS SHIFT IN FAVOR OF FOSSIL FUELS: Officials in California are looking for a buyer for Valero Energy’s Benicia refinery near San Francisco, three sources familiar with the matter told Reuters. 

Valero initially planned to close the facility in April 2026. But the state’s energy and policy planning agency, the California Energy Commission (CEC) has been looking for buyers for the facility, the sources told Reuters. 

“CEC is engaging with market players to explore pathways for the continued operation of in-state refineries,” the agency told Reuters in an email. 

The state’s efforts to keep the Valero facility operating comes after Phillips 66 said last October it will shut down its Los Angeles refinery by the end of this year. California drivers pay some of the highest gasoline prices in the country. If refineries continue to shut down in California, that could lead to higher prices at the gas pump. 

The effort comes just days after Gov. Gavin Newsom circulated draft legislation seen by environmentalists as oil-friendly. 

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