WHAT’S HAPPENING TODAY: Good afternoon and happy Thursday, readers! While we’re two days into the government shutdown, the Trump administration has no intention of slowing its efforts to streamline permitting for infrastructure and energy projects. The Permitting Council confirmed this week that it also will continue to operate during the federal funding lapse. 

In today’s edition of Daily on Energy, we dive into the status of the Solar for All program and detail where the Biden-era program has officially been terminated. 

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Plus, keep reading to find out what types of projects are set to be stripped of funding as the Trump administration claws back nearly $8 billion worth of grants for clean energy and infrastructure projects. 

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.

PERMITTING COUNCIL TO CONTINUE OPERATING DURING SHUTDOWN: The Permitting Council will continue to operate during the government shutdown to prioritize its permitting projects. 

Executive Director Emily Domenech sent a letter to member agencies yesterday that the council’s work will not be disrupted by the government shutdown. Its efforts will continue to be funded through the Environmental Review Improvement Fund. The letter was first reported yesterday by former Daily on Energy writer Josh Siegel. 

The council said in a press release today that, since President Donald Trump has taken office, it has added 53 new projects to FAST-41, a program that helps to streamline the permitting process for critical infrastructure projects. For instance, the council has used the program to expedite the permitting process for several critical mineral projects. 

Domenech said in the letter that the council has completed federal permitting for six projects and is on track to finish seven more projects by the end of the year. 

“Federal permitting has never been a higher priority, or more effective, than it is today under this administration. Fortunately, the current lapse in appropriations will not affect the work of the Federal Permitting Improvement Steering Council (Permitting Council) because funding continues to be available for this critical work,” Domenech wrote in the letter. 

LAWMAKERS ASK EPA TO FINALIZE RIN RULE AND STICK TO BIOMASS DIESEL VOLUMES: A bipartisan group of 45 lawmakers, led by Iowa Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley, asked the EPA to finalize a rule on imported Renewable Identification Numbers (RINs) and stick to the proposed biomass-based diesel volumes. 

Lawmakers said that the EPA’s proposal to reduce the value of RINs would ensure that Renewable Fuel Standards will help domestic energy and support farmers. RINs are used as credits for compliance under the Renewable Fuel Standards. The EPA has proposed to lower RIN value for imported biofuels or feedstock. The agency has also proposed higher Renewable Fuel Standards mandates for 2026 and 2027. 

“[W]hile farmers face the uncertainty of foreign market demand, the Import RIN reduction would provide essential support for the farm economy so farmers could sell more products domestically,” the lawmakers wrote.

The American Soybean Association, the American Farm Bureau Federation, the National Oilseed Processors Association and the National Sorghum Producers supported the letter. 

REPUBLICAN-LED STATES END SOLAR FOR ALL PROGRAMS: Several Republican-led states have terminated their Solar for All programs shortly following the Environmental Protection Agency move to rescind the initiative. 

As a reminder: The EPA in August announced it would cancel $7 billion from its Solar for All program. The initiative is part of the Biden administration’s Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund, which was established as part of the Inflation Reduction Act. 

Solar for All awarded funding to 60 nonprofit groups and states to help install solar energy and storage nationwide. The program’s grantees, including state programs, have the option to dispute the EPA’s move to cancel the programs’ funds 30 days after receiving a termination notice. 

However, states like Louisiana, Tennessee, and Utah in August announced they would stop administering their own programs.

Louisiana’s energy and natural resources department, which ended its program in early August, told the Washington Examiner via email: “The EPA gave notice that the federal program was being terminated, and our Office of Energy wound the state program down accordingly. The final work plan for carrying out the program had not yet been approved by the EPA, so there was not any significant project work to be impacted.”

Read more by Maydeen here. 

ENERGY REGULATORS MOVE TO SUNSET DOZENS OF ‘OUTDATED’ REGULATIONS: The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has announced plans to phase out more than 50 regulations it described as “outdated and unnecessary,” building upon an executive order from Trump this spring. 

The details: Early this morning, FERC said the commission voted yesterday to sunset 53 regulations. Chairman David Rosner said the move shows the commission’s commitment to a “fast and fair regulatory process.” 

“Periodically reviewing, updating, and streamlining the Commission’s regulations helps ensure that they continue to align with our statutory mandates and are focused on high-value activities that strengthen our nation’s energy system,” Rosner said. 

Once finalized, the FERC order will allow the regulations to sunset in one year, unless extended by the commission sometime in the next 12 months. The order will become effective 45 days after it is published in the Federal Register. 

FERC offered a brief explanation for each regulation it is phasing out in its order, describing several as redundant. Others are set to sunset as related regulations and restrictions were already repealed or rolled back sometime in the last several decades. 

At least 10 of the regulations set to sunset are related to procedural and filing requirements, such as required paper filings. In removing these, FERC said it is looking to quicken the approval process. 

Some reaction: The decision to phase out the 53 regulations was quickly embraced by industry experts, including former state regulator Kent Chandler. 

Chandler, former chair of the Kentucky Public Service Commission, told E&E News that the move would minimize disruption and risk within the industry and allow FERC to act in “targeted ways.” Analysts have reportedly said that no significant regulations issued in the last 25 years were included on the list. 

“This is certainly a sigh of relief,” Chandler said. “I just don’t think there was any appetite for that at all, and I don’t think that there was any expectation that that would occur.”

DEMAND FOR LNG TO FUEL SHIPS SET TO DOUBLE WITHIN FIVE YEARS: Demand for liquefied natural gas for fueling ships is set to surge within the next five years, Reuters reports. 

The details: Industry executives told the outlet that demand will at least double by 2030, driven by increased supply, orders from Europe, and interest to decarbonize the shipping industry by moving away from traditional fuel oil. Currently, only around 781 dual-fueled ships are using LNG, but that number will jump to roughly 1,417 by 2030, ship certifier DNV told the outlet.  

Industry experts believe that increased exports to Europe will lead to a supply glut, further depressing prices, making it easier for ship owners to take advantage of the fuel source. 

Key quote: “Owners ultimately will choose the fuel that gives you the lowest cost,” Tuomas Maljanen with shipbroker Fearnleys, told Reuters. “LNG is great because the infrastructure is there. It’s readily available…maybe later on it’s going to be, hopefully, quite cheap as well.”

ESG EXECUTIVE DEPARTS FROM MAJOR INVESTMENT BANK: The head of ESG and sustainable finance for Deutsche Bank is leaving, adding to Wall Street’s pullback from climate change-related and ESG initiatives. 

The details: Claire Coustar, who has worked with the German bank since 2003, confirmed her departure in a post to LinkedIn earlier this week. Coustar’s official position is not being replaced. Instead, the bank has created a new position called the global head of sustainable finance, according to Bloomberg.  

While ESG initiatives appear to be falling to the wayside for Deutsche Bank, chief sustainability officer Jorg Eigendorf insisted this summer that the firm would not be abandoning its commitment to decarbonization. 

“We have a critical role to play in supporting companies and governments globally to transition to a low-carbon economy. The world needs to transition at an unprecedented pace and we at Deutsche Bank are determined to facilitate this fundamental change wherever possible,” he wrote on LinkedIn, admitting that more infrastructure is needed to properly transition to cleaner alternative energy sources. 

The shift in priorities among the investment bank’s management team is part of a broader trend among major global banks pulling away from ESG and climate-related initiatives. Several major U.S., U.K., and Canadian banks pulled out of the Net-Zero Banking Alliance, leading the international climate group to pause its activities. Privately, however, major lenders, including Morgan Stanley, JPMorgan, and Wells Fargo, have also decreased their investments in fossil fuel projects, leading some analysts to believe the banks are more interested in hitting clean energy goals than publicly thought. 

ICYMI – TRUMP ADMINISTRATION CANCELING NEARLY $8B CLEAN ENERGY FUNDING: The Trump administration’s plan to cancel nearly $8 billion in energy funding in more than a dozen Democratic-led states is not only hitting green energy projects, but also upgrades to the grid that advocates say would have lowered electricity costs. 

Quick reminder: Yesterday, White House budget director Russell Vought said the administration would be terminating $7.56 billion worth of financial grants that were fueling the “Left’s climate agenda.” The Department of Energy later confirmed that it was specifically cancelling 321 awards issued for 223 projects under the Biden administration. Energy Secretary Chris Wright claimed the projects did not adequately advance domestic energy needs, were not economically viable, and would not provide a positive return on investment for taxpayers. 

What’s been canceled: All of the projects impacted by the grant terminations are located in blue-leaning states, including California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Vermont, and Washington. All of these states either have Democratic governors or senators, or both. 

The administration has not publicly released a list of the impacted projects, however, a list of the grants thought to be terminated circulated Wednesday show that funds for several wind, solar, emissions reduction, carbon capture, and electric vehicle related projects are set to be cut. 

Here are several of the most notable projects affected: 

• $1.2 billion for the Alliance for Renewable Clean Hydrogen Energy Systems – California’s hydrogen hub
• $1 billion for the Pacific Northwest Hydrogen hub 
• $1.25 billion for California-based EVgo to expand public charging stations
• $13 million for Liberty Utilities (CalPeco Electric) to strengthen the local grid against wildfires and extreme weather 
• $464 million for the state of Minnesota to expand transmission across six states.

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