WHAT’S HAPPENING TODAY: Good afternoon readers – we are halfway through the week! Up on Capitol Hill, the Environmental Protection Agency has been awarded a big win from the Supreme Court over the agency’s coal ash rule. Just a few minutes down the road, two Republican senators have made more progress on a foreign pollution fee targeting China.
Data centers are having their time in the sun in today’s edition of Daily on Energy, as Google and Exxon have both announced plans to support more development. Plus, keep reading to find out the latest on permitting reform discussions in Congress.
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.
REPUBLICANS TO TARGET CHINA WITH FOREIGN POLLUTION FEE: Republicans in the Senate are one step closer to formally introducing legislation that would charge China over pollution emitted in producing and shipping goods to the United States.
The details: Senators Bill Cassidy and Lindsey Graham released a discussion draft of their Foreign Pollution Fee Act on Wednesday, allowing the public to comment on the proposed fee on foreign goods based on their pollution intensity.
The Republicans have argued that not only would address international concerns regarding global emissions, but would encourage domestic American manufacturing, strengthen global supply chains, and specifically counter “unfair trade practices” in China.
The proposed fee would particularly apply to covered products that include aluminum, cement, glass, iron, fertilizer and steel. Products and minerals heavily used in the solar, wind, and battery industries do not appear to be covered by the fee.
Not all foreign nations would be subject to the fee in its current form. The senators explained that countries could enter international partnerships with the U.S. to lower any trade barriers. The Republicans said this would allow the U.S. to target China further by displacing production of Chinese goods. The bill would allow nations to avoid fees for some products through the partnerships.
A reminder: Cassidy has long pushed for a pollution fee targeting China, telling Daily on Energy in May 2023 that it would help the U.S. challenge China as a geopolitical leader on national security, economic and environmental fronts.
“It is a way for the U.S. to pursue climate, economic, and foreign policy interests in a peaceful way in which China has the ability to adapt and to adjust and to participate fully in a very positive way,” Cassidy said at the time. “But it also helps prevent China from gaming, arbitraging, or cheating international norms when it comes to taking care of the environment, etc.”
Read more from Callie here.
SCOTUS REJECTS UTILITY COMPANY’S REQUEST TO BLOCK EPA’S COAL ASH RULE: The Supreme Court denied East Kentucky Power Cooperative’s request to block the Environmental Protection Agency’s rule, which sets new standards for disposing coal ash at operating and inactive coal plants.
The EPA finalized its coal ash rule in April. The rule is in response to a 2018 federal appeals court decision that found the agency’s 2015 rule was insufficient because it only regulated coal ash disposal at operating facilities, leaving out inactive power plants. The EPA stated that this rule will have public health and environmental benefits because inactive power plants are more likely to have leaks and structural issues.
After the EPA finalized the rule, the utility company filed in the D.C. Circuit a petition for review and a motion to stay the rule, but the court denied the motion to stay in November. Shortly after, the company asked the high court to block the rule, calling it “unlawful” and stating the agency exceeded its statutory authority.
In its request for a stay, the utility company said, “The Rule is yet another aggressive attempt by EPA to push the envelope of its regulatory authority. And like many other recent attempts, this one goes too far.”
OPEC+ SLASHES OIL FORECASTS…YET AGAIN: For the fifth consecutive time, OPEC+ has cut its oil forecasts for 2024 and 2025.
The details: The weakening outlook came in the oil producing bloc’s monthly report today, detailing the largest growth reductions in five months. As of Wednesday, OPEC+ has estimated that global oil demand in 2024 will grow by 1.61 million barrels per day – down from 1.82 million barrels per day projected in November. OPEC+’s forecasts for 2025 have also dropped from an increase of 1.54 million barrels per day to 1.45 million barrels per day.
OPEC+ has steadily dropped its oil forecast since August, after previously projecting growth of 2.25 million barrels per day for the year in July. The recent changes are primarily due to changes from the third quarter, the bloc said, driven by declining demand primarily in China. India, the Middle East, and Africa are also seeing lower demand, the group said today.
Some background: OPEC+ revisions to its oil forecast come as the oil-producing bloc has again delayed its plans to increase oil production next year. Last week, the block confirmed it would begin a gradual easing of output cuts starting in April 2025, increasing production by 180,000 barrels a day. The cuts are expected to be fully recovered by September 2026.
NOAA OFFICIALS ISSUE STORMY WARNING OVER TRUMP PRESIDENCY AND CHINA: Former and current officials with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration are worried that the incoming Trump administration will pave the way for China to dominate globally in climate research.
The details: Former acting NOAA chief scientist Craig McLean, who worked for the agency under the Biden and past Trump administrations, told Bloomberg that foreign nations often see weather forecasting, research, and tech developments as “economic competition.”
China has reportedly picked up the pace on investing in such research in the last 10 years, increasing its spending by nearly 500% from 2013 to 2023. Meanwhile, the U.S. has seen steady federal investments that support NOAA’s international and domestic programs. In the last fiscal year, the agency received around $7.1 billion in funding.
“If we choose to give that up,” McLean said, “you’re going to lose your competitive edge.”
Current and former employees are worried that the new administration will gut the agency, according to the Bloomberg report. These concerns stem from the Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025 policy roadmap that calls for NOAA to be “broken up and downsized.”
While Trump has repeatedly distanced himself from Project 2025, his ties to those in support of the roadmap remain a cause of concern. Several have pointed to benefits weather research — including satellite imagery, forecasting, computer modeling — provides for international stability, national security, as well as military operations.
“China is going to take over and expand on this, and the US is going to lose,” former NOAA policy director Sally Yozell told Bloomberg.
CARPER SOUNDS SKEPTICAL ABOUT PERMITTING REFORM: Sen. Tom Carper said Republicans have “gone a bridge or two too far” as they seek to overhaul the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), E&E News reports.
House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Bruce Westerman proposed legislation earlier this year to reform NEPA, a law that requires federal agencies to study the environmental impacts of projects requiring federal permits. GOP lawmakers claim the existing process slows down energy projects from developing.
When asked what changes he would be OK with, Carper, who chairs the Environment and Public Works Committee said: “Not as many as my friends in the House would like to make.”
Carper’s concerns highlight the roadblock lawmakers may have in passing permitting reform because Westerman’s bill is considered complementary to Sens. Joe Manchin and John Barrasso’s Energy Permitting Reform Act of 2024.
However, New Mexico Sen. Martin Heinrich said “I think we should all keep our eye on the fact that we need to get to yes or no faster. … Permitting reform is really important if we are serious about our climate goals.”
OIL AND GAS GROUPS SEEK HOUSE ACTION ON PERMITTING REFORM: A coalition of oil and gas trade groups sent a letter yesterday to House Speaker Mike Johnson, asking him to move forward on permitting reform before the end of the 118th Congress.
The letter was sent by the Energy Workforce & Technology Council, the Texas Alliance of Energy Producers, the Western Energy Alliance, and other groups. They said permitting reform will allow the oil and gas industry to “fully unleash the power of American energy.”
There have been talks of moving forward Sens. Joe Manchin and John Barrasso’s Energy Permitting Reform Act of 2024 during the lame-duck session, but a compromise would likely need to be attached to a larger bill.
Manchin told the Washington Examiner yesterday that he has been “so engrossed in permitting [reform].”
Meanwhile, House Natural Resources Committee chairman Bruce Westerman has said if Republicans cannot strike a deal with Democrats on permitting reform, the GOP would push its own bill next year.
“While we certainly support additional Congressional action on the issue in the 119th Congress, our coalition believes there is an opportunity in the coming weeks to pass the Energy Permitting Reform Act of 2024, which will in turn expedite President Trump’s ability to execute on his promise to unleash American energy early in his first term,” the letter reads.
EXXON PLANS TO POWER DATA CENTERS: Exxon Mobil is designing a natural-gas fueled plant to help power data centers, the New York Times reports.
The company said the natural-gas fueled facility will have the ability to capture more than 90% of its carbon dioxide emissions, according to the article.
“There are very few opportunities in the short term to power those data centers and do it in a way that at the same time minimizes, if not completely eliminates, the emissions,” Exxon’s chief executive, Darren Woods, told reporters.
The plant is expected to be operating within the next five years. Exxon’s facility would not connect to the electric grid, allowing for a quicker start date because it can take years to receive approval. However, the company did not say how much or where the plant would be built.
As data centers continue to grow, there has been a need to find ways to meet their energy demand. According to the Department of Energy, data center buildings consume 10 to 50 times the energy per floor space than a typical commercial office building.
“We’re being driven by the market demand here,” Dan Ammann, who leads Exxon’s low-carbon business, told The New York Times. “It’s low carbon, it’s available on an accelerated timeline and it avoids all the grid interconnection challenges.”
ICYMI – GOOGLE PLANNING TO BUILD DATA CENTERS WITH CLEAN POWER: Yesterday, Google unveiled a first-of-its-kind strategic partnership to support data centers with clean energy.
The details: The tech giant revealed it plans to work alongside Intersect Power and TPG Rise Climate to build industrial data center parks that are directly co-located with clean energy facilities, such as wind, solar, batteries, and more.
Google is investing $20 billion into the clean energy infrastructure project, which is expected to be fully completed by 2030. The first phase of the co-located facilities are expected to be operational starting in 2026.
“This partnership is an evolution of the way hyperscalers and power providers have previously worked together,” Sheldon Kimber, CEO and Founder of Intersect Power, said in a statement. “We can and are developing innovative solutions to rapidly expand clean power capacity at scale while reducing the strain on the grid.”
Related: In more good news for data center development, energy storage company Energy Vault announced a partnership today with RackScale Data Centers to supply 2 gigawatts of power for the data facilities. To deliver the power, the companies will be deploying Energy Vault’s hyperscale energy storage solution, known as B-Nest. This is a multi-story battery system that provides eight times the energy density compared to standard solutions. This is expected to accelerate the deployment of power and provide 24/7 availability for the energy.
SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA FIRE BURNS NEARLY 4,000 ACRES: The Franklin Fire in Malibu has burned 3,983 acres at 7% containment as of this afternoon, with thousands of households remaining under evacuation orders.
The fire, which started Monday just north of Los Angeles, increased overnight by 39%, Los Angeles County Fire Department Chief Anthony Marrone said at a press conference this morning. He added they would “closely monitor” weather conditions, such as strong winds and low humidity, which has the potential to add to the fire’s intensity.
There have been nine structures damaged and seven destroyed. Nearly 6,000 people are under evacuation orders and 12,500 people are under evacuation warnings.
“The deep and rugged terrain, along with the strong winds and low humidity, continue to pose challenges for firefighters,” Cal Fire said.
Yesterday, the state secured federal assistance from the Federal Emergency Management Agency to help provide resources to extinguish the fire.
“Fire season is not just a season in California — it’s year-round — and that’s why we pre-position resources, engines, aircraft, and equipment to respond in real-time,” California Gov. Gavin Newsom said yesterday.
RUNDOWN
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